i understand that the battles that we as conservatives must fight, because i have been on the front lines. >> he says he was a severely conservative republican governor of massachusetts, and he also said he knows conservativism, because he's lived it, vowed to repeal president obama's health care act, and that's his position today. agree or disagree, it's to use his own world, severely conservative, but keeping him honest, it doesn't describe his time at the governor of massachusetts and it doesn't jibe with how he himself was describing himself when he was running for the job. this is mitt romney in 2002 when he was running for governor. >> people realize i'm not a partisan republican, but moderate and my views are progressive. >> not a partisan, moderate, but progressive views. here he is in a campaign debate volunteering the moderate and liberal position on abortion rights. >> and the chairman stuck a little point in there that is with my views on protecting a woman's right to choose. i have been clear, and i will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose, and am devoted and dead kalted to honoring my word. i will not change any provision of massachusetts' pro choice laws. >> mitt romney ten years ago outlining the position on abortion and whether you agree or not it is a far cry from severely conservative. you could argue. the difference between then and now is consistency, and he had been saying then what he said in 1994 in the u.s. senate running against ted kennedy as a progressive republican. >> i believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. and i have since my mom took that position when she ran in 1970 as a u.s. senate candidate and since roe v. wade has been the law for 20 years we should sustain and support it. it was a independent in the time of reagan and bush. i'm not trying to return to reagan and bush. >> back then mr. romney promised the fight for full equality of the gay and lesbian citizens and that is from a letter to the law of cabinet of republicans. he wrote, i'm with you on this stuff and i'll be better than ted kennedy. so in 2002 he was a moderate with progressive views, and he also signed a ban on assault weapons in 2004, he also signed a health care reform law that is almost identical to president obama's. and later in his term he moved more to the right on the gun control and abortion. and more, but even then, the right didn't see him as all that conservative. in 2006, when the strongly conservative magazine "human events" put out their choice of the most conservative governors, romney didn't even make the list. his views have changed over the years. and you can agree that his views have changed over the years, but the issue is can he seemingly rewrite the past to look better now. a lot to talk with james carville and ralph reid founder of the faith and freedom coalition. james, when you hear mitt romney describe himself as having been a severely conservative governor, what do you think? >> well, it is not up to me, but i know that before that audience, when you think of obama care or romney care, i don't think it went over very well, and if romney is trying to run as the genuine conservative candidate against rick santorum, that is not the winning message. i don't think that people are going to buy that. you know, he is a little bit of a tight spot here, so he has the try to make some room, but this is not a smart thing he did. it doesn't sound genuine at all. >> ralph, does it sound genuine to you? do you believe he was a sincerely conservative governor? do you think the people in the room believered that? >> well, i believe that his advisers feel strongly and he believes, anderson, that his entire tenure at governor during the course of the campaign has been buffeted by his opponents, by the media, by critics and boiled down and distilled really solely to the health care plan, and i think he felt, and it was a good call that he needed to let them know he cut taxes 19 times, cut spending $3 billion, balanced four budgets, left $2 billion in a rainy day fund, and left a state that he inherited in a fiscal night mire, left it with one of the best fiscal situations in the country with unemployment hovering around 4%. and he had every right to make that case. >> but ralph, in 2002 when he was running, he said he was not a partisan republican and describing himself as anything but severely conservative back then. >> sure. i don't disagree with that, anderson, and i have been doing this a long time and james have been doing this a long time. we both had good friends and clients in the case when we have been consultants and get into office and are radicalized or changed or evolved one way another once they get into office. this is an 85% democratic legislature, and he vetoes bills 800 times, and it is very clear that he changed. while i remain neutral in the race and i'm not advocating anybody for this nomination, i want to let the voters decide. i know mitt romney, and i believe that evolution that he had was genuine. >> james, it is -- i mean, obviously, if president obama is running against mitt romney, they are going to be calling him a flip-flopper. >> oh, yeah. why would they do that? >> and hasn't the president, himself, changed his positions on for instance on the super pac recently on whether or not to support them? >> sure. sure, and people do. you know, and i'm sure that will come out, and, we will see what it is. it is hard to think of something that mitt romney has not changed the position on. he is a good family man and give him credit for that and loyal to the church. but look, that is something that has to be aired out. right now, mitt romney's problem is that the conservatives don't much cotton to him, and every time he turns around, you see this. you look what happened in south carolina, what happened the other night. there's no chance santorum or gingrich are going to be the nominee, we know that. but they just don't -- the way i -- this is like trying to feed a dog a pill. and the dog keeps spitting up the pill, and eventually they will have to take the romney pill, but they will spit it up a few more times before they take it. at least that's my analysis. >> and ralph, to james' point, rick santorum says they have raised $3 million in the past two days and taken the number two spot in the gallup poll, and is he the romney alternative? >> well, i guess i would quote what santorum said when they were writing him off as dead a few weeks ago. he said if you don't like how the race is going, give it a few days, and it will change. this is my ninth