What's at Stake in Iowa Caucuses; Gingrich Goes After Paul
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, live from Studio 7, I'm Natalie Allen. Hello, everyone. Let's get you up to speed for this Wednesday, December 28th. If you're a Republican running for president, Iowa is the place to be today. The Iowa caucuses just six days away. The candidates are out in force as you can imagine. On the trail this hour, Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich. Bachmann's 99 county bus tour is in Creston, Iowa. She's competing with Rick Perry and Rick Santorum for the social conservative vote. Newt Gingrich rallies his supporters in Mason City later this hour. A recent poll shows Gingrich, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney in a virtual tie for the lead. Well, what happened to Newt Gingrich, nice guy? He vowed not to go negative in response to the other candidates' attack ads, but that didn't stop Gingrich from blasting Ron Paul. In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, he said he wouldn't vote for Paul. Gingrich pointed to incendiary newsletters distributed under Paul's name in the '80s and '90s.</s>NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You look at his newsletters and then you look at his ads, his ads are about as accurate as his newsletters.</s>WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S THE SITUATION ROOM: Now, if he were to get the Republican nomination --</s>GINGRICH: He won't.</s>BLITZER: Let's say he were. Could you vote for him?</s>GINGRICH: No.</s>ALLEN: Amateur video out of Syria is said to show defectors trying to ambush security forces in Daraa. CNN cannot independently confirm this claim. Observers from the Arab League are now in the country for a second day to determine if the government has kept its promise to stop the bloody crackdown on its citizens. A league official tells CNN they have postponed trips to three cities today due to logistical reasons. Tens of thousands of North Koreans wailing and beating their chests fill the streets of Pyongyang for the funeral of Kim Jong-il. A Lincoln carried his coffin on the roof. Another carried a giant portrait of him. Analysts say the perfectly choreographed funeral signals a new era under his son, Kim Jong-un. The trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak continued today after several months of delay. The ailing 83-year-old entered the courtroom on a gurney. He is charged with corruption and murder for allegedly ordering the killing of protesters calling for an end to his 30-year-regime. Court adjourned after only a few hours. It is set to resume on Monday. Two women have been arrested for allegedly faking injuries from a deadly stage collapse at the Indiana state fair.</s>ALLEN: Seven people were killed, dozens more injured when scaffolding fell out on the crowd in August. Authorities say Stephanie Murry and Sandra Hurn falsified hospital records to make it look like they were injured. Both face felony charges of forgery, perjury and attempted theft. A California man is accused of shooting and paralyzing an Afghanistan war veteran during the soldier's homecoming party. Nineteen-year-old Ruben Ray Jurado is charged with attempted murder. Twenty-two-year-old Christopher Sullivan was shot in the neck on Friday. Authorities say they had been arguing about football. Sullivan received a Purple Heart after surviving a suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan last year. And if you see a mother nursing her baby in your local Target, leave her alone. She's protesting. Mothers are holding more than 100 so-called "nurse-ins" today in 35 states. The nurse-ins were organized in support of a woman who says she was harassed by employees at a Houston Target store for breastfeeding.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had this big blanket, this big one, over me. They all came and started like walking by and shaking their head like, you know, rolling their eyes, shaking their head, no, no, like I'm doing something so horrible. I'm feeding my baby here.</s>ALLEN: Target released a statement saying, "Guests who choose to breastfeed in public areas of the store are welcome to do so without being made to feel uncomfortable."</s>ALLEN: The clock is ticking and the stakes are high for the Republican candidates in the Iowa caucuses. Some of the GOP hopefuls are lowering their expectations and talking about what happens if they don't do well. Let's bring in CNN political director Mark Preston in Des Moines. Mark, the caucuses just six days away. Could this be a make-or- break contest for some of the candidates?</s>MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, Natalie, it very well could be the end of the line for some of the candidates now. Seven Republicans running for the GOP nomination, six of them campaigning here in Iowa. If they don't -- well, for many of them, if they don't come in the top four, it could be the end of the line. Specifically though for Newt Gingrich, who's been the front- runner for most of the month of December, has been slipping in the polls right now. The odds for him or at least the expectations are that he probably needs to come in the top three, and the reason being is that Newt Gingrich has come under a lot of criticism from all sides. That's why we've seen his poll numbers erode over the past week or so. Also, he needs to show that he can appeal to social conservative voters who are not only very important here in Iowa but they'll also be very important in South Carolina which will hold the primary in late January, Natalie.