ys on cbs s-f dot-com. thanks for watching us. we're back in 30 minutes at 6:00. "cbs evening news with scott pelley" is next. >> caption colorado, llc c comments@captioncolorado.com & %f0 >> pelley: tonight from new, mitt romney wins. but who will come in second? full coverage tonight from our cbs news campaign 2012 team. ben tracy in alaska where the national guard has come to the rescue of a town in deep, deep trouble. and a white house interview with the first lady. cbs this morning's gayle king asks michelle obama about her advice to the president. >> i am one of his biggest confidants, but he has dozens of really smart people who surround him. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news"

with scott pelley reporting tonight from manchester, new hampshire. special western edition. good evening. mitt romney is now 2-for-2 in the race for the republican presidential nomination at this moment he is giving his victory speech here in manchester new hampshire. cbs projects he has won today's new hampshire primary with the help of both moderates and conservatives. ron paul is leading jon huntsman for second place. here's a look at the tabulated votes so far. 21% of the vote in, ron paul is running strong in second place with huntsman at 17%. our projections are based on the early vote count. on the polling that we did of voters after they cast their ballots. when we asked those voters what they were looking for in a candidate, 34% told us the ability to defeat president obama. and the majority of them, 59%,

believe mitt romney is the candidate who can do it. we have our entire campaign 2012 team covering the primary. we'll go first to our chief political correspondent jan crawford who is with the romney campaign tonight. jan? >> well, scott, tonight mitt romney did what no other republican candidate who is not an incumbent has ever done: he won new hampshire and iowa. he was speaking just a few minutes ago when he came out. here's what he had to say. >> you know, tonight we celebrate. tomorrow we go back to work. ( cheers and applause ) we do remember when barack obama came to new hampshire four years ago, he promised to bring people together. he promised to change the broken system in washington. he promised to improve our nation. those were the days of lofty promises made by a hopeful candidate. today we're faced with the

disappointing record of a failed president. ( cheers and applause ) >> now romney won new hampshire in many ways the old- anshioned way. he spent an enormous amount of time here. he kicked off his campaign here but he also stressed issues that voters here say they care about most: the economy. he said he was the best candidate to fix jobs. they believed it. the campaign always saw this state as a foundation for his entire campaign, the key part of his strategy to build on this win going into south carolina, florida and beyond. scott, there are challenges ahead for mitt romney. many conservatives have not embraced him. they see him as too moderate. other conservatives and his rivals have started to question his business background saying he costs jobs not created jobs. all of that will be on display in the week ahead as they go to south carolina, a pivotal state, millions of dollars in negative ads already poured in there. many candidates will bank their campaigns on south carolina. mitt romney will try to win it

but it will be a challenge. scott? snot our exit polling data shows 39% of conservatives broke for romney. what does that tell the campaign tonight? >> well, that tells the campaign that new hampshire conservatives like mitt romney. he's had an issue with conservatives nationally and certainly in some of those key red states but when a new hampshire conservative tells you he's a conservative that means something entirely different than what a south carolina conservative thinks or a florida conservative so it is good news, yes, that he got those conservative votes but it may not tell the campaign a lot about what conservatives in south carolina think. >> pelley: jan, thank you very much. jan crawford at the romney victory rally tonight. jon huntsman who spent most of the campaign at the bottom of the polls did a lot of campaigning here in new hampshire. he had a late surge. we sat down with the former governor of utah today and talked about his former status as a single-digit candidate.

>> i would call ourselves the margin of error candidate from the very beginning. and i'm the underdog. there's no doubt about that. i'm a scrapper. i'm a fighter. i'm going to get that all the way to the finish line. >> pelley: do you go on to south carolina no matter what happens? >> we've got to move the market here. my expectation is we'll go to south carolina. we have to move the market here. >> pelley: 13 million americans are out of work right now. what can the presi what can the president do on day one to start the process of getting people hired again? >> if you had a president who on day one was to say, "folks, get on the bus, we're moving in a growth direction." call together the c.e.o.s of this company and say "i know you've got capital expenditures planned for other countries, i'm asking you do it here. in exchange for that, we'll work on taxes we are going to work on the regulatory environment." i'm not sure you'd have a single c.e.o. who would walk out of the that meeting and say "no, thanks, i'm going to australia." >> pelley: in our cbs news poll last night 32% of republicans nationwide told us they were

