Dead Heat in New Hampshire
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much guys. Happening now, it's a dead heat right now in the republican presidential contest in New Hampshire. We're only seconds away from releasing brand new poll numbers. Also, we're keeping tabs on the democrats desperately chasing Hillary Clinton. Also this hour, a judge revisits Senator Larry Craig's bathroom bust, and the Idaho republican apparently is rethinking his resignation plans again. We're live in Minnesota for a critical hearing. And the house speaker's frustrations. Can Nancy Pelosi explain the low marks voters are giving the new democratic-run Congress? Find out. More of our exclusive interview coming up this hour. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. But up first this hour, dramatic new turns in the presidential race. It's now neck and neck at the top of the republican field in New Hampshire. Our brand new CNN/WMUR poll reveals who is gaining, who is slipping, and who is at a stand still in the lead off primary stake. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider is the with the CNN election express in New Hampshire. Bill, we've just gotten these new poll numbers that we're allowed to release at our new survey. Yesterday we saw Hillary Clinton's expanding her lead in New Hampshire. What about the republicans?</s>WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The republicans, Wolf, just the opposite. Hillary Clinton's lead is growing among democrats while the republican race is looking more and more like a dead heat. Rudy Giuliani has been the national republican frontrunner all year. This month Fred Thompson got in and republicans said, wait, wait, let's rethink this. Giuliani's national lead has been shrinking. In New Hampshire, Mitt Romney has been the frontrunner for month. New Hampshire republicans are familiar with the former governor of next door Massachusetts, but Romney's support has dropped nearly ten points in New Hampshire. He's now virtually tied with Giuliani. Both Giuliani and John McCain have picked up support. Wait, wait, New Hampshire republicans seem to be saying, let's rethink this. Republicans are becoming the party of second thoughts. Why? For one thing, republicans are not as happy with their choices. 19 percent of republicans say they're very satisfied with their field of candidates. Among democrats, 49 percent are very satisfied. New Hampshire republicans see different things in different contenders. Who do they think is most likely to bring needed change? Romney. Who do they think has the right experience? McCain. Who has the best chance of beating the democrat? Giuliani. What about Thompson? He may be a national celebrity but the voters of New Hampshire haven't met him yet. He stiffed them when he skipped their debate and went on the "Tonight Show" to announce he was running.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Fred Thompson wants to compete in New Hampshire, he has to get off Jay Leno and get into the town halls and start to meet people.</s>SCHNEIDER: And talk about second thoughts, the McCain campaign, once given up for dead, is showing signs of life in New Hampshire. No surrender?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a question of the character of the candidate, that he's not afraid of taking controversial positions. He sticks to his guns. He tells you what he thinks.</s>SCHNEIDER: Two republicans, two, have to win New Hampshire in order to stay alive. McCain and Romney. So what are the voters saying? Wait, wait, isn't there somebody else? After all, two-thirds of New Hampshire republicans told us they could change their minds between now and the primary. Wolf.</s>BLITZER: And Fred Thompson, who is not doing so well in this poll, he was repeatedly warned going into that republican debate a few weeks ago, instead of going to Jay Leno, you have to really have to show up in new Hampshire. He decided it was more important to go national as opposed to focusing in on the voters in New Hampshire.</s>SCHNEIDER: And you're seeing that in the polls. He didn't gain a thing. Unlike other candidates, he gained nothing from June or July until now when he got into the race. That shows that New Hampshire voters want to see the candidates right up front and real close.</s>BLITZER: They're spoiled, and they like it that way. All right, Bill. Thanks very much. Bill Schneider on the scene. Let's go to Capitol Hill here in Washington right now. At a time when many lawmakers are trying to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq, the defense secretary, Robert Gates, is asking Congress now for more money to fund America's wars. Let's go to our Congressional correspondent Jessica Yellin. She's up on the hill. So what exactly is the Bush administration asking for right now, Jessica, and what's Congress likely to do about it?