bjbjLULU GWEN IFILL: A whirlwind few days in Iowa has launched campaign 2012 into high
gear for now. The Republican field has effectively split into two tiers, with three candidates
emerging as the top contenders to challenge President Obama. CROWD: Here we go, T-Paw!
Here we go! GWEN IFILL: Iowa's Ames Straw Poll weekend came complete with all the normal
trappings of a full-blown red, white and blue campaign: country music, corn-on-the-cob and
plenty of games for the kids, as Michele Bachmann, the Iowa-born congresswoman from Minnesota,
claimed the first big victory of her seven-week-old campaign. REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, R-Minn.,
presidential candidate: If we stick together in this huge movement -- fiscal conservatives,
national security conservatives, social conservatives and the Tea Party movement -- there is no
doubt in my mind we are the team that can't be beat for 2012. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
GWEN IFILL: But Bachmann's victory lap was almost immediately upstaged by the arrival
in the state and in the race of Texas Gov. Rick Perry. At a Republican Party dinner in
Waterloo last night, Perry worked the crowd as if he had been in the race for far more
than just 24 hours. Perry, who didn't compete in Saturday's straw poll, explained his late
entrance into the race by comparing it to the 16 years it took to marry his wife. GOV.
RICK PERRY, R-Texas, presidential candidate: Sometimes, it kind of takes me awhile to get
into something, like this presidential race. But let me tell you, when I'm in, I'm in all
the way. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) GWEN IFILL: The Republican contest to unseat President
Obama took more than one dramatic turn over the weekend. Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota
governor who came in third in the straw poll, far behind Bachmann and Texas Congressman
Ron Paul, dropped out hours later. TIM PAWLENTY, (R) former presidential candidate: I think
the measure of us in this phase was, really, can you get some lift out of Ames to get the
ante, if you will, to get to the next round? And that didn't happen, unfortunately. I wish
it would have. It didn't happen. GWEN IFILL: As the president's approval ratings continue
to slide, GOP hopefuls are sharpening their attacks. REP. MICHELE BACHMANN: People feel
it now, the fire. They recognize that Obama can be beat. And they want to make sure that
we don't have just the other team wearing the other jersey. They want to make sure that
they have a champion, a fighter, somebody who's going to stand up and have guts. GOV.
RICK PERRY: The president of the United States has a pen. It's called a veto pen. (CHEERING
AND APPLAUSE) GOV. RICK PERRY: And I will use it until the ink runs out, if that's what
it takes to get the message we're not spending all the money. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) GWEN
IFILL: Perry's entry into the race sets up a defining moment for the Republican Party.
Will they be able to defeat a weakened president by tapping into Tea Party energy? The choice
is on in this battleground state, which President Obama won in 2008, but may be up for grabs
in 2012. MITT ROMNEY, (R) presidential candidate: It's wonderful to be here. Thanks so much.
GWEN IFILL: Early front-runner Mitt Romney skipped the straw poll this year, even though
he won it four years ago. MITT ROMNEY: You will see me plenty in Iowa. And I will be
participating in the Iowa caucus process, hoping to win the delegates that I would like
to have to win the nomination. And I will be, if I'm the nominee, of course, aggressively
campaigning. Iowa will be a swing state. GWEN IFILL: Mike Huckabee came in second in that
2007 straw poll and won the 2008 caucuses. But, this time around, he appeared as entertainer,
not candidate. The former Arkansas governor said the ground is shifting for Republicans
this year. MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) former Arkansas governor: I do think that there is an opportunity
for unifying the conservative movement and tying all those issues together. And the candidate
who can do that, that can show how these are integrated issues, not isolated, is probably
going to be the best candidate to go against Obama. GWEN IFILL: Mary Howard, who lost her
job at the University of Iowa and is in danger of losing her home, is the type of Republican
voter the candidates hope to attract. So, for you, the economy trumps social issues?
MARY HOWARD, Republican voter: Right now, sure, because -- yes, yes. Right now, we need
results. And sometimes you have to compromise to get results. And I think Obama has done
that to a certain extent, but -- but jobs aren't coming back, and we have got to...