</s>ALLEN: Speaking of the social vote, Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, all going after the social conservative vote. Santorum says he will if pack up and go home if he comes in last. How likely is that? And what about Bachmann and Perry -- can they survive if they don't do well in Iowa?</s>PRESTON: Well, for Rick Santorum who we've seen him come on -- I don't want to use the word surge -- but we've seen his numbers tick up. The excitement for Rick Santorum's campaign a little bit more in the past couple weeks than we've seen all year. If he does come in last, if Michele Bachmann comes in last, if Rick Perry comes in last, then pretty much their campaign is over. But for these three, they need to place in the top four. Unlike Gingrich who needs to be in the top three, they need to place in the top four because nobody expects them to come in first, second or third. So, if they were to come in somewhere in that order, first, second, third, it would be a major, major win for one of those candidates. If they come in the top four it means they live another day, and that other day would be New Hampshire on January 10th, Natalie.</s>ALLEN: And let's talk about Ron Paul, virtually tied for the lead. Can he actually win? And what does it mean if he does?</s>PRESTON: He very well can win, and the reason being is Ron Paul has a very strong organization here in Iowa, but it's an organization that is really built on enthusiasm from his supporters, Natalie. These are folks who are very much think that Ron Paul has the answers when it comes to foreign policy. They don't -- they agree with Ron Paul and they don't think that America should be involved in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They also like his fiscal policy. They think that he is a straight shooter. So, Ron Paul could very well win the Iowa caucuses. If he does that, though, it would become a major thorn in the side for the establishment Republicans who find Ron Paul's brand of politics very, very frustrating -- Natalie.</s>ALLEN: And let's go back to Gingrich for a moment. He had a pledge to stay positive. Many make that pledge at certain times. He did really go after Mitt Romney during his interview with Wolf Blitzer.</s>PRESTON: He did, you know? And this just happened yesterday. Newt Gingrich, who has made a point of trying to stay above the fray, we've seen that all year. Certainly in all of the nationally televised debates, he would actually chastise the moderators if he thought that they were trying to get candidates to fight one another. However, just in this interview yesterday with our own Wolf Blitzer, he went right after Mitt Romney. In fact, let's listen to what he had to say, Natalie.</s>NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All I'd say, Mitt, is, if you want to run a negative campaign and you want to attack people, at least be man enough to own it. That's your staff and that's your organization. Those are your millionaire friends paying for it. And let's be clear: I'm willing to fight for real job creation with a real Reagan/Kemp-style job creation program. You are a moderate Massachusetts Republican who, in fact, is very timid about job creation. Let's get it on together and let's compare our two plans.</s>PRESTON: And there you have Newt Gingrich just yesterday here in Iowa. The bottom line is six days until the Iowa caucuses and the real question on the table is, can you stay positive? There's so much on the line. Apparently, Newt Gingrich is not going to stay positive -- Natalie.</s>ALLEN: It will be an interesting six days down to the wire. Mark Preston for us live from Iowa -- thanks, Mark. This reminder for you, tune in next week for the country's first vote in the presidential race. America's Choice 2012 -- live coverage of the Iowa caucuses begins Tuesday night, January 3rd at 7:00 Eastern right here. Wolf Blitzer is on the campaign trail in Iowa. And next hour, he'll be on the bus with Mitt Romney. You can see Wolf's interview with Romney today on "THE SITUATION ROOM," beginning at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. Well, here's a rundown of some of the stories we are covering. First, the end of 2011 may mean the end to some of your favorite brands. Say it ain't so. Corn Pops going away. More about that. And a couple boating off the Florida Keys gets a big surprise. They witness a small plane crash into the ocean, but this story has a good ending. Then a very so soggy and windy holiday week for most of the country means big travel delays. Also ahead, tragedy for a Dallas family. A mother and two children shot dead while on a bus to visit relatives in Mexico. And investigators say they now know what sparked a Christmas day fire which killed a family in Connecticut.