we're only a day away from a crucial primary that could determine where this republican marathon is headed. fresh off a run away win in puerto rico, mitt romney is now looking to score big in illinois. rick santorum needs a strong showing as he tries to deny romney the nomination. the two rivals have long since taken off the gloves, but now they have put on some brass knuckles as well. our national correspondent jim accosta is in chicago with the very latest. >> the top two gop contenders are practicing their own brand of chicago style politics on this day before the illinois primary and both rick santorum and mitt romney are proving to be untouchable. >> reporter: the battle for the gop nomination has come to illinois and in the land of lincoln the republican party is a house divided in an uncivil war of words. >> i'm somewhat experienced in the economy, i'm not an economic light weight. president obama is. we're not going to be successful replacing an economic light weight with another economic light weight. santorum calls romney another gordon gecco. >> i heard mitt romney call me an economic light weight because i wasn't a wall street financer. >> reporter: the chicago style brawling sounds like it's straight out of the mobster classic the untouchables. >> when santorum -- on to the roof of a car in a crate, the former pennsylvania senator wasn't about to give his rifle a pass. >> as what are as shamus the dog, all i would say is the issue of character are important in this election. >> nobody puts words into my mouth. >> reporter: but the romney campaign has it's own blast from the past featuring santorum endorsing the massachusetts governor in 2008. if you want a conservative as the nominee of this party, you must vote for mitt romney. >> reporter: a look at the latest poll shows why santorum would like gingrich out of the way. >> as the race goes on, it shows that the he certainly can't get any amount of the vote anywhere. >> these pancakes are something else, i tell you. these pancakes are as large as my win in puerto rico last night. >> reporter: but boasts of an island victory is just the latest sine that romney is far from -- something he tried to do in mr. obama's backyard in chicago. >> he's put us deeper in debt, he's slowed the recovery and he's harmed the economy. >> even though early in the day, romney admitted the economy is improving. >> i believe the economy is coming back, we'll see what happens, it's had ups and downs, i believe it's finally coming back. >> reporter: both santorum and romney have been in different parts of the state, romney was here in chicago earlier today. santorum was in dixon, illinois, the former boyhood home of the president, it was there where santorum talked about mitt romney having abandoned freedom. that boyhood home of ronald reagan, ronald reagan we should mention coined the phrase, thou shalt not speak ill of another republican. >> and wrong paul and newt gingrich are not in illinois right now? it's a two-man race between romney and santorum? >> reporter: and it's interesting to see if mitt romney and santorum will be here tomorrow. he will be in the suburbs outside of chicago where he hopes a lot of those moderate republicans will come out and vote for him. santorum will be in gettysberg, pennsylvania in his home state, gettiesberg, of course obviously one of the classic battles of the instinctively war. wolf? >> we'll watch and see what's happening, of course we'll have extensive coverage tomorrow night, jim, thank you. after a steady drum beat about the overriding importance of the delegate count, mitt romney is sounding a rathwratra different tone. >> it's all about delegates, and if we get more delegates, we'll pick up some delegates and that's what it's all about. i know a lot of people will talk about delegates and strategies and math, and that's all good to the insiders, but i think the people want to see someone who has the leadership skill and presence to defeat the president and conservativism that will get america back on track again. >> sounds like a pivot. >> a big pivot. his advisors told him you have to stop talking about math, you have to take a turn and start talking about the economy and about how you're the man to fix the economy, which is exactly what we heard him doing. he's also going to be a little nuanced on the economy. and jim accosta's peace showed another pivot. because earlier on in this campaign, he hadn't said that the economy is coming back. today he at least acknowledged that the economy might be getting better. because the worst thing that a candidate can do is seem to be rooting against an economic recovery. >> having said that the climb for rick santorum seems to be getting steeper and steeper. >> rick santorum left all of those delegates in puerto rico. he now has a very, very steep climb, but our count at cnn, rick santorum would have to win 70% of the remaining delegate in order to get across that line. he's losing by double digits so far in illinois. he's got a long haul to go. which is why the romney people called him an obstructionist, someone who's just trying to be spoiler if he takes it into the convention. >> which raises the question, this goes on and on and on, is this going to be good for the republican party or bad. >> some republicans are trying to put a positive spin on it, saying this is good, this is going to make a candidate stronger, this is always good for the party, to get its differences out before the convention where we can all unite. this poll takes a look at independent voters, look at the favorable ratings for romney. rick santorum even lower at 23%. as for the president, wolf, his favorable ratings with independent voters is 53%. that's way higher than either of these republican candidates and you have to believe that this campaign has driven down those ratings with independent voters. it's just a snapshot, it could certainly go back up again. but it doesn't look like it's wearing well with independents. >> as we always say, a lot of time between now and november. those things can obviously change, this is a snapshot. president obama's campaign reports it took in $45 million last month alone. most of it was in small donations, the average amount $59. so is there anything wrong with that? brianna keeler taking a closer look. what about all those fat cats? what are you finding out? >> reporter: president obama has certainly lost some friends in the last few years, but that may not be his biggest challenge as he raises money. president obama is busy bringing in the bucks, from his dinner with barack contest which draws people to his website where they can donate. >> hello, georgia! >> reporter: that one day of fundraising likely netted about $5 million for obama's campaign and the dnc. some top fund-raisers are rewarded handsomely. 