</s>JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Secretary Gates came here to say the president wants $200 billion to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan next year. That is a record high, and it's about $40 billion more than the president had previously said he wants for next year. Secretary Gates said this will do everything from provide new armored vehicles for the troops to help consolidate bases in Iraq. Now democrats, as you know, have been kicking and screaming for some time now that this war is costing way too much. And one of the senior democrats in the Senate did so again today.</s>SEN. ROBERT BYRD (D), WEST VIRGINIA: We did not create a democracy at the point of a gun. Sending more guns does not change that reality, and this committee will not rubber stamp every request that is submitted by the president.</s>YELLIN: Now, they have not, as you know, been able to resist White House pressure for more funding all along, and Secretary Gates again today said that this money is essential basically to support the troops. There was an unusual disruption in the hearing, I should add, when some anti-war protesters stood up. Senator Byrd actually gaveled things to a close. Let's look at what happened.</s>BYRD: I have tolerated all I can stand. I stopped it before you were born. I said stop it before you were born.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We tolerated all the war we're going to stand. We tolerated all the children dying ...</s>BYRD: Get out of this place. Here, let's go. Clear this room.</s>YELLIN: As you can see, some real political theater here. Now, the hearing has continued, but, Wolf, we do not expect any vote on this issue any time soon.</s>BLITZER: Senator Biden, as you well know Jessica, has long suggested perhaps a soft partition, as he likes to call it, of Iraq may eventually be in the cards. Some analysts say it's already happened in a de facto basis, but the Senate considered today. Tell our viewers what happened.</s>YELLIN: Yes. The measure is to suggest that Iraq should be divided up short of along ethnic lines in three pieces, and the Senate actually voted overwhelmingly for that. It's a significant move because it says this is the direction the Senate would like the president to take and a real change in political course for Iraq.</s>BLITZER: All right. Jessica, thanks. Jessica Yellin on the hill for us. Let's go to Jack Cafferty. He's in New York with the Cafferty File. Hi Jack.</s>JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed. Well, at least that's the world according to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. At the U.N., the Iranian president said an agreement reached between his country and the International Atomic Energy Agency over the disputed the nuclear Iranian program means the matter is settled. Of course, not everybody sees it that way. Senior state department officials say it's safe to say he's the only one who thinks the file on Iran's nuclear weapons program is closed. That's a quote. And the White House says that Iran knows what the international community wants when it comes to its nuclear program, and the administration believes this can be solved diplomatically. But the French, go figure this, the French, the president, Nicolas Sarkozy had some tough words ahead of Ahmadinejad's speech at the U.N. Sarkozy said that allowing Iran to build a bomb would be an "unacceptable risk to stability in the region and in the world," adding that the Security Council should not let down its guard while continuing to negotiate with Tehran. So here's the question. Now that Iran's president has declared the dispute over his country's nuclear "closed," what's next? E-mail us at caffertyfile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile. Wolf.</s>BLITZER: And we interviewed Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister of France. That new lien, that new tone from France, Sarkozy and Kouchner clearly coming through. It's a whole new world out there, Jack.</s>CAFFERTY: Them steroids must be making the rounds over there. They're getting tough.</s>BLITZER: They are. Thanks Jack. We'll see you in a few moments. The house speaker Nancy Pelosi says she shares the public's frustrations about Congress.</s>REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: Well, to tell you the truth, I don't approve of the way Congress is ending the war in Iraq myself.</s>BLITZER: So what can Nancy Pelosi do about that? She's defending her turf, laying into republicans. More of our exclusive interview. That's coming up. You're going to want to see this. Also ahead, a new hearing for Senator Larry Craig trying to make the uproar over his bathroom bust go away. Can he get his guilty plea thrown out? He's fresh off a hit TV show, but Fred Thompson apparently isn't a hit with the Hollywood crowd. We're going to take a closer look at the entertainment industry's lack of support for the republican presidential candidate. Stick around. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.