we turn to detroit. largest city in the other state voting on tuesday, michigan mitt romney gave a hyped economic speech at ford field yesterday. hoping for some grand sivenlism but managing symbolism he delivered a speech against an entirely empty backdrop, the end of the speech got a lot of attention when mr. romney talked about the cars, plural, that he owns. >> this feels good being back in michigan. you know? the trees are the right height. the streets are just right. i like the fact that most of the cars i see are detroit made automobiles. i drive a mustang and a chevy pickup truck and ann drives a couple of cadillacs, actually. and i used to have a dodge truck. so i used to have all three covered. >> just a cup of caddies. a poll taken before he told his wife drives a couple of cadillacs has romney leading santorum by two points. 13% for ron paul and 8% for newt gingrich. santorum had taken a lead in michigan so romney has stormed back. since the economic crisis, detroit, the setting for that spee

the mayor of detroit has been a democrat. so when you blame the economy, don't you have to look in the mirror? and my second point is because no one helped destroy michigan and detroit more so than the democratic party and unions that demanded too much. my second point is everybody keeps saying what obama inherited. people forget obama was in the u.s. senate for four years. he has supported policies like trying to -- now you're saying that the cars have to have 55 miles per gallon. what is that going to do to detroit? that's going to help destroy itr a profit. >> all right. let's get the congressman to respond. two issues there. he said democrats are responsible. >> over the last 10 years. that's the result of many factors. number one the housing crisis. because we didn't properly regulate the housing industry, we allowed homs to go under foreclosures. we allowed people to become victims of predatory loans. also, too, it was the state's misguided takeover of the detroit public school system that resulted in many good schools

hitting mitt romney for having been the let detroit go bankrupt don't save detroit, let detroit die politician, back in 2008. back when it counted. he wasn't in congress like the other people, he was a free lance commentator urging the country to kill detroit. when the decision was being made and it counted, mitt romney was to kill detroit. >> his message was clear. >> let detroit go bankrupt. >> mitt romney. >> my hometown is on the way back. mitt romney said let detroit go bankrupt. i'm grateful our country didn't listen. we need a president who will stand by us all when times are tough. >> for mitt romney to say something like this i'm appalled. >> disgusting. >> it says that he doesn't care. >> in mitt romney's world. >> don't give them money let detroit go bankrupt. >> the companies shouldn't be given money up front. >> he would have turned his back on us in the depths of the recession. >> those are some of the ads running in michigan right now ahead of tomorrow's primary. this is one of those cases where it is about the fine print. if you look at the fine print on all the ads, what is th

joining us live from detroit is nolan finley the editorial editor of the detroit news. i want to share with you a couple of thought. you've been writing a number of opinion pieces which are available on the detroit news website and one that was published today in order for mitt romney to win he must convey a vision and that seems to be one of the issues that has dogged mitt romney from the beginning. why is he running? what will he bring to the white house? >> one of the problems he has. he has not been able to be himself in the primary. he's been so far to the right appeal to republican primary voters that he hasn't been entirely comfortable about talking about his vision for america and he's more of a, has more of a businessman's approach, a pragmatist what have you. these voters that converted to rick santorum they talk about he has a vision. he can articulate his ideas and his philosophy. that's something romney has to work on. >> well as you pointed out in our earlier conversation it was the governor of michigan who in an editorial today outline his support for mit

detroit. that's what the president has done, and that's why michigan's going to support him in november. >> host: congressman, the polls showing a little bit different take on this issue of the auto bailout. doubtful of employment -- 51% of all of those polls disapprove of the federal government auto bailout. 31% of democrats disapprove, and 63% aproven of this, but crucial for obama's reelection, less than half, 45% of independents approve of the auto bailouts. is that a problem for the president? >> no, it's not. the reason why people will vote for the president and what they are concerned about is the overall health of the economy. they are doing better now than before. our economy's so much strong e and they see the benefit of increased jobs because of a stronger auto industry and a will the is because of political messaging. they may not appreciate how the economy's grown so much now. the spirit of the economy is growing as well, and that's because of the threat of its leadership. >> gues

