dick morris as the latest details on the battleground florida. former presidential candidate fred thompson will anouns his 2012 endorsement, exclusively on hannity and the third state of the union address tomorrow night. karl rove previews the speech. our count down and hannity starts right here, right now. >> sean: it was big weekend for the former speaker of the house newt gingrich who won the primary by a double-digit and romney came in second place and santorum and ron paul. but the battle for the nomination is just getting started as the candidates now set their sights on florida. ahead of that critical primary contest the former speaker is no longer simply calling his top rival. he labeling romney as a liberal. take a look. >> i think south carolinians was the first stated to understand how liberal governor romney he was as governor of massachusetts. he lost probably 15 to 20 points over the course of the two weeks as people realized he was pro-choice, pro gun control, pro tax increase and whole range of areas that despite his advertising and pretending, it's clear he was rough to south carolinians. >> sean: he is responding to his attacks that unleashes ad with newt's involvement with fraem fannie mae and freddie mac. >> newt gingrich was cashed in. gingrich was paid $1.6 million that helped create the crisis. >> a days advertise your tan. >> he resigned from congress in disgrace and then cashed in as a d.c. snyder. if newt wins, this guy would be very sheap. >> sean: joining us is sarah palin. governor, welcome back. >> thank you so much. and fred thompson is going to endorse somebody tonight. give me a hint. that will bring be news. he brings a different demographic. >> sean: i know you haven't gotten to the point of endorsing tonight but maybe i'll go back when we started last week. if you were voting in florida. you saw the results in south carolina. how would you vote in florida? >> i still think my endorsement is worth a hill of beans but my advice to florida voters would be to ask themselves which candidate is able to recapture that american exceptionalism that we benefited under ronald reagan. who wants to go back to those days of success under ronald reagan and who was supported and shaped by reagan's economic policies and who isn't? remember under reagan he was able to enact fiscal policies that invigorated growth and reinvestment in domestic markets. he decreased federal spending and tax rates and inflation. who is it that wants to recapture that? you don't have to listen to me as an advisor on who that would be. say one of reagan's economic gurus art laffer, laffer curve how government can pay its obligations by reducing tax rates what we see today with high tax rates. who was shaped by an art laffer and who wants to recapture and who doesn't. >> sean: laffer is supporting gingrich, right? >> perhaps he is. i would ask though that voters pay close attention to that experience that one would have as a candidate having served in official capacities in the past. what shaped them? we know what shaped barack obama. bill ayers, jeremiah wright, others that had socialistic ideas, big government ideas that barack obama goes down our throat. we know what shaped him. on the gop side and who and want shaped our candidates, cast your vote what that shaping was. >> sean: but if i can go back, if i had to press you -- i'm not going to press you too hard -- if you had to decide, if you were in florida, now we've gone through the other three states, this election matters because the future of the direction of the country. we have two dramatically different visions between conservative vision and that of obama's. you said last time you wanted the race and vetting to continue if you had to cast your vote, who would it be? >> i want that vetting to continue. it's the candidate that has to endorse. it's not going to do you a whole lot of good if you can't produce not only in the debates but according to your experience and according to what your core foundations are and according to the proof that you have that you're not flip-flopping around like a halibut ready to be clubbed. you have core convictions and the experience and record to prove it. that makes so much more of a difference than any endorsement. >> sean: in the next segment, how heated this has become. you took issue with the comments by governor christie when he was on meet the press this weekend and he said newt was an embarrassment to the party. i interviewed him earlier, was i an embarrassment when i helped lead the gingrich revolution and help create a majority and welfare reform. he went through a whole litany of answers. you are critical of governor christie, too. why are you critical? >> because he played right into the leftist media's hands, the host of that showing. wanted him to say gop candidate was an embarrassment to the party. we're sick of the media cramming down our throats who a candidate who our candidate is going to be. we're independent voters. despite the filter of the media we're going to make up our own minds. a comment from chris christie, who is one to throw stones? i and probably every other gop player, i guess, has no doubt embarrassed the party, including chris christie, some of his actions, staeg taking a state owned helicopter to kid's ballgame. i think it was just unfortunate that chris christy threw that out that because he produced an a ard for obama campaign come election time. >> sean: stay right there. we'll talk about the heated rhetoric on both sides. dick morris is tonight and karl rove will break down the latest developments from the campaign trail. in a hannity exclusive, fred thompson will unveil who he is thompson will unveil who he is endorsing [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i us my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? 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>> of course, it has a chance of back firing. in this actual multius on and rough and tumble contested primary, every candidate should expect those tough shots thrown their way. you know, i don't likes the negativity. a lot of people don't. yet we know that it's not a game our candidates would remain focused on the main thing. that is, of course, defeating obama and understanding the underemployment rate is nearly 20%. increase in energy prices, the closer we get to inflation and all the negative things going on in our nation, i believe, mostly continuation of obama's policies and let's talk positively what it is each candidate can bring to the table in terms of solutions. >> sean: that doesn't sound particularly positive to me. as a result this week, mitt romney is going to release his tax returns tomorrow. gingrich will release contracts with fannie mae and freddie mac tomorrow. is this a good thing. get it out early? >> absolutely. absolutely. with those tax returns, i know that the minute i was called to run for vp with john mccain, congress called to start producing all of our financial records. all of those tax records. that is the name of the game, whether its law or not. it is tradition. it's an expectation, that transparency. mitt romney obviously now has taken kind of that pressure to heart and now he is going to release his tax returns. newt gingrich's contract also with working with bureaucracy. more transparency the better because