either undecided or they wished somebody else would run. you can't make the argument that anyone has caught fire. >> everybody looks better when they're out of politics because they haven't been through the ringer. then you jump into the arena, as teddy roosevel teddy roosevelt used to say, and everyone takes shot at you. you can take any big name out there and they remain a big name until they get in the arena. then they come down just like everybody else. >> pelley: yes, but one candidate who has not come down like everybody else is texas congressman ron paul. our political director john dickerson is with the paul campaign tonight. john? >> campaigning in nashua, new hampshire today ron paul said he would like a nice second place finish. well, he's battling for that now. as you can hear behind me, the music is playing loud. chants of president paul erupt. what they like is his consistent pitch. that libertarian message of individual freedom, support for the constitution, and free markets. markets.

paul's economic philosophy is so consistent he supported mitt romney against his rivals who were attacking his career as a venture capitalist. if ron paul's message goes across the board. he is trouncing his opponents tonight with 18- to 29-year-olds and also doing very well with those voters who wanted a true conservative. if paul does as well as he thinks he'll do tonight he will get the largest share he's ever gotten in a presidential primary. >> pelley: john, thank you very much. newt gingrich was once a national frontrunner, but he told us yesterday that he intended to, quote, survive new hampshire. dean reynolds is with the former speaker of the house tonight. dean? >> scott, newt gingrich spent the day raising expectations, unrealisticall unrealistically high for mitt romney and holding against hope that that would diminish romney's big victory tonight and eventually be seen as something of a defeat.

>> reporter: it's the kind of statement you'd expect from someone so far behind romney in the polls. >> thank you, i need your help today. >> reporter: gingrich is hoping to finish only in the top four here and look ahead to south carolina. >> i think we have a very real chance of winning in south carolina. >> reporter: but the poll there is offer very little encouragement. one shows a calamitous decline for gingrich since december. barely a month ago he stood at 43% with romney at 20. by last week he was at 18% in south carolina, 19 points behind romney. now gingrich is predicting that that second place in south carolina might be good enough to continue, but, scott, that would be three losses in a row. that could well be a springboard to nowhere.

>> pelley: dean, thanks very much when we were reporting the results in des moines iowa last tuesday, the big surprise was how well rick santorum did. but new hampshire is a very different place. bill whitaker bill whitaker is with the former pennsylvania senator tonight. bill? >> scott, only jon huntsman spent more time here in new hampshire than former pennsylvania senator rick santorum. fresh off his surprise finish in iowa, he came here hoping to secure his position as the conservative standard bearer. the alternative to mitt romney. >> you believe here in new hampshire exactly what they believe in iowa. >> reporter: well, not exactly. >> thank you so much, iowa. ( cheers and applause ) >> reporter: boosted out of iowa eight votes shy of victory on the shoulders of evangelicals, rick santorum predicted a new hampshire surprise. >> good morning, everybody. >> reporter: but in this state with fewer born-again christian voters his message didn't resonate as it had in iowa. >> my answer to that was we

always need a jesus candidate. how are you? his socially conservative rhetoric overshadowed his fiscally conservative economic message. at one of his last campaign events, he found himself surrounded and hounded by protesters. he was left hoping for at least a fourth-place finish and a warmer reception down south. >> so we can go down to south carolina, kick a little butt down in south carolina. >> reporter: clearly lowering expectations, santorum told his supporters this is going to be a long long campaign season with many opportunities ahead. the next primary state, south carolina, is running second to mitt romney.

