[Burnett:] We start the second half of our show with stories we care about where we focus on our own reporting, do the work and find the "OutFront 5". Number one tonight, we are live from New Hampshire ahead of tomorrow's GOP primary and Mitt Romney seems to be the man to beat. Rivals have been going after the front runner today after he said he'd quote, "Likes to be able to fire people" while talking about health insurance companies. Romney's senior adviser Russ Schriefer came OUTFRONT tonight, he says he doesn't regret that Romney said that because it was an important point about health insurance. Schriefer said he'd like Romney to win in New Hampshire by more than he won in Iowa, by just eight votes. They're trying to set the bar low to make sure they can clear it. Number two, a former Army soldier has been charged with attempting to support the Islamic terror group al-Shabaab. A law enforcement source told OUTFRONT it's not believed Craig Benedict backed some compromised military information. The 24 year old was trained in cryptology. He was stopped in Kenya. The FBI says he was trying to get into Somalia to join the terror group. Number three, Joe and Sue Paterno donated $100,000 to Penn State University just weeks after the longtime coach was fired. Our Sara Ganim told us the gift was evenly split between the Paterno Library and the Paterno Fellow's Program, which helps fund research and internships. Penn State's board of trustees fired the 85-year-old Paterno in November following sex abuse allegations against the former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Number four: consumer borrowing surged by $20 billion in November, one of the biggest numbers in the Federal Reserve report was the jump in revolving credit, $5.6 billion. That is the biggest jump since March 2008. Revolving credit in English everyone, that's credit card debt, probably for holiday gifts. One analyst told OUTFRONT the willingness to spend and take on debt will likely stay subdued. For the next few months especially after that splurge. Well, it has been 157 days since the U.S. lost its top credit rating. Thanks to borrowing too much. What are we doing to get it back? Well, Europe is going to drive on sentiment here. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy met today and pushed European leaders to reach an agreement on new rules for the E.U. by the beginning of March. Like we said, we believe it when we finally see it. Well, he's calling himself the underdog. Jon Huntsman, though, has been moving up very quickly in the polls here in New Hampshire. The former Republican governor of Utah who also severed as President Obama's ambassador to China is now in third place in the Granite State according to the latest Suffolk University7 News poll. Now, he's also making a move on Intrade. This is a really neat thing if you don't know about it. Basically, you can go online and make bets on, well, everything from hurricanes to wheat crops, but also on what candidate will win the GOP nomination. He's now taken second place behind Mitt Romney in that race. The primary is tomorrow. So, can he do in New Hampshire what Rick Santorum did in Iowa? Jon Huntsman and his wife Mary Kaye stopped by our set a short time ago and I asked them what would define victory for them tomorrow.
[Jon Huntsman , Presidential Candidate:] Whatever you set as expectations, Erin, we've got to exceed that. And I can't tell you from a quantitative standpoint what that means in terms of one, two, three or four. You set the expectation, you set the bar. We've got to find tomorrow that we exceed that.
[Burnett:] And somebody had said you'd have to kind of, you know, a hit in the park sort of a headline to really get the momentum that you need going forward. Is that true? Or when you just said one, two, three or four, any of the above are OK for the Huntsman campaign to keep going?
[J. Huntsman:] Well, to keep going, we've got to exceed expectations. I'd love an out of the ballpark moment. That would be great. You know, New Hampshire has had a lot of out of the ball park moments. I don't know what tomorrow night is going to bring. But everybody hopes for that. And to that end, we've invested a lot of time and effort into this state, 170 public events. Our messaging has been right on in terms of talking about the economic deficit and trust deficit. It really is connecting with the people in the state. But more than that, they feel your heart and soul and that's what's important to the people in New Hampshire.
[Burnett:] Let me ask you about something going on today between you and Mitt Romney. First of all, here's what Mitt Romney had to say about jobs and liking to fire people. Here he is.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means that if you don't like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.
[Burnett:] All right. I don't know if he was joking or not, but here's what you said earlier today on the campaign trial in response.
[J. Huntsman:] I will always put my country first. It seems that Governor Romney believes in putting politics first. Governor Romney enjoys firing people. I enjoy creating jobs.
[Burnett:] Now, do you think that was entirely fair or I mean, it seems like he was trying to make a joke like about liking to fire the cable or the insurance guy?
[J. Huntsman:] Well, he said he enjoys firing people. I think at a point in time where we are hit by joblessness in this country, it's very painful for a lot of families moms and dads, kids, homes and communities. We ought to be talking about job creation, and about opportunities.
[Burnett:] So even if he was joking, you don't think it was funny.
[J. Huntsman:] Well, the context in which it was delivered, you know, people are going to take out of that, that comment about liking to fire people. And I'm not sure that's the kind of tone that this country's looking for right now in our next leader.