this kill detroit, forget detroit, let detroit die, kill off the auto industry, i guess we don't need it. the republican primary is taking place on the context of the huge michigan rebirth. this boom, this economic success story, american economic triumph made possible because the government wouldn't let detroit die, because the government stepped in to save the industry. and both of these guys running michigan wish that had never happened. so how have michigan republicans responded to this? how have michigan republicans responded to the candidates on the wrong side of the rebirth? they don't care about it either. most recent nbc news poll, found michigan republicans oppose the successful auto industry bail out by a 50 to 42 point margin. in the context of the most important, most politically tinged economically success story, they're going la la la it's not happening. mitt romney talks about the trees are the right height how he loves cars in the be a strab. he has friends that own nascar teams. rick santorum says going to college is something only snobs do. that john f. kennedy's sp

detroit has a well-trained workforce. we have the property and the research universities to build more capacity and create more jobs. so he's working on rebuilding the city which will create jobs not only in michigan but throughout the country. host: we're taking your phone calls, e-mails and tweets here for congressman from michigan and we have -- we want to hear from you as well, locals from michigan. david, an independent in inglewood, new jersey. you're up next for congressman hanson clarke. go ahead. caller: yes. i think that congressman is living in a dream world. my first point and please don't cut me off, i'll be quick. my first point is democrats have controlled the state of michigan and the city of detroit for how many decades? two democratic senators, a democratic governor, the congressional delegation is majority democrat. the mayor of detroit has been a democrat. so when you blame the economy, don't you have to look in the mirror and my second point is because no one help destroy michigan and detroit more son

tavis: i like the example of detroit. i have been reading about what is happening which we population of not just african americans. how do you guard against- gentrification? that is to say, how do you guard against people feeling they are being pushed out? now that you can buy a home for $5, people are again being cast aside. how do you guard against that? >> in detroit, they will have to take a fair number of the residual homes and cluster them into a real community. you cannot have a community if it looks like a scrabble board of isolated blocks here and there. this is interesting. in san francisco, there was an area that had about 200 very poor families living in substandard housing. a developer came in and said, "i am going to build a 1000 unit of hi and housing." the city said they would like the revenue, but you are going to put 240 affordable homes in there, and put the people in decent housing while they wait to move in. it was a battle, but in the and, that is what happened. people's rights when the changes occu

comerica park, the home of the detroit tigers and ford field of course the detroit lions and we'll welcome a local panel. jack lessenberry, professor at wayne state university, a political analyst, long time political analyst. henry payne editor of the michigan view.com and bill ballenger, inside michigan politics. thank you for being here. jack, let's put the groundwork out there. how is this shaping up ahead of tuesday? >> well, it's shaping up as a race between mitt romney and rick santorum. it appears that romney may have pulled a little ahead and maybe the governor formed some the establishment, but you never know who is going to vote in the primary. >> henry, there seems to be a battle between the conservatives who may have a problem with mitt romney and have shifted to santorum and it seemed in recent days that perhaps romney made some headway getting people to come his way. >> i think it's smart on santorum's behalf. romney is a local boy, well-known here, entrepreneur, fits michigan's business culture and santorum, i think has done effectively, he's come into the tea party base an

that luncheon was moved to ford field after the other venues, the detroit -- the other venues the detroit economic club uses sold out in 90 minutes. it overwhelmed these venue, they can hold 500 or 600 people, it went past that in 90 minutes. somebody said let's move to ford field and sell 1,200 tickets. the chairman of the economic center is bill ford jr. who owns ford field. it was never intended to be full. it was a good crowd, there was a waiting list. democrats latched onto the idea he should have filled 65,000 seats, that's absurd. it was a successful speech for him. i sat at lunch afterwards with a couple of fellows who work in the auto industry, work for a supplier, and i canned them about romney's position on the bailout. they were completely opposed to his position on the bailout, disagreed with his depiction of how the bailout of the auto industry unfolded and then we said, then i asked them, well, who are you going to vote for on tuesday? they said, we're absolutely voting for romney. i'm not sure that disagroment on that position even in that speech has hurt his chances with

just three years ago, detroit's automakers lost a combined $62 billion. by 2011 after massive cuts, they rebounded to a combined profit of nearly $14 billion. >> detroit is operating much more like the rest of industrial america, much more rational about pricing production decisions. will this last forever? we'll see. >> reporter: after posting record annual profits, shares of general motors surged almost 6% today. a lot of investors moving into the stock. that's good news for the federal government which still owns 26.5% of general motors stock. they've got a long ways to go to recoup all the bailout money. that stock price would have to double before the government is made whole. >> phil lebeau from gm headquarters in detroit. thanks. >>> this comes from detroit just as the entire state of michigan is in play with the gop presidential primary coming up. tonight, there is new evidence that mitt romney, who was of course born in michigan, his father served as governor, can't necessarily count on home field advantage. he has now slipped behind challenger r