47 were invited to the state dinner for the british prime minister last week. even so donations from the big money donors have dried up. at this point in the election in 2008, 23,000 donors had given obama 2,000 or more. why is that? it could be because president obama hasn't exactly been making friends in rich circles. >> i did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of, you know, fat cat bankers on wall street. >> republicans insist the trend spells big trouble for the president. rnc chairman says -- campaign finance experts say the lack of big donors matters little. >> obama looks to be in a weak position only relative to where george w. bush was in 2004 and where obama himself was four years ago, but neither is really a relevant comparison, this time obama is unopposed for the nomination. and frankly, he's outraising all of the republican candidates put together. >> the obama campaign has brought in $300 million since april of last year. republican front-runner mitt romney, just about $75 million. the bigger challenge for the obama campaign are the super pacs that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money for a president. priorities action usa is the main superpac backing obama. and that may be what all t ultimately -- >> -- the republican superpacs will raise and spend more than their democratic counter parts, but that overall, the resources will be roughly in balance. >> reporter: and wolf, president obama continues his fundraising tonight, according to a campaign official, he will be attending a fund-raiser at a local hotel, the w. hotel. approximately 20 people will be in attending. >> yeah, which is the maximum that they can contribute in a cycle, if you will. i can't tell you how many of those wall street bankers who supported the president four years ago and gave him a ton of money were so deeply irritated, i did not run for office to help fat cat bankers on wall street and that's why they're holding back right now. let's see if they come forward in the months to come. good report, brianna, thanks very, very much. we'll stay on top of the money trail. he only has two primary wins and he's trailing badly in the delegate count so why is newt gingrich still in the race? jack cafferty is coming up with "the cafferty file." one expert says it simply doesn't add up. and severe weather happening right now across parts of the united states. we're monitoring storm chasers, they're out in the thick of it. [ male announcer ] the cadillac cts sport sedan was designed with near-perfect weight balance from front to back... and back to front. ♪ giving you exceptional control from left to right... and right to left. ♪ the cadillac cts. ♪ we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. jack cafferty is here with "the cafferty file," jack? >> wolf some people just can't take a hint. newt gingrich was seen dining at a trendy restaurant with his wife. the voters have made it abundantly clear they are not interested in mr. gingrich being our next president. he's won a total of two states, south carolina and his home state of georgia. he was supposed to do well in the south, but rick santorum busted him up big-time last saturday. the republican party has finally made it known that it would be a good idea for mr. gingrich to acknowledge what others seem to be able to recognize and make his own exit. but like an old hoofer, he just can't bring himself to get off the stage. the longer he stays in, the wider romney's delegate lead becomes, as long as he and santorum cut up the conservative votes, romney gains more and more delegates. the whole thing is becoming uncomfortable to watch. here's the question. what's newt gingrich up to? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile or go to our post, "the situation room's" facebook page. >> why is ron paul in this race? he has even fewer delegates than newt beginning rip. >> i don't know, i was asked about newt gingrich. >> i understand ron paul to a certain degree, because he's got a real agenda, he's pushing. >> and there's a core constituency. and you can't say that newt gingrich has a poor constituency. if he had, it would have shown up in mississippi and alabama. >> at some point it will be a two-man race, romney and santorum. but the two are going to be fighting it out. >> thanks very much, jack, we'll get back to you, but i'm interested in what our viewers think as well. an american teacher assassinated in yemen. some of the top stories in "the situation room" right now, lisa, what do you have? >> the al qaeda affiliate there is claiming responsibility for the shooting death of the teacher who's not being identified right now. the terror group sent a text message to local news media saying the man was a missionary spreading christian si in a muslim country. the average price of gasoline is now just 28 cents from it's all-time high set in the summer of 2008. aaa reports the price inched up yesterday for the ninth day in a row to just under $3.84 a gallon. but the average is already over $4 a gallon in seven states and district of columbia. quarterback peyton manning is reportedly in talks to join the denver broncos. espn and the denver post are among those reporting a deal in the works. the mvp ended his career with the indianapolis colts this month after missing the entire 2011 season following neck surgery. and congratulations to u.s. taxpayers, you just made a $25 billion profit. the treasury department sold one of the mortgage backed security portfolios it bought at the height of the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. treasury is now reporting it sold the securities for $250 billion, possibly the department's largest profit ever. >> i suspect most of our viewers, congratulations, to the u.s. treasury. suddenly, sounding a different tune on the economy. >> i believe the economy's coming back, by the way. we'll see what happens. it's had ups and downs. >> so if mitt romney's right, how would he run a campaign against barack obama. our strategy session is coming up. 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[ engine turns over, tires squeal ] introducing the lexus enform app suite -- available now on the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. see your lexus dealer. there's no going back. oh dear... oh dear! ohh dear... i'm not sure exactly what happened here last night. i was out helping people save money on their car insurance. 