>> pelley: bob schieffer, as always, is joining us now, our chief washington correspondent and anchor of "face the nation." bob, it's going to be a surprise if romney doesn't win here. what do you see? >> well, i think that's right. i think he has to win by a substantial margin. he's not going to win like 50% like newt gingrich is saying he has to. he hasn't shown up that high in any poll i've ever heard of. but on the other hand, you heard jan talking about how the romney people are playing down expectations. the fact is, behind the scenes they're trying for a knockout. they bought a half million dollars worth of ads to play over the last two days. they really want to win and win decisively here. the question, again, as you say, who finishes second and i'm telling you, i think jon huntsman is coming on here. we are seeing a little surge here. i think he's going to do very well. if he doesn't, i think he's done. i don't think he goes beyond this. but if he can finish a respectable second i think he could live to fight another day. perhaps not in south carolina but certainly on down the line like perhaps florida. >> pelley: thank you, bob. usually we are knee-deep in snow here in new hampshire when we're covering the primary but this year there is

not a flake. it's been like that in much of the northeast and midwest this winter. but in alaska, towns like cordova are getting much more than usual, the kind of snow they're getting amounts to 300 inches and counting. reason enough to send ben tracy to alaska. >> reporter: the national guard's motto is "always ready, always there." they are living up to those words in cordova, alaska, where 57 members of the 761st military police are now on the ground. >> this thing pops. >> reporter: if it looks like they're training for combat, that's because their enemy is vast and weighty. jeff bailey has been digging for days and was relieved to see the guard. >> hi! welcome! ( laughs ) i would love some help, guys. i would love some help, guys. i don't even know where to begin, though. >> reporter: more snow is now falling on top of the nearly 18 feet of it that has buried

cordova since just before christmas. houses are being swallowed by all that white, changing the skyline of this remote coastal fishing town. cordov cordova resident kathy long has been posting pictures online of the most snow folks here say they've seen since the 1970s. she says they are running out of places to put it. >> there's alleyways that are between buildings that used to be used as thoroughfares to get from one part of town to another and those have gotten completely full from roof top to roof top those alleys are now full. >> reporter: the southern alaskan coast has been pummeled so far this wind we are 25 feet of snow falling in some places. the national guard is now trying to clear as many roof tops as it can to keep them from falling in. and cordova is not going to catch a break. up to 14 more inches of snow and blizzard like conditions are headed that way. ben tracy, cbs news, anchorage, alaska.

>> pelley: we wondered today what the snowiest place in america is. turns out it's near cordova. valdez, alaska. we called michelle tomkins at city hall there today. she said that valdez expected 150 inches of snow in december but it got 152. that's 12.5 feet. their record for an entire season is 47 feet. work day. campbell's microwavable soups. in three minutes -- the deliciousness that brings a smile to any monday. campbell's -- it's amazing what soup can do. do you often experience the feeling of a dry mouth? campbell's -- it can be the side effect of many medications. dry mouth can be frustrating... and ignoring it can lead to...

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2012 update. cbs news projects that mitt romney has won the new hampshire primary. after winning the iowa caucuses last week, he has now taken the first two contests on the road to the g.o.p. presidential nomination. ron paul finishes second in new hampshire. john huntsman third. have a look at the vote so far. this is the tabulated vote. 28% of the vote in. romney ahead handily. ron paul 25%. jon huntsman with his best showing so far, 17%. here is a key factor in romney's victory tonight. 34% of the voters we polled after they cast their ballots told us that what they were looking for most in a candidate is the ability to defeat president obama. and of those who said that, 59% voted for mitt romney. but there is a lot of dissatisfaction out there.

32% of the g.o.p. primary voters told us today they wish there was another candidate in the race. anthony mason is at the cbs broadcast center in new york with more on the poll. anthony. >> romne >> romney did a turn-around in two key groups in new hampshire. he lost conservatives to rick santorum last week in iowa but he's out in front among conservatives in new hampshire. he has 39%. paul has 18%. half the voters in new hampshire said they're supporters of the tea party. another group santorum carried in iowa but in new hampshire again they're leaning strongly to romney. he's carried 37% of the tea party vote. scott? >> pelley: anthony, thank you very much. so the headline of the hour: mitt romney wins new hampshire's republican primary. ron paul finishes second. next comes the south carolina primary. at the end of next week. romney leads there too. i'm scott pelley, cbs news. in manchester, new hampshire.

we're back now with this special western edition of the "cbs evening news" from new hampshire, and we will have more news in just a moment. i. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now, that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lie on one of those. we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. it's really shaping to my body. once they get our bed, they're like, "why didn't i do this sooner?" during the final days of our year-end closeout event, save up to $800 on selected 2011 bed sets. plus, free shipping on all beds.