presidential campaign and i will tell you that you have to determine this on a ouija board at this point. but to james' point about the conservatives having to eat the dog food, i would say we have seen this movie before, so i would coshen ghent free framing a still photo in a dynamic motion picture process and suggesting whoever the nominee is won't have these folks on board. >> i didn't say he wasn't going to like him, because i said they will eventually take the pill. >> yeah, i agree with that. >> and everybody is -- but no rick santorum is not going to be the nominee of anything. it is going to be romney and you are a good republican, and you are starting to fall in line and hopefully people for your party's sake they follow your lead, ralph, but they are not cueing up easily. you have the whip them in line down there. >> well, i am not falling in line and i will support who the ultimate nominee is, and whoever the ultimate nominee is, they will be sharpened and better by this process and just as barack obama by the way was a much better candidate than he ever would have been if he had not gone 12 rounds with hillary clinton. >> and you might find five people who think that rick santorum is the political equal of hillary clinton, but i would be hard pressed to find them myself. >> we will talk to them more after the break. >> we're going to talk about president obama's announcement, dialing back a controversial decision on health inshrnls, birth control in religious institutions. stirred up a fire storm on the right. it gets heated. i'll ask them both if the president put out the fire. let us know what you think on facebook, google plus, or follow me on twitter. later, the slaughter in syria y destruction so profound, it's now visible from space. we'll show you the satellite imagery and the destruction on the ground level view. heavy armor taking aim on the neighborhood. >> a man who spent ten years behind bars for stalking madonna is under kraes again. we'll tell you why. that and much more when "360" continues. i'm always looking out for small ways to be more healthy. like splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweeteners. this bowl of strawberries is loaded with vitamin c. and now, b vitamins to boot. coffee doesn't have fiber. unless you want it to. splenda® essentials™ are the first and only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. mmm. same great taste with an added "way to go, me" feeling. splenda® essentials™. get more out of what you put in. before the break, we were talking to democratic strategist james carville, and ralph reid of the faith and freedom coalition. we were discussing whether mitt romney is trying to paint his record as more conservative than it was. and whatever you conclude, he is trying in this campaign to stake out the conservative high ground. he is trying to have religious employers to include birth control coverage in their health care plan, and today president obama retreated somewhat, laying out a compromise. >> women will have access to free preventative care which includes contraceptive services no matter where they work. that core principle remains. but, if a woman's employer is a charity or a hospital that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of the health plan, the insurance company and not the hospital and not the charity will be required to reach out and offer the woman contraceptive care free of charge, without copays and without hassles. >> well, both planned parenthood, and the catholic health association gave this new version the blessing and the conference of catholic bishops called it a step in the right direction, but they would reserve judgment for now. i asked ralph reid about what he felt about this. >> i think they're deluding themselves. the political damage, which has been incalculable, is irreparable. what it shows is what the white house would have liked to do, and pulled back the curtain of what obama care would have looked like in a second obama administration, and that is number one. number two, we need to wait for the actual language of the ruling, but it is getting a mixed reception at best, and this is why, because it is a government edict that is instead of telling the religious organization that they have the provide the funds unilaterally to fund something that is morally objectionable, they have shifted the mandate to the insurance company. how does the insurance company get the money to provide the mandate? they will get it from the religious employer and it is ooj objectable, but it is an improvement. >> and let me say two words, terri schiavo. this is an overreach, and first of all, they are against contraception as is most of the people. this is the kind of thing, and first of all birth control pills don't cost insurance companies money, because they gladly will give it to people, because it saves so much over the longterm, that's not even a cost. >> especially told by the government. >> and 98% of catholic women use birth control, and 28 states had mandated this, no one said anything about it. they looked reasonable, came to a conclusion today, and i think if anything in the long run, they will be helped by this. i think the terri schiavo overreach was one thing that caused the republicans to lose the house in 2006. i think there's broad based support for contraception in the country. and rick santorum doesn't support it. >> look. i think it is nice to try to save the subject to terri schiavo. but what happened here is that this is a mushroom cloud that you had people like joe biden and bill daley leakic that they had advised against it, and the white house was diving under the fern chrn and if it was such a great thing, why did obama himself feel like he had to walk into the what briefing room and walk it back. this was a political disaster for the administration and white catholic voters who are voting 15 points republican in the last three years. >> raffle, ralph. >> yes. >> let me explain it to you. he looks reasonable in the thing. people like the idea of having contraception in this country. and the thing that he now comes and says, okay, we fixed it. just the long range implications of this if anything are going to be favorable to the president. he came out looking reasonable. 