[Malveaux:] All right. Most polls, they have been open across New Hampshire for about six-and-a-half hours now. Voters are expected to hand former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney his second victory tonight. David Gergen is joining us. So, I don't know if a record turnout will make a difference or not. Certainly not in the case of Romney, because we already know he's first place. But what about second place?
[David Gergen, Cnn Political Analyst:] It could make a difference, because you've got motivated Ron Paul voters who could turn out, a lot of Independents. But Jon Huntsman is also appealing to that. And those are the two guys who are fighting for second. So you'll have to see.
[Malveaux:] And what about those all of the undeclared, the Independents? About 40 percent, the polls are showing. Which way are they going to go?
[Gergen:] Well, I think there's a real difference between Iowa and New Hampshire in that there's much more unemployment in New Hampshire and much many fewer Evangelicals, so that the Romney appeal to "I'm the job creator" gives him the inside track, as well as having home field advantage, in effect.
[Malveaux:] Let's talk a little bit about that. Bain Capital, that's going to be very important to Romney. It's already very much a hot- button issue, his role in this company that bought and sold companies, and whether or not he is a job creator or a job killer. Here's how Romney described his own fear about losing his job.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I know what it's like to worry whether you're going to get fired. There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip. And I care very deeply about the American people.
[Malveaux:] All right. So that didn't really square with some folks who thought, oh, come on, really?
[Gergen:] Yes.
[Malveaux:] He's going to be just fine here.
[Gergen:] Yes, listen, he just shouldn't have look, I was the son of privilege, I went to very elite schools, I've been very blessed in my life and I really want to help others. That ought to be his pitch, not, oh, I was worried about getting fired.
[Malveaux:] Yes. And Governor Rick Perry, he took it one step further. I want you to listen to how he responded to this.
[Gergen:] Sure.
[Gov. Rick Perry , Presidential Candidate:] And I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips, whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out, because his company, Bain Capital, with all the jobs that they killed, I'm sure he was worried that he would run out of pink slips.
[Malveaux:] So, the DNC, David, is already traipsing out these folks who lost their jobs under his reign. How important is this narrative about whether he was someone who helped people and created jobs or someone who killed the jobs?
[Gergen:] It's potentially very, very important. I don't think it's going to slow down the Romney train or derail Romney right now in New Hampshire today, and indeed in South Carolina. But it is potentially the area where he could that's his strength. He's coming from a position of attacking Obama on the economy. If he's shown to be a job destroyer, that will hurt him. But let me just say, I live in Boston now. I have been around, worked with Bain Capital for a number of years. I actually was on the board of a company that we sold to Bain Capital. And I'll tell you, I voted for selling it, too, because Bain Capital had such a good reputation in Boston as a company that could come in and help shore up the companies that bought and invested in them. They were not regarded as corporate raiders. They were not regarded as these sort of tycoons coming in. Just the opposite. And I must say, many of the partners at Bain Capital are some of the biggest philanthropists in New England.
[Malveaux:] So, in your opinion, it's getting a bad rap?
[Gergen:] I think it's getting a bad rap. I have no doubt that opponents can find individual companies where you could make a terrible story, but if you look at the overall record, or look at Domino's Pizza, or look at Staples, I've talked to the CEO of Staples. He told me, "Look, without Mitt Romney, we wouldn't have built this company."
[Malveaux:] Let's talk a little bit about the contest here, because having covered Iowa, New Hampshire, on the Democratic side, with Barack Obama, I was able to see somebody who developed, right, as a candidate who at first was unfocused, uninspiring, to someone who really motivated and ultimately became a historic leader.
[Gergen:] Right.
[Malveaux:] And went on to win. But he had months and months and months of knockdown, drag-out battles with Hillary Clinton. And it finally ended, all in June. Does Mitt Romney by if he goes quickly and succeeds too quickly, by being unchallenged, does he miss out on the opportunity to grow and become a stronger candidate when he goes up against Obama in the general election?