40 years. >> governor, i have family that live in detroit. my husband is from detroit. how can you stand for that kind of an answer with the man you have endorsed? >> well, no one's perfect. we all have our challenges. and on the common ground issues we agree. but as a practical matter, detroit's the sports city in the country. i mean we've got the tigers, the lions, the red wings, the pistons and we're just going to keep going. so if you want great sports, michigan's the place to be. >> i'll tell you my husband very excited about prince fielder. that pickup for the tigers that will take on the red sox any day. thank you, governor, so much for your time. >> i like that passion. thanks. it was great to be with you. thank you. >> thank you so much. we'll see you at the primary. >>> great conversation with the governor. but heading back to the northeast, new jersey governor chris christie is standing by his decision to fly state flags at half-staff for whitney houston's funeral this saturday. christie says he's disturbed by critics who in his words believe houston forfeite

detroit said let's do it again. >> bill: chrysler not everybody in detroit. but the point is that smart guys like mr. paul and karl rove, you would cede both of them are smart guys. they took it as a subliminal political message that the government in washington, giving taxpayer money to private industry to keep them from going down, was worthy and good. that's how they took it. >> that's right. >> you know, that's the beauty of subliminal ads. you can take it any way you want to. i turned to my dad and said is clinton eastwood announcing is he running for office? >> he was actually doing an ad he is joining the fray. >> bill: stimulus or bailout money didn't enter into your mind at all. >> no. >> bill: this is a fascinating discussion. so now eastwood, who i think tried to do a good thing, all right? would you both cede he tried to do a good thing? he is trying to get americans saying we are coming back. we're going to rally around. we have got bad times. we will work our way out of it like we have always done. this guy is getting hammered as an idealogue he

so what did mitt do today in detroit? he said it again. then to show he was a regular guy, he added that he owns a mustang, a chevy pickup and, here it comes, that his wife drives a couple of cadillacs. a couple of cadillacs. that will endear him to blue collar voters, won't it? republicans like jeb bush fear the election is slip away from them. the new nbc news battleground map suggests they may be right. mitt was in detroit to push his plan but the optics didn't help. check out the scene. 1200 people there at ford field where the lions play football which means romney addressed 65,000 empty seats. who is the guy's advance man on this one? doesn't help that romney opposed the auto bailout and that's wildly popular in michigan. plus, culture wars. the ultrasound bill in virginia, not to mention the recently dropped personhood bill there, threatens to reaffirm for millions of independent women that the gop has lurched too far to the right on issues important to them. and the oscars are sunday night. this year it looks like liberal hollywood

because detroit and metro detroit has been lacking in that for decades. so there's an opportunity to partner on that. what i would also say is, again, i would make the approach that there are better ways to do things than we currently do things with the prescriptive measures that you can find in some of the highway bills, though. compared to giving us more flexibility. we still have multiple situations where we may be making a great investment in a rest stop that we don't really need as opposed to a bridge. and the ability to have flexibility in making those decisions would be helpful to

i remember going to the detroit auto show with my dad. that was a big deal. people here in detroit are distressed. i want to make michigan stronger and better. michigan has been my home and this is personal. >> it maybe personal, but the auto bailout was personal for people, too, and that's exactly why new polls show romney trailing by 15 points in the michigan gop primary. joining me now is governor ed rendell, nbc and news political analyst and former dnc chairman, the mayor of lansing, michigan, mayor bernero. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> my pleasure. >> first, let start with you, ed. will the bailout be the defining issue for voters in the pry matter and general election? >> it will be huge, reverend, you are right on and right on with what you said. i mean, we fought like heck here in michigan for that auto rescue plan and the president came through and when the sos call came out from detroit and from michigan, not only was romney awol, he was in the opponents' corner, he was arguing against it he was there with the walters, the 1%er