28 states mandated it before and nobody said anything about it. >> well, james, the 28 states don't require religious organizations to provide insurance under penalty of a fine. that is apples and oranges. >> well, the religious institutions who were providing this before, but the president compromised and i come back to the point that birth control pills drive health care costs down. >> this isn't about contraception. james, contraception is widely and fully available to women all across the country. and if they cannot afford it, it is subsidized under title ten. >> no, santorum wants to overturn granholm versus connecticut. >> you said there's no way santorum could be the nominee. you said two minutes ago he should not be the nominee. who are you running against? >> i did. >> well, why are you bringing it up? >> well, do you support -- >> and what we are saying is the position -- >> ralph, do you support -- >> i do. >> and your position. >> are you doing a george stephanopoulos, and we are going to debate contraception? it is not about contraception. >> sure, it is. >> it is about whether or not a religious organization is going to be forced to do something that they find morally repugnant that violates their conscience, including the morning-after pill, and various medicines that will induce abortion. for you to not understand that forcing them to violate their conscience is a violation of the first amendment right shows how tone deaf -- >> remember, when you losing an argument, don't try to talk down to me, you are losing the argument. the president came across being reasonable. >> and if we are losing the argument, why did he capitulate? >> well, again, excuse me for speaking while you are interrupting, ralph, but part of being a good christian is having the other person have a say so. >> go ahead. >> thank you. i think that what we are seeing here is the president being reasonable, and what we are seeing here is what we have, and the idea that this costs money is not what the facts are. birth control pills actually save on health care costs. this is what is becoming -- and the president comes across as being reasonable, and the damage of this is a, is if anything i think slightly helpful to him in the long run. >> ralph, the final thought and then we have to leave it. >> well, from the policy standpoint, it is a fig leaf and they took the gun pointed at the catholic bishops and pointed it to the insurance companies. and it shows what a government overreach obama care is, and why to this day it doesn't poll over 30%. from a political standpoint, the catholic vote, particularly among white catholics in swing states like ohio, michigan, florida, new mexico, iowa, and bleeding like a stuffed pig on this administration, and this is the major problem and why they should walk it back. >> well, that is why the president is up 6 points in the last poll, because the catholics are bleeding. >> it is not about contraception, but liberties. >> and 98% of catholics take birth control. >> leave it there, guys. >> thank you. they sure smile a lot for two guys who disagree so much. earlier we saw you mitt romney's big moment at cpac, and tonight, newt gingrich's way came by the way of calista. her days of staying silent are over by introducing him. she said there are three things people don't know about her husband. he's a committed golfer, he loves book, and there's this. listen. >> newt is also very supportive. when i sing at the basilica at the national shrine or play my french horn with the city of fairfax band, he is right there listening. i am personally grateful for his wisdom in not trying to sing as a candidate. he knows his limitations. >> callista gingrich basically stepping out front to introduce her husband as ann romney has been doing to much success on the campaign trail. according to gingrich campaign, we will see more of callista gingrich in the coming days, because she brings out the husband's softer side which are the words that the campaign used. she also had been his mistress for six years, and this is his third marriage and there had been some concern and in some quarters about what impact of her taking a more visible role in the husband's campaign might actually have and would it increase some resentment? clearly, the belief is that newt gingrich has a problem with the female voters and we have seen it in the last several primaries and caucuses, and the question tonight, can callista gingrich change that? here is randi kaye with an upclose look at callista gingrich. ♪ >> reporter: on most sundays callista gingrich sings in the church choir, but not until recently she found her voice on the campaign trail. >> let's give a warm welcome to my husband and best friend, newt gingrich. >> reporter: still moments like that are rare. getting anywhere close to callista on the campaign trail is challenging to say the least. >> no cameras. and sit down. i feel like i'm dealing with 8-year-olds again. >> reporter: are they trying to keep callista away from the reporters? >> i am not aware that they are trying to. >> reporter: and yet when we wanted to interview callista, the campaign said no, and agreed to let us speak with karen olson, callista's friend since the second grade. growing up, olson recalls that callista was a cheerleader, and they played piano together and attended luther college in iowa where calista majored in music. she practiced six hours a day and graduated kum laude. and then she moved to washington, d.c. to work as a clerk with the house agriculture committee. in 1993, callista began a six-year affair with newt gingrich who at the time was speaker of the house and on his second marriage. did she talk to you about meeting newt or dating newt? >> well, you know, yeah, we knew about it, but she didn't say a lot about it. >> reporter: did you ever offer her advice? >> no, you want the best for your friend. you don't want to see them get hurt, and having a high profile relationship, you know, it is just that we were concerned. >> reporter: was she concerned do you think? >> i think so. >> reporter: callista and newt married in 2000, but the affair still dogs them today on the campaign trail. after newt's second wife told the media he had wanted a quote open marriage, they ran into this question in florida. >> and just to clarify, i wanted to see if you all are in an open marriage? >> no. >> no. >> reporter: how do you think that she handled that sort of thing being pressed in tough situations or getting hard questions out there? >> well, publicly, i think that she handles it very well, but privately, it can't be easy. >> reporter: early on, callista made headlines when staffers accused her of undermining her husband's campaign, pulling him off the trail to go on a luxury cruise, and to appear for her new book signing featuring ellis the elephant. >> i'm callista gingrich and this is my friend. >> reporter: and despite the sagg