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pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or bloodthinners, or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk of stroke with pradaxa. a >> pelley: back now from new >> pelley: back now from new hampshire. there's a new book out today that looks at the role michelle obama has played since moving into the white house. he wthis morning co-anchor gayle king was there today, and she asked the first lady about claims the book makes about friction between her and the president's top advisors, including the president's

first chief of staff rahm emanuel. t> well, i do care deeply about nu husband. i am his biggest ally. >> pelley: biggest confidante? >> i am one of his biggest henfidantes but he has dozens of really smart people who surround him and i am not an expert on most of the issues tha most of the issues that he's dealing with on a daily basis. so i want him and he wants to be talking to the people with the best information. n't 's not to say that we don't have discussions and onnversations, that's not to say that my husband doesn't know how i feel. i mean, one thing is true that i talk very candidly to my husband about how i feel, but that's the kind of relationship we have. i wouldn't go to rahm about something that i would talk to my husband about. right? if i didn't agree with something, i would talk to my own husband about it. >> pelley: you can see more of gayle king's fascinating interview with the first lady tomorrow on cbs "this morning." two former t.s.a. agents are headed to jail after screening

one bag a little too closely. they've admitted to stealing $40,000 in cash from a passenger's bag at new york's kennedy airport last february. they spotted the cash while the beg was being x-rayed and today they were sentenced to six months in jail. a new hampshire town is asking for help and wondering whether any of the presidential ates iates is listening. that story's next.

responsibility. how they got

around security at harris ranch. next on cbs 5& >> pelley: finally tonight, new hampshire has weathered economic downturn better than most other >> pelley: finally tonight, new hampshire has weathered economic downturn better than most other states. unemployment here is just 5.2%. that's thanks in large part to a technology boom in the southern part of the state. but in the north it's a very different story told tonight by nancy cordes. >> reporter: nestled between the white mountains and the canadian border is berlin, new hampshire, known as the city that trees built. 10,000 people live here. >> ketchup. >> reporter: when nancy malone was growing up, berlin was a thriving lumber mill town. >> it was booming. the houses were full. the streets were full. the restaurants were full. >> reporter: but in the past ten years it's become cheaper to make paper overseas and

unemployment here spiked over 10%. >> we're struggling. we're struggling with premiums and we're struggling with house payments, we're struggling with jobs, we're struggling. >> reporter: this river used to be lined with paper mills, but just about all of them have either shut down or been destroyed, taking with them thousands of jobs, residents, and a sense of stability. >> i make one-third of what i used to make and i'm working 25 hours a week. >> reporter: former mill worker louis cote wants the presidential candidates to know what it's like to work part time and try to pay a mortgage. romney, huntsman, and paul all visited berlin, but just for a few hours. >> they don't know the little guy. they've never had to live like the little guy. i'm sure that their houses are worth a lot more than $100,000, every one of them. .> reporter: the city is trying to reinvent itself. a new federal prison is about to start hiring and an old mill is being converted into a power plant fueled by discarded lumber.

so when these undecided voters went to the polls today, there was more at stake for them than just a primary horse race. >> when you look at this presidential election, do you have any hope that maybe somebody will enter office who's going to make a difference in your life? >> it's a very strong hope. it's not a hope, it's a prayer. >> the years and years i... my wife and i made plans because... i could see what this place could be. >> reporter: they just hope the candidates have the same vision. nancy cordes, cbs news, berlin, new hampshire. >> pelley: that's our special western edition of the "cbs evening news" from manchester, new hampshire. for all of us at cbs news, all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs

captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. animal rights activists attack the firebombing at california's biggest beef producer. why they say it was more than arson. >> it's a wasteland of rundown barracks. the grand plans to turn around east bay eyesore into a working waterfront creating thousands of jobs. taseed at the airport. why a man was shocked over lost luggage of the. the polls are closed in new hampshire and mitt romney is two for two. >> thank you, new hampshire! tonight we made history! >> whoo! [ applause and cheers ] >> as the results roll in, romney is holding on to