detroit he said, needs a turn around, not a check. to his credit, he's been very consistent about that over the years. watch. >> throwing money at the auto industry is not going to help it long term. if you write a check that you are going to see them go out of business, what you can't do is send a big check. billions and billions of dollars was written to bail out the industry. the government was willing to write checks. the government wrote the checks, wasted money. i said don't write checks. don't just write them checks. don't write a check. >> keeping him honest, when he was running in the 2008 michigan primary, he was singing a different tune about help from washington. >> we better fix michigan and get michigan on track. anybody who comes in here, republican or democrat and says they want to help michigan say where have you been. >> the same day speaking outside of a gm plant, he said where is washington? are we going to let the entire automobile industry disappear and just say well, that was tough, it's just the way it is. an u

, detroit can [bleep]. luckily, i really hope the tv in the green room is off. luckily mitt romney has unleashed a brilliant new ad campaign to make michigan voters forget that entire article. >> i grew up in michigan. it was exciting to be here. i remember going to the detroit auto show with my dad. that was a big deal. people here in detroit are distressed. i want to make michigan stronger and better. michigan's been my home and this is personal. >> jon: wow, what a-- powerful and emotional way to connect to your home town. i-- of course like all things romney there are some caviars, i'm sorry, caveats. as it turns out, that photo in the ad of romney and his dad at the detroit auto show is actually him and his dad at the 1964 new york world fair. which apparently in romney's mind took place in queens's michigan, and the american car he is driving around is a chrysler 300 which is manufactured in canada. so and you won't be surprised he wasn't actually driving, he was in fact himself being driven. all righ

it's already working with the detroit, wayne county port authority to be part of a port revitalization plan. because of this partnership, the company estimates it will create 50 new jobs this year, so we're pleased that captain james is here tonight, along with his dad, john, and his brother, loren. so thank you, gentlemen, for being with us. so now let's discuss 2011. both in terms of accomplishments, initiatives started that we need to finish, and challenges. 2011 was the year to attack our legacy problems and to change course from downward to upward. the key targets were to create an environment that encourages job creation and to create a financially sound state government. i truly want to thank my partners in the state legislature. through partnership, we accomplished a lot. overall, we passed 323 public acts in 2011, but more important than quantity was quality. thank you so much. [ applause ] working together we passed a financially sound budget. we had to address $1.5 billion deficit that demanded tough decisions, and i appreciate all the shared sacrifices that people made. mic

, and he comes to us from detroit tonight. stephen welcome inside "the war room." i can see you with the background of detroit right in the middle of the political universe. it's exciting. >> that's right. all eyes are on us for the next couple of days. >> all eyes. it's very, very cool. let me start with the endorsement. so was it at all a hard decision supporting a guy who was so vocally against the auto bailout? >> yes, it was a tough call. as we pointed out in the editorial, there are a lot of things about mitt romney the candidate that we don't like and that are distinctive from mitt romney the governor of massachusetts, mitt romney the savior of the 2002 winter olympics, and the venture capitalist. he has refashioned himself in a way that is discomfortable in a lot of ways so there was a lot of debate about whether we could put the paper seal of approval on someone who is expressing some of the things he has expressed. >> i'm going to read one of the caveats you put in the endorsement. for the past 12 months romney has b

detroit is in wayne county. bloomfield hills, none of the house in that ad, i doubt there are houses that look like that in bloomfield hills. it's a wealthy suburb. >> he's got lots of money and he can buy his houses where he likes. that's got to be the beginning. you have to look at the money compared to santorum. mitt romney cannot let michigan get away from him. that could be catastrophic, wouldn't it? >> i think this nice, sunny ad we saw will not be the ads we're seeing in the next few weeks. they will be sharper. you saw what happened to newt gingrich in florida. that's what rick santorum has to figure out. can he whether that aggressive attack. >> thank you. a very happy valentine's day to the pair of you. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back. ♪ we were skipping stones and letting go ♪ [ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, rich dark chocolate, toasted oats. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients, from nature valley. ♪ nature valley granola bars, nature at its most deliciou