[Gergen:] It's a good question. I think it's a tradeoff. On balance, I would have to tell you he's far better off to wrap this thing up quickly and unite the Republican Party behind him. And he's been out for five years now. He's had a lot of time to prepare. As a debater, I think he's a very good debater. He's having trouble on the stump, just on his impromptu remarks and his speeches. I went to a rally of his in New Hampshire. And I can tell you, Suzanne, having gone up there and watched Hillary and Obama four years ago, there was an electricity in the air. Big crowds, enthusiastic crowds. The Romney rally where Chris Christie spoke was actually a very, very quiet, sort of calm affair. It was nice, it was dignified, but it didn't have any of that punch that you and I remember from four years ago.
[Malveaux:] Right.
[Gergen:] And I do think he's got a lot of work to do as a candidate if he's going to appeal to people, connect with people emotionally.
[Malveaux:] It says something about that enthusiasm factor. And I wonder, too, with these two personalities, if you have a Mitt Romney against President Barack Obama, you know, as a candidate, Obama was very exciting, very passionate, very interesting. As someone who governs, not as much. And so it's going to be interesting to see those two personalities come up against each other. And do they motivate the voters this go- around?
[Gergen:] In very different ways. I think Barack Obama is trying to re-light fires that have gone out for many people. And by the way, I think he's very good at this. He does better at campaigning than he does at governing. That's his strength. So I think he'll be better at it. Romney still has I think he has a lot of work to do. Where I do think Romney will do well is in the debates. They have three presidential debates. And they are often, as you know, especially in a close election, can't be determinative. My expectation is we're going to have a very close election. And I think right now you'd have to say Obama's got a slight edge, but this could change very quickly again.
[Malveaux:] It's going to be an exciting year. All right, David. Good to see you.
[Gergen:] Thank you, Suzanne. All eyes of course on New Hampshire tonight as the new political year is heating up. Make the best choice for politics, CNN's "America Choice 2012." Join my friends and colleagues Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, and John King for live coverage of the New Hampshire primary, CNN tonight, beginning at 7:00 Eastern. But first, free money advice from the CNN Help Desk.
[Poppy Harlow, Cnn.com:] Time now for the Help Desk, where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Donna Rosato is the senior editor of "Money" magazine; Jack Otter is the executive editor of CBSMoneyWatch.com. Thank you both for being here. I appreciate it. Donna, the first question for you comes from Mike in Mesa, Arizona. Mike says, "My wife and I both have good credit scores." They've got a 30-year fixed mortgage, six percent interest rate. What should they consider before refinancing?
[Donna Rosato, Sr. Editor, "money":] It's always worth considering refinancing if you can lower your interest rate at least one percent, by one percentage point. And, of course, if you have a six percent, today interest rates are averaging four percent. So, it seems like a slam dunk, but that's not really the only thing you should consider. It's really important to plan for how long you're going to be in that house. Refinancing costs thousands of dollars, averaging, like, $5,000. So if you're not going to be in the home at least five years, it's going to be hard to recoup those costs. But if you are planning to stay in that home for at least that long, it could be well worth it. Shop around, see what you qualify for. You want to make sure you qualify for the lowest rates, because you're going to save the most money over time. You might even consider resetting to a 15-or-20-year loan. The payments aren't that much more, but you can save really tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.
[Harlow:] That's a very good point. Jack, your question comes from William in Kentucky. William is a 24- year-old grad student with a small income, and he's asking, "How should I start investing for retirement?" Well, props to him, right, for thinking about it this early on?
[Jack Otter, Executive Editor, Cbsmoneywatch.com:] It is fabulous. People don't realize the huge benefits you get from starting the compounding now rather than waiting until he's 30 or 34. So, I would say open a brokerage account at a Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard. It's very easy, because they want your money. So they're going to make it easy. And open a Roth IRA. He can contribute up to $5,000 a year if he's making that much. You can contribute up to your income. And I would invest that money in just three mutual funds: the total U.S. stock market, the total global stock market outside the U.S., and then the total bond market. There are index funds that track those. You can put an equal amount in each. Don't get tricky, try to time the market, or buy individual stocks or any of that stuff. If he can contribute to those over the next 40 years, he will be in great shape.
[Harlow:] Sure, because as history and human nature shows, investors tend to the average Joe tends to buy high and sell low. Don't do that.
[Otter:] Exactly. Don't touch it. Put money in every month, and he'll be beating most of the pros.
[Harlow:] All right. Thank you, guys, very much. If you've got a question you want answered, send us an e-mail any time to CNNHelpDesk@CNNN.com.