GWEN IFILL: Do something different. MARY HOWARD: ... deal with that. GWEN IFILL: Bachmann gears
her appeal to social conservatives, but is also emphasizing her position on economic
issues, like the debt ceiling compromise, which she opposed. REP. MICHELE BACHMANN:
They want someone who means what they say and say what they mean. And that's what I
have been doing in Washington. I have been at the tip of the spear on issue after issue,
whether it was the TARP bailout, the $750 billion bailout. And I was at the tip of the
spear on Obamacare, fighting against it to make sure it wouldn't come into effect. GWEN
IFILL: Perry also says he can do a better job of turning the economy around. GOV. RICK
PERRY: Two of the most important issues of our time is jobs and debt. In the state of
Texas in 2009 until currently, 40 percent of all the jobs created in America were created
in the state of Texas. GWEN IFILL: Iowa pollster Ann Selzer credits the Tea Party movement
for crystallizing issues for the Republican field. ANN SELZER, Iowa pollster: I think
that the Tea Party has really blended it. It used to be that the social conservatives
were -- that's all they wanted to talk about, and the fiscal people were left without a
country. And now the Tea Party has really helped meld those two together. So, it will
be interesting to see how that develops. GWEN IFILL: Ann Rosenthal, an Iowa Republican who
describes herself as a social conservative, listened to both Bachmann and Perry last night.
ANN ROSENTHAL, Iowa Republican: We're never going to find a perfect candidate. You know,
there's always going to be something about a person that people don't like. And the important
thing is, is for Republicans to get behind somebody that carries the biggest message
on the economy. GWEN IFILL: Straw poll voters, among the most enthusiastic and engaged activists
at this early stage, said that's what they're looking for, too. Tell me who you voted for.
BARB BELLINGER, Iowa: Michele Bachmann. GWEN IFILL: Tell me why. BARB BELLINGER: I don't
really know that she will really be the candidate, but I voted for her because I want her ideas
to be very strong, and so, whoever does get the nomination will know that there's a big
group of Republicans who would like to see her ideas brought forth. MITT ROMNEY: Thanks,
you guys. Great to be with you. Those ideas, Republicans hope, will provide the key to
defeating an incumbent president for the first time in two decades. JUDY WOODRUFF: President
Obama responded today by hitting the road for a series of campaign-style events. In
the process, he also hit back at his challengers. The president embarked on his three-day bus
tour with Republican attacks still echoing from Iowa. His departure came after a Gallup
tracking poll on Sunday had his approval at 39 percent, his lowest ever. The rolling three-day
average was back up to 41 percent by today. Mr. Obama sought to bolster his support at
the first in a series of town halls, starting in the small city of Cannon Falls in southeastern
Minnesota. Without naming any names, he attacked the Republican presidential field for blanket
opposition to any new taxes. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: You know, I know it's not election
season yet, but I just have to mention, you know, that the debate the other party candidates
were having the other day, when they were asked to -- to reduce our deficit, reduce
our debt, would you be willing to take a deal where it was $5 in spending cuts for every
$1 of increased revenues? Who would take it? Everybody said no. They said, how about 10-1,
$10 of cuts for every $1 increase in revenue? Are you saying that none of you would take
it? And everybody raised their hand. None of -- none of them would take it. Think about
that. I mean, that's just not common sense. JUDY WOODRUFF: The president also tried to
turn around the attacks on his landmark health care legislation, dubbed Obamacare by Republicans.
BARACK OBAMA: I have no problem with folks saying "Obama cares." I do care. (CHEERING
AND APPLAUSE) BARACK OBAMA: If the other side wants to be the folks who don't care, that's
fine with me. JUDY WOODRUFF: At the same time, he acknowledged public frustration over the
economy and jobs, but he urged voters to press Congress for action. BARACK OBAMA: We can
get this economy going again. We can put people to work back again. Small businesses can start
growing again. (APPLAUSE) BARACK OBAMA: But I'm going to need your help to make it happen.
You've got to send a message to Washington that it's time for the games to stop. It's
time to put country first. JUDY WOODRUFF: From Minnesota, the president traveled on
to Iowa. Later this week, he will close his tour of the heartland with a visit to his
home state of Illinois. GWEN IFILL: For more now on how the 2012 campaign is reshaping
itself, we turn to NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian. David, you and I spent the
week - the weekend -- the long weekend in Iowa. And we saw a lot of this red, white
and blue campaigning. How is what the president is doing today any different from what we
were watching? DAVID CHALIAN: Well, he doesn't have Obama 2012 posters, but that's about
the only difference. The White House is trying to make the point, Gwen, that this is an official
event. This is the president as president going out and talking to Americans. But you
and I know that's a distinction without a difference. He is a declared presidential
candidate. He's raising money every week for his campaign. And his team is supremely focused
on November 2012. They are, of course, short term, focused on the economy as well. And
that's what he is keeping the focus of this entire tour. But it's not like he's choosing
his spots randomly, right? I mean, he's going through these critical Midwestern battleground
states, Minnesota, Iowa. And Iowa -- and the timing of this is no mistake either. The White
House was keenly aware that the Republican candidates would be dominating the Iowa landscape
because of the straw poll and that debate. And they wanted to get the president in there
to have the counterargument. GWEN IFILL: Have they started at the White House to look at
this top tier that we have identified tonight and said, OK, this one, this one, this one,
which one would I rather run against? DAVID CHALIAN: Well, I think they would relish the
chance to run against Michele Bachmann, because they don't think her appeal is wide enough
or deep enough to be a real threat to them in November 2012, especially her appeal with
independent candidates, but -- with independent voters. But, you know, they are just starting
to look at Rick Perry. They were not -- they had not done sort of a deep dive on him and
getting into his past. You can tell that their talking points on him right now are just a
little shallow, so that -- they are learning about Rick Perry as we are all learning about
Rick Perry. But they see Mitt Romney still as a potential threat. And you can just tell.