2 more! you're doing it! aren't they doing great?! hiiiiiii!! come sweat with me! keep going richard. keep sweating!! geico. fifteen minutes could save you sweat! sweat! fifteen percent or more on car insurance. i worked at the colorado springs mail processing plant for 22 years. we processed on a given day about a million pieces of mail. checks, newspapers, bills. a lot of people get their medications only through the mail. small businesses depend on this processing plant. they want to shut down 3000 post offices, cut 100,000 jobs. they're gonna be putting people out of work everywhere. the american people depend on the postal service. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." here are some of the stories we're working on for our next hour. the justice department in washington steps into a racially charged case in florida. an unarmed teenager shot to death by a neighborhood watch captain. plus a collision at sea. a luxury cruise liner slams into a cargo ship. passengers share their ordeal with us. stand by, you're in "the situation room." let's get back to the race for the white house right now. joining us in our strategy session, the democratic strategist jamaal simmons and cnn contributor mary matalin, a republican strategist. mary, let me start with you, santorum got clobbered in new england, he spent two days there, in the political scheme of things a waste of his time, because it was embarrassing how badly he did because romney got 80%, 85% of the vote. and in illinois, he's not even on the ballot in four of the congressional districts in illinois. here's the question, it's a tough question, is santorum ready for prime time, ready to challenge the president of the united states who has a ton of money and a huge organization. >> that is a good question, but as jamaal and i have always said, if the election were held today, but it's not held today. i guarantee you when they have a nominee, there will be a united party. things will go well for the republicans in the fall. we have higher registration, our money's coming in at rates greater than it is in the zr democratic committee. what you're seeing here is the power of momentum. and romney had a solid, really strong organization and the governor in puerto rico, see he deserves a lot of credit for thinking ahead and having this organization built for the long haul. >> maybe you can explain this to me, jamaal, obama's super pac, it's pitiful how limited their fundraising has been similar to the pro republican fundraising that karl rove -- why is there such a disparity in the super pac money. ? >> the president clearly was not in favor of super pacs, that's what most americans believed. now it's a signal that he's okay with the idea because he sees the disparity. it's a miserable situation. there's no getting around it. the numbers don't make any democrats feel comfortable. to the democratic donors are really going to have to step up and get in the game and fund that super pac or any of those. the president's doing a good job in the campaign, they're raising a lot of small dollar done fors, they need some big dollar don donors. >> i want you to listen, mary, to romney talking about the improved u.s. economy. >> i believe the economy is coming back, by the way, we'll see what happens, it has had ups and downs. it's finally coming back, the economy always comes back after a recession. there's never been one that we didn't recover from. the problem is that this one has been deeper than it needed to be and a slower recovery that it should have been by virtue of the policies of this president. >> i think you'll acknowledge if the economy continues to improve between now and november, that's very good news for the president's reelection chances. >> real people in real homes with real cars to put gas in don't measure their economic futures on jobs numbers. they look more at underemployment and labor force participation. they don't call it that, but almost everybody nay know -- they want sustainable long-term jobs, they see energy going up and they see health care going up and they see this rate of growth having the velocity of a belly crawl and that bodies not well. i'm talking about obama 2008 voters have that sentiment, not republicans, so it is improving and they credit the improvement that they do see to their own hard work and their sacrifice. i don't think the fundamentals for a bad economic job performance of the president has changed at all. >> all right, jamaal, does she have a good point? >> no, wolf, in the last segment you did, you had gloria borger talking about -- mitt romney and santorum versus the president. those are the kind of things that matter. when people vote for president, it's not just about this issue or that issue, though the economy is the biggest issue, people wanting to move forward and finally the republicans are acknowledging what's happening, they also vote on qualities, like leadership and temperament, we know santorum doesn't have the temperament to be president, we saw that in puerto rico. and we also know that mitt romney doesn't have the leadership. so i think when we look at those kind of qualities you see a president that really ought to do really well. >> who has a better answer for this question, mary, you remember ronald reagan made it famous, are you better off now than you were four years ago, if barack obama says that to the american people in november, are you better off now than you were four years ago in november 2008, or let's say if mitt romney or rick santorum were to ask that question, what would the american people go with? >> everything is about context, the better off now for barack obama, the new normal for barack obama is the absense of a free fall. it's over 20% unemployment. when ronald reagan asked it, and subsequentably in his reelection, the trajectory was 1.7%. elections aren't got the present course, and as jamaal rightly says, they're bigger than the economy. they're really about an aspirational future and people do not feel that now and they're likely, by polls now say they don't think they're going to feel that way in the fall. >> very quickly, jamaal, do you think the president is going to be asking the american people that question? >> i think the president will have a very good case to make if he says we're on the right path, we have got a ways to go, stick with me, we can do it, if you go the other way, mitt romney will take you the way we were in the last administration. a mystery man surfaces in iraq who claims he was kidnapped. the story simply doesn't add up. we have the latest. a tornado watch just issued for