revealed. the mastermind, an american. we want to welcome our viewers around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." mitt romney's primary sweep this week sounded the death nell for newt gingrich's campaign and the romney versus obama battle for the rouwhite house has shif up a gear. our national political reporter is following this. jim, what are you seeing now? >> with the republican race now over, there are only two men left standing, president obama and mitt romney and they're already throwing hard punches, even though it's only april. president obama's visit with college students in iowa may have been about financial aid but it was one more sign that school is in session in the race for the white house. >> some suggest that students like you have to pay more so we can help bring down the deficit. th think about that. >> the president has been doing his reelection homework basically ever since he got in office. from february 2009 on he's made 126 visit to 14 battle ground states. >> is it easier to make ends meet. >> no. >> mitt romney was just in one of those swing states, new hampshire, to declare victory in the republican race and focus a clinton-like laser beam on the economy. >> it's still about the economy and we're not stupid. >> with romney fund-raising behind closed doors, one of his top surrogates and potential running mates marcos rubio delivered a speech in washington. >> putin may talk tough but he knows he's weak. >> adding to political overtones -- >> a rising star in the nextg next generation in tomorrow's leaders. >> he appeared with rubio. the romney campaign is trying out a new line of attack on taxes. consider this column in the wall street george from former george w. bush economic visor ron hubbard. the president, who has only proposed increased taxes for wealthier americans seems ready for that one. >> first of all, these guys ran up the deficit. these are the same folks who voted in favor of two wars without paying for it. >> i just think there are times when the mountain gets bigger than your ability to climb it. >> now that newt gingrich has all been dropped out, republicans are eager to combine forces and poke holes in the republicans' image. take mr. obama's slow jam of the news on jimmy fallon. >> do you know mitt romney? >> i've met him but we're not friends. >> it's now a new rnc ad. >> that is how we slow jam the news. >> that ends with the twitter hash tag not funny. gingrich officials say the former speaker will formally get out of the race next week. gingrich did take a call from romney that a gingrich spokesman described as gracious. it's a sign the wounds from the bruising primaries are finally starting to heal. >> thank you very much for that, jim acosta. let's dig deeper with gloria borger and ron brownstein. i think it's very effective. bill clinton narrated web video obviously in favor of president obama's reelection, which he talks about the courageous decision the president of the united states took to kill bin laden. >> he had to decide and that's what you hire a president to do. you hire a president to make the call when is no one else can do it. >> it's interesting. the democrats this time around think national security is going to be an issue in their favor as opposed to the republicans. >> right. and they also believe that the getting of osama bin laden will prove to the country this is a president who has got a back bon, who has leadership. what bill clinton is saying in that ad is very important, which is he talks about the loneliness at the very top. those of us who reported on the bin laden raid, we know that that was true, that aside from leon panetta, really president obama was kind of alone in making that call. and it's very, very difficult and lonely. >> it's pretty effective, especially narrated by bill clinton. >> i think it's clearly a positive for president obama. whether they can turn it into a negative for mitt romney is a different question. as gloria said, this was not an easy decision. some said you could not have even gotten a search warrant based on the evidence they had so it was a tough call and i think the country respects the president made that call and it will serve him well in 2012. i think it's difficult to go the next step and question whether mitt romney would make the same call. it will be harder to press that case with the public. >> some of us are old enough to remember -- i am, not you guys necessarily, another incumbent democratic president way back to made a very tough call to send a search and rescue operation to iran when americans were held hostage. that would be jimmy carter and that mission failed. >> and that was would argue that was the last thing for jimmy carter. >> and that failure weighed heavily on president obama's mind. >> i think if mitt romney were president of of the united states, he would not have made that decision, that requires to people to take a large leap and say mitt romney just wouldn't be leader enough to do it, i think that's very difficult. >> i think desert i, the helicopter mission that failed, was in the back of the mind for president obama and understands the risk he took. >> there's another ad, american cross roads, the super pac, pro republican, anti-democrat super pack making fun of the president of the united states as celebrity in chief. here's a little clip. >> oh, yeah. ♪ i'm so in love with you >> ron, now it goes on to say at the end of that ad that students are in trouble, they can't get jobs and it's not a good environment to be a college student nowadays. that was the gist of it. he may be a celebrity but he's not doing much to help the economy. >> it echos an argument the mccain campaign used in a very controversial ad in summer of 2008 that portrayed president obama as a vapid celebrity. this goes to a core tug of war in this campaign. obama right now does very well on personal favorability. people can relate to him more easily than mitt romney at this point in the campaign. on the other hand republicans want to focus on are you better off than where you were four years ago? the slowdown in job growth we may be heading into, that's where they want to keep the focus. that's where they want to tote voters. >> there's also a question about what the