If you look at David Axelrod, the senior adviser to President Obama, if you look at his Twitter
feed, there's only one candidate he's been talking about on Twitter for the last couple
months. That's Mitt Romney. Same thing if you look at the outside group Priorities USA
run by former Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton. They have put up an ad only against
one candidate, Mitt Romney. The Obama world is focused on Mitt Romney as a potential threat.
GWEN IFILL: And do they think Mitt Romney, in deciding to forego kind of the hoopla of
the straw poll -- he's still going to run in the caucuses -- and focusing on New Hampshire,
do they think -- did they have a sense about whether that was a good idea? DAVID CHALIAN:
Well, this is where their expertise in how -- a Republican-nominating electorate only
goes so far. They are watching what we are all watching, which is how bloody will this
Republican nomination fight get now. As you said, we identified this tier. I think -- talking
to White House folks and the campaign folks at the Obama election headquarters in Chicago,
Gwen, they're eager to see a prolonged Republican nomination fight. They would like to see Rick
Perry and Michele Bachmann battle it out in Iowa. They would then like to see Rick Perry
and Mitt Romney battle it out for a while. But there's a cautionary note about that,
because it's the same people, you will remember, from four years ago who said they benefited
from a prolonged fight with Hillary Clinton in that nomination process. Not only did they
benefit how to learn to be a better candidate in Barack Obama himself, but they energized
the Democratic electorate, which was very helpful to them in November 20 -- in November
2008. GWEN IFILL: So, is this top three, does it -- does it guarantee a longer fight, this
particular group of people, or is it a shorter fight? Is it over a lot faster? Does it begin
to shrink more rapidly now? DAVID CHALIAN: Well, I -- the length of the fight, I think,
is going to largely be determined on these new rules that Republicans are using. They're
not using a winner-take-all system for delegates in every one of these contests. They're going
to have this proportional allocation. Therefore, there's the chance that if Michele Bachmann
wins Iowa, a potential likelihood, if Mitt Romney wins New Hampshire where he's strongest.
If Gov. Perry, now darling of the South, wins South Carolina, you can imagine, if you have
that kind of split decision in those early states, that this could drag on for some time.
GWEN IFILL: So, what are the lingering questions? Are there other people who might still get
into this? DAVID CHALIAN: I think we're -- we're seeing the field as it is now. I do think
that was slow forming really did get into focus this weekend. Here are some of the lingering
questions I think out there about this top tier. Can Michele Bachmann translate a straw
poll win into raising a lot of money and starting to endear herself with the Republican establishment,
so that she's not just a sort of social conservative Tea Party Republican, but starts broadening
that out? The Wall Street Journal editorial page was a little questionable about that.
And they are sort of the signal of the establishment of the Republican Party. GWEN IFILL: They
were suggesting that other people could still drop in. DAVID CHALIAN: Exactly. And with
Rick Perry, I think the big question is, can he handle the scrutiny that's about to come
his way? He's been a governor for 10 years. He's certainly no stranger to scrutiny. But
it's a national presidential contest, Gwen. It's a very different ball game. And when
negative stories start coming out, how he responds to that is something we will all
be watching. We just don't know. He hasn't been tested that way. And the question for
Mitt Romney now is probably the most interesting question out there that remains. Does he now
have to get off this perch of above the fray, I'm just going to try to focus on Barack Obama
and the economy, not really mix it up with my Republican opponents? Now that Perry is
presenting such a potential serious threat, does he need to get down and start one on
one with Rick Perry and start making differentiation to the Republican nominating electorate in
a way that he hasn't yet? GWEN IFILL: Especially if they start attacking him, instead of President
Obama, which is what they're doing right now. DAVID CHALIAN: Precisely. GWEN IFILL: David
Chalian, thank you. DAVID CHALIAN: Thank you. gdMU gdMU gdMU gdMU urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags
place urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags State urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags
country-region urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags PlaceName urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags
PlaceType urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags City GWEN IFILL: A whirlwind few days in Iowa
has launched campaign 2012 into high gear for now Normal Microsoft Office Word GWEN
IFILL: A whirlwind few days in Iowa has launched campaign 2012 into high gear for now Title
Microsoft Office Word Document MSWordDoc Word.Document.8