that in itself allows that con trat what the gop offers and how we want to benefit the electorate with as much information as possible with that lack of transparency in obama administration that has harmed our nation swnrees as we look at the results from the south carolina. they draw the kitchen sink newt prior to this. i look at the exit polls. rank and file republicans went gingrich. those who support the tea party or neutral toward the tea party, men and women, married women by ten points, conservatives very conservatives somewhat conservative, almost every income group, every age group except those under 30, the majority of those went to ron paul. he won the evangelical vote 44-22%. on the issue of electability, that was an area that i think surprised a lot of people where gingrich won there as well, 51-37%. what does this mean? how do we interpret the results. south carolina is the latest primary. >> the latest primary and in south carolina there are a lot of independent tea party patriots who were reached by newt gingrich then who won in south carolina. mitt romney, a little advice what it's worth, to reach out to the tea party patriots that know we are taxed enough already and know the government has to get off our back. mitt romney needs to more effectively reach out to these independents and assume that the gop machine is going to carry his water and tell us who it is that we should vote for. no, we're much more independent than that. we'll do our own homework and we do expect a candidate to give some credence to that tea party movement that was so instrumental i believe in the south carolina victory. >> sean: i know you said earlier you said your endorsement isn't important. at some point are you going to weigh and tell people who you are going to vote for? >> i probably will, but my endorsement acknowledging it's not worth a hill of beans because people like you keep bugging me about it. >> sean: you ood used to be a journalist. come on. give me a hard time. >> i would be doing the same thing. you are doing great. at some point, i'll let you know. >> sean: let me first, that is not a lot. good see you. thanks for being with us. governor romney 22-point lead in the sunshine state has evaporated. newt gingrich now surging in two separate polls. we'll check in with dick morris. he'll react as we head to the battle in florida. fred thompson will announce his 2012 endorsement right here in 2012 endorsement right here in hasn't if there was a pill to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? 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>> he should fight but from the defense and not the offense. it shouldn't be, look at this i just discovered this thing about newt gingrich and look at the other thing. he looks desperate and undermines his image as a winner. what you it should be is taking advantage of the big mistake newt made which was to attack him on bug bain capital and taxes and use that to rally the free enterprise capitalist republicans to vote for him which was his base going in. that smost he has to make. instead, is the kitchen sink, just negatives and hope some hit -- that is mistake on his part. >> sean: if the debates continue what the likelihood that newt will continue to win them? >> i think he will do well in the debates. who can make a prediction in this environment but to the extent you can, i think it's likely gingrich wins florida but then everybody talks about how he has nomination, romney is dead and gingrich is the guy. then everybody start saying -- oh, my god can gingrich beat obama? then you go into nevada with the high mormon population and go into michigan where his father was governor. those are good states for romney. so a little bit like 1980 and kennedy and carter. people that would vote for carter -- oh, my god he is such a failure and then they vote for kennedy and they would vote for either of them. it was like musical chairs. who was standing when the music stopped. >> sean: the advance still romney? >> no, i don't think he can play it out. i'm not sure there is front-runner right now. this will not be a quick knockout. >> sean: santorum stays in? >> santorum stays in and grows, he becomes more viable, the more mitt and newt dump on each other the more rick is going to look good. i have been around the country for national school choice week. it's transforming the education system in america. it's the most important revolution since at the state level. in the last two or three years. i just wanted to mention it. >> sean: good to see you. fred thompson is here and he will announce who he is endorsing for president. also karl rove will join with us the preview of the state of the union address. union address. all this and more c i refer to her as "that woman with the great gums." as jill's dentist, i know that her gums are a foundation of a healthy smile. jill knows that, too -- so she uses crest pro-health clinical gum protection toothpaste. it helps eliminate plaque at the gum line, helping prevent gingivitis. it's even clinically proven to help reverse it in just 4 weeks. and it protects these other areas dentists check most. crest pro-health clinical gum protection. because healthy smiles are built on healthy gums. life opens up when you do. >> sean: fred thompson spent much of his life in washington as a lawyer and then as senator. following 2008 he endorsed john mccain but he is here in a hannity exclusive who he is supporting for the republican nomination. welcome back. >> fred: thank you sean, good to be with you. >> sean: i read your statement. i think it's really important. i'll let you lay it out. you go into specific details why this race is so important. what is at stake and who you decided to endorse. >> fred: sean, for me the way i view the strength of these candidates had to do with the way i view the status and direction of our government. i think we're in deep trouble. i probably think greater trouble than most people do. even these numbers that are coming out of washington that look so bleak are understated. they are false projections of growth and that nature. we have historically low interest rates and when they start to come up as the largest debt they are the world, we're going to be in an additional fix that we can't bail ourselves out of. i think we're at a tipping point in this country. i think there are going to be more people in the wagons soon than are pulling the wagon. i think we're there. almost half the people are on some federal program. almost half the people pay no federal income tax. i think this president is taking us down the road of a genuine welfare state full-fledged. even when we have the example of europe to teach us and guide us. the american people see what is going on there, see what zbio on in their own country. that is why they are organizing in hemlets and towns across the nation. some of them are call tea parties. i have come to the growing realization that newt gingrich is the guy who can articulate what america is all about. american exceptionalism, can make the case and not just read the talking points or do it off the teleprompter. can make the case for free markets and our basic case that lower taxes can be good for everybody. bring about growth, it's good for everybody. he is not afraid. he is tough. he is experienced. i don't think a