he had a fall in "the detroit news" this week. -- a follow-up in "the detroit news close with this week. >> santorum says the same thing. >> it is a primary, but who art they talking to? >> timing is everything. $6.7 billion profit, general motors. at the brink of bankruptcy, what was the intervening again? the bailout by the taxpayers, the citizens of the united states. now it is the most profitable auto company in the world. who oppose it? the native son of michigan on the eve of the michigan primary. >> he says that obama sold out to the union bosses. how does that help him in this primary? >> it doesn't. >> well, look, i supported the bailout, i thought it was a good idea, had to be done. the bush administration said it up so it would allow obama to make that choice, and it was the right decision. i supported tarp as well. the romney argument is a separate argument and it is complicated and he is losing on it because it is complex. he is idling that it should have gone to preprogrammed bankruptcy and the government interfered in a way that was quite lawless. the bondholders got scre

he was sentenced yesterday in detroit. danielle nottingham reports. >>> the nigerian man who tried to set off a bomb on a plane over detroit on christmas day in 2009 will spend the rest of his life behind bars. umar farouk abdul-mutallab called it a day of victory when he learned his sentence. the 25-year-old learned his fate four months, after admitting the failed terror attack was a suicide mission. >> al qaeda has lost once again. america has won once again. we always do. >> during thursday's hearing, prosecutors played a videotape showing the explosion that could have happened if the bomb had worked. an attorney appointed to help abdul-mutallab read a statement from the bomber's family. >> we strongly appeal to the american justice department to review the life sentence. >> but attorneys for the u.s. government argued abdul-mutallab attempted to kill 289 people and if relies if released shall he's likely to try another suicide mission. when he pled guilty last october, abdul-mutallab said his explosive laden underwear

he is a native son of detroit. he loves michigan an recently m equipme commitment. he said he would raise $1 million for the detroit symphony. he had a piece of paper in front of me. he had questions for me. he said, first of all, mitt, if you are elected president, will you help me help the state of michigan? i said i would. he said if you are elected president, will you help me help the city of detroit? i said i would. then i turned to him and said, by the way, i'm willing to do those things, would you come here and be willing to perform a concert for my friends? he said he would. i'm happy to introduce a son of detroit and a friend. a guy who inod dvd everywhere i go. kid rock. ♪ on ♪ riding high ♪ through the mountains ♪ climbing ♪ twisting ♪ turning ♪ further from my home ♪ like a new moon rising ♪ fears ♪ wandering ♪ out into this great unknown ♪ and i don't want no one ♪ to cry but tell me if i don't ♪ ♪ survive ♪ detroit ♪ i ♪ i was born free ♪ i was born free ♪ born free ♪ free ♪ like a river raging strong ♪ is

as clint eastwood said, detroit is showing us it can be done. so the "talk back" question -- have you changed your mind about the auto industry bailout? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> all right. thank you. >>> here's a rundown of some of the stories we are covering. first, we're expecting a ruling soon on california's same-sex marriage ban. and this -- >> reporter: here's one of the problems with trying to completely eradicate the python. you probably don't even know is. it's right here, a six footer. >> wow. these exotic pets are killing off entire species in south florida. we'll find out why it is so hard to stop them. >>> then, the giants of the super bowl get a massive welcome home in new york. my name is robin. i'm a wife, i'm a mom... and chantix worked for me. it's a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mo

. >> hello from detroit, thank you so much. it's great to be here. >> oh, did you not love that clint eastwood ad? was it just fantastic? >> i loved that clint east qood ad and it seems like everybody around the united states loved that ad, but especially here in michigan. you can imagine in the detroit the proud -- the proud -- the feelings that people have about what's been accomplished. i mean, there was so much at stake. and you hear karl rove really just out of step and a little bit off message there. i mean, even clint eastwood himself said, how could anybody not be for what the spirit of this ad was all about? the resilience, hard-working americans that needed really a hand up, not a handout and the obama administration saw to it to step in and to stick with these people. mitt romney, what did he say? >> right. >> he had four words. he said, let them go bankrupt. >> right. in fact, back on the ad for one moment, of course, sergio marquione, the head of chrysler said it was not political at all, just an ad about an indust