american president wants when it comes to a president. we want to like him and president obama is very, very well liked but we also want him to be a little different from us and we want to put this person on a bit of a pedestal. so any president, any political leader walk as fine line. so they all go on letterman. mitt romney has gone on letterman. they all do these kinds of funny things and if you like the person, you're going to say, oh, that was funny. if you don't like the person, you're going to say, oh, that was going a little far. >> if they're trying to energize that youthful base he had four years ago, the republicans in this american cross roads ads are probably doing a pretty good job in getting those young people enthused once again. >> that's the challenge for obama with all the college people sleeping on their parents' coaches, his focus is the connection on policy. it's harder for him to argue results with young people. >> the romney camp said he spent most of the week slow jamming the news, striking a heisman pose. so, again, you can see that this is a theme they're going to use over and over again, the president has a poseur. >> you have some good things in this issue. and also on the hispanic role in this election. >> i'll ask the popular pastor joe osteen about those christians who are worried about voting for romney because he's a morman. romney was a bishop. we're taking a look at his leadership role in his mormon church. and details of a bird strike that had passengers on one flight fearing for their lives. see your lexus dealer. 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[ female announcer ] new ensure clear. nine grams protein. zero fat. twenty-one vitamins and minerals. in blueberry/pomegranate and peach. refreshing nutrition in charge! religion and politics in the spotlight with mitt romney poised to become this nation's first mormon presidential nominee potentially. it's an issue many spiritual leaders are being asked to address the houston church is the largest in the country with nearly 40,000 attendees each sunday. he took it over after the death of his father in 1999. his television program is seen by 10 million people every week and his first book, "your best life now" has sold over 4 million copies. joel osteen is here in the situation room. good to you have here. thanks very much for coming in. >> my pleasure. thanks for having me. >> so many people are inspired by, you moved by you. a member of your congregation comes to you and says, joel, i really want to vote for romney because i'm concerned because he's a mormon, i'm not sure he's a christian. what do you say to that congregant? >> well, my personal view, wolf, is when i hear mitt romney say he believes that jesus is the son of god, that he's the christ, raised from the dead, that he's his savior, that's good enough for me and i would encourage them in the same way. we don't all have the same views and i realize mormonism is not traditional christianity, but i'm probably a little broader and more open in the fact that when somebody loves jesus and believes they're the son of god, that's good for me. >> that november of 2011 pew poll, 32% say they don't believe the mormon faith is a christian reasonable. it's the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. but i hear you saying you do believe it's a christian religion sort of? >> i do. i believe there are things that are the same but obviously if you get deeper into it, there's things that's not traditional christianity. i'm looking at more the broadness of when somebody believes that jesus is their savior and son of good, i believe they're a believer in the son of christ. >> the late jerry falwell's university, he's going to be giving the commencement address, some are saying it's not appropriate. what would you think? >> everybody has a right to their own view. i'm trying to reach the biggest, broadest group. my net may be a little bit wider. when i see somebody that loves the lord i try not to exclude them but to rather include them and realize we all have differences. we could look at our faith versus the catholic faith and other faiths. mormonism is a little ditch bff butch they love christ. we could ask ten people from den denominations and get ten views. i said if they believe in christ, they're my brother, they're my sister. >> another congregant comes to you says i'd like to reelect president obama but i heard he's a muslim. 18% of the people in the pew pole said they believe he's a muslim. >> i've heard him talk about his faith, talk about sealvation an redemption. i believe in high heart he's a christian. he says he is. i wouldn't push people away. that's the opposite of what we're supposed to do. i would encourage them in that. i know there's a lot of media that say there's a lot of talk, i give people the benefit of the doubt. you don't have to prove you. if you say you are from the sincerity of your heart, i believe you. >> what if he's not a christian, someone a muslim, someone who is jewish, do you have a problem with someone who is not a christian being president of the united states? >> i wouldn't have a problem with it because i love all people. i think in the united states it would be a, you know, it may be a long time before we would elect somebody -- maybe a muslim or hindu or something i think still 90% of us are christians. i spent a lot of time in india with my father. the hindu of some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. i'm not trying to push people down and see them as second class because they're not as my faith. when we're electing a president, we're looking at their values and leadership values and their faith as well. >> you're going to be speaking at washington national park. give us the most important message you want the folks to leave with. >> i think it that god is on your side. he's a good god. you may have made mistakes, you may have some big obstacles but you can still become who god has created to you be. let go of yesterday, let today be a new beginning and be the best that you can and you'll get to where god wants you to be. >> thanks very much for coming into the situation room. >> my pleasure, wolf. thank you. >> we're also learning more about mitt romney by taking a closer look at his mormon faith including his days as a bishop inside the church. we'll hear from people who turned to him for advice. and an lawmaker kept out of afghanistan by the president of afghanistan. i'll ask why the highest u.s. officials actually went along with it. i went to a small high school. the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful. he would never give up on any of us. and it hasn't been going exactly as planned. 