[Burnett:] Mary Kaye, let me ask you. When you thought a lot about this campaign. And, obviously, you've done incredibly well, you've got the momentum on your side right now in New Hampshire. But obviously, when you look ahead at the polls in South Carolina and Florida, it's 1 percent, 2 percent. What do you think is the reason for that? Is that the fault of the Republican Party that the Republican Party won't look closely enough at your husband or is that the campaign's fault?
[J. Huntsman:] Careful.
[Mary Kaye Huntsman, Wife Of Presidential Candidate Jon J. Huntsman:] I think it's beginning to come full circle. I think when he first got into this race, he was immediately dismissed because he had crossed party lines. And I think he addressed that beautifully yesterday by saying he will always put his country first. And I don't think that's an issue anymore.
[Burnett:] Let's listen to that change in the debate with David Gregory, between yourself and Governor Romney. Here it is.
[Romney:] The person who should represent our party running against President Obama is not someone who called him a remarkable leader and went to be his ambassador in China.
[J. Huntsman:] This nation is divided, David, because of attitudes like that.
[Burnett:] Let me ask you. When you took the job with President Obama, why did you do it? Did you like a lot of independents in this country, believe in him at that time?
[J. Huntsman:] I believed in my country and he was the president of my country. I've always felt that way. I mean, people were to say, well, that was a great plan to set yourself up to run for president of the United States. I'd say nonsense. Why would anybody leave a job as governor, I'd just been reelected with 80 percent of the vote, to work with somebody of the competing political party all the way in China? It's because I believe in my country first, sincerely. That's at my core and that's the philosophy I'll take to my grave. If there's an opportunity to do something good for your country, I'm going to be there. That's the policy that I was raised with.
[Burnett:] Your adopted Chinese daughter, Gracie, we've talked about this before, on a postage stamp, which we're going to show our viewers, one of the 10 most well-known people in Guangzhou. Let me ask you this question though because I think a lot of people, there have been some, you know, inappropriate ads as Ron Paul called them himself, about your family. But a lot of people probably are curious. What made you make the decision to adopt two more children and to adopt from China and from India, Mary Kaye?
[M.k. Huntsman:] As Jon likes to say, we had a little more love to give. Actually, the first time that we thought about it, I was pregnant with our third child, Lee, and we were living in Taiwan, and went up to the steps of the Catholic orphanage and wanted to go in. I didn't speak their language, but I motioned I wanted to come in and see these babies. And I went home that day and I said, some day, we've got to do this. And I remember him saying to me, some day, maybe not right now as I was pregnant with number three. So, we went on and we had more children. And the interesting thing about our story that I think anyone that's adopted has had some amazing story that they can't quite explain. But on May 19th, 1999, he said to me, I'm finally warming up to the idea of this Chinese baby. And we went through the whole process and finally got a call from China. We said when was she born? May 19th, 1999. I'll never forget that. I thought, they've found our little girl. It was such an extraordinary experience with Gracie May that we said, you know what? Let's do it one more time and let's go to India and take another little child. So they've been the greatest gifts to our family and all my children now say they want to go adopt. And my adopted children say, I want to do the same thing.
[Burnett:] And what about them in school? I know it's got to be hard because you're here. How has that worked out? I know this is a personal question. But I'm just curious personally.
[M.k. Huntsman:] With the campaign?
[Burnett:] Right, with the campaign.
[M.k. Huntsman:] It works great. We have a big family and with our girls that people are beginning to see out on the trail, we have juggled quite a bit. So, they're there watching sometimes and we do we go back and forth. They have been so supportive. Gracie is so excited and Jon calls her his senior foreign policy adviser, 12 years old. And the 6-year-old, all she says is daddy's running for a surprise. So, they're very excited.
[Burnett:] That's what she says?
[M.k Huntsman:] They're excited.
[J. Huntsman:] She doesn't quite understand what's going on. But she knows it's a big surprise.
[Burnett:] She has caught the most important concepts.
[J. Huntsman:] Right.
[Burnett:] Before we go, South Carolina assuming that this is not a state for you, what about Florida? I know that's where you're from, Mary Kaye, and originally, your campaign headquarters were in Florida.
[J. Huntsman:] That's right.
[Burnett:] Florida is, you're going to be in Florida no matter what, is that true?
[J. Huntsman:] We've got to move this market in New Hampshire. We've got to win exceeding market expectations tomorrow night. That will keep us ahead of steam moving into South Carolina and then on to Florida. That's just the way it works. You've got to prove to people that you can nail that intangible called electability. That will cause more finances to come in. It strengthens your volunteer base, that people come out and they want to help.
[Burnett:] And you just had your best fundraising day ever.
[J. Huntsman:] Absolutely.
[Burnett