>>>
two
presidential politics
now. just four days until the
iowa caucuses
. tonight, our new nbc news marist poll showing
mitt romney
and
ron paul
are running neck and neck.
romney
drawing support
from 23% of likely caucus goers. paul just a few points behind at 21%.
rick santorum
is third at 15%.
newt gingrich
was moved to tears at one event today, has fallen to fifth place.
peter alexander
is in
des moines
with more. peter, good evening.
>> reporter:
harry, good evening. as you noted the frontrunners
mitt romney
and
ron paul
are so confident tonight
ron paul
said he plans to take weekend off.
mitt romney
is already campaigning in new hampshire tonight, the next state to vote, trying to shore up his support there.
mitt romney
continued trying to position himself as the presumptive republican nominee, directing much of his fire at the president.
>>
do you want more of
barack obama
?
>>
no!
>> reporter:
today turning to popular new jersey governor
chris christie
to help seal votes who offered a playful jab.
>>
you don't know what you're supposed to do on tuesday for
mitt romney
, i will be back jersey-style, people. i will be back.
>> reporter:
romney
deflected a question from nbc's
andrea mitchell
over whether or not he would release his
tax returns
.
>>
when i become president i will consider that. it's premature to talk about it at this stage.
>>
is there a secret? people know you're wealthy.
>>
i understand.
>>
there's nothing to hide.
>>
i agree.
>> reporter:
newt gingrich
is viewed by more than a third of
iowa caucus
goers as an unacceptable nominee. he got emotional at a forum for mothers while recalling his mom's
mental health
problems later in life.
>>
my expertise in
brain science
comes from dealing with -- got me emotional -- from dealing with the real problems with
real people
in my family.
>> reporter:
meanwhile
rick perry
intensified his criticism of
rick perry
over earmarks in congress.
>>
why did you ask the taxpayers of iowa to support a teapot museum in
north carolina
?
>> reporter:
michele bachmann
lost her political director thursday and was greeted by under well. ing crowds at events today.
>>
i guess we were just dropping in.
>> reporter:
ron paul
stayed on task with his solid base of supporters.
>>
when government gets too big, that's when we have to worry about our dangers.
>> reporter:
mitt romney
's son said he would release his
tax returns
as soon as
barack obama
released his birth certificate. he was accused of pandering to the extremists who still question whether the president was born.
romney
's son later apologized on twitter.
>>
peter alexander
in
des moines
tonight. thank you.
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