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[ male announcer ] the citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. as mitt romney campaigns to lead the nation, he rarely talks about his leadership experience in the mormon church. he volunteered for key roles in the 80s and 90s, including service as a bishop. we talked to people who knew bishop romney. >> they might ask that, too, in class, that he labored with his own hands that he might serve the people. >> reporter: reading the book of mormon together is now routine for sandy and ron. but the couples' clash over mormonism almost destroyed their marriage. ron was skeptical when his wife converted in the late 1970s. with nowhere to go, sandy turned to her then bishop, mitt romney. >> i said it so hard, i don't know what to do. i broke down and say i can't do this anymore. do i love the lord more than i love my husband? >> reporter: and what happened? >> he said to me you can love both and i'll show you how to do it. >> reporter: mitt romney, they say, came up with odd jobs for ron, an out of work maintenance man struggling to provide for his wife and three sons. >> what he was doing is he was fellowshiping me and bringing me closer not to the religion but just bringing me closer to him and his family and my family, which is important. >> he really helped change our lives for the better. >> reporter: romney on occasion talks about his time as a church leader in the boston area. romney was a volunteer bishop, similar to a pastor at the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. friends at this church say he worked up to 20 hours a week doing everything from counseling members to balancing budgets. >> and in that capacity i had a chance to work with people who lost their jobs in some cases or were facing other financial distress, losing their homes. i found those kind of circumstances were not just about money or numbers and they are about lives and about emotions. >> reporter: so why doesn't romney talk more about his roles in the church? >> mitt really is a great listener. >> reporter: grant bennett, a former lds bishop who served with romney says there's a cultural component of humbleness among mormons and he says there are political risks. >> there are many, many misconceptions about the mormon church. i think to dwell on his involvement in the church, no matter how effective he might do it, inevitably would lead to side discussions that may not be very productive. >> reporter: not everyone in bishop romney's church was a fan, with some of the harshest criticism coming from mormon women. >> this is an issue from the winter of 1986. >> reporter: judy was the editor of the feminist mormon magazine who said she first clashed with romney when the publication couldn't be distributed at church. >> his attitude is i know what's best, i'm the interpreter of mormonism for all mormons and you have no right to comment on it and if you do comment on it, you're wrong. >> reporter: she recalls the story of a friend, a mother of four, who published a letter in the magazine, who say a bishop pressured her to not have an abortion, despite a blood clot that put her life and that of her baby at risk. helen remembers romney as a lead who are did try to address concerns of women in a church largely run by men. she credits romney with meeting with about 250 women to discuss issues and make some policy changes. >> i thought he was pretty open and caring to say, yeah, we'll do this because i don't think many church leaders would have done that. >> reporter: but note, her admiration is in the past tense. what's your reaction when you see him on the campaign trail now? >> i have no idea who that man is. what it looks to me like is he's figuring out what he needs to do to win the republican nomination and he's doing it. >> reporter: as for this couple, they say they know the real mitt romney and hope their former bishop does become president. >> he just knows how to connect with people like us. >> a veteran u.s. lawmaker barred from afghanistan by the country's president despite the $2 billion a week the united states is spending in that country. i'll talk to congressman dana rohrabacher about the outrage. and how al qaeda plotted to get a bomb inside a walmart store. and madeleine albright talks about the secret that changed her life. pa-tato, po-tato, huh? actually, it's to-mato, ta-mato. oh, that's right. 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[♪...] >> i wish my patients could see what i see. that over time, having high cholesterol, plus diabetes or high blood pressure or family history of early heart disease, can put them at increased risk for plaque buildup. and they'd see that it's more important to get their cholesterol where their doctor wants. and why for these patients, when diet and exercise alone aren't enough, i prescribe crestor. adding crestor lowers bad cholesterol by up to 52%. and is also proven to slow plaque buildup. >> announcer: crestor is not right for everyone. like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking or if you have muscle pain or weakness. that could be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. >> is your cholesterol where your doctor wants? ask your doctor if crestor is right for you. >> announcer: if you can't afford your medication, astra zeneca may be able to help. it's shocking that a country that receives billions in u.s. taxpayer money can tell an american congressman he's not welcome to visit. it's also shocking that the highest u.s. officials and even fellow members of congress would go along with this outrage. that's exactly what happened when the afghan president, hamid karzai may cleared that a key member of the foreign affairs committee would not be allowed into afghanistan. congressman rohrabacher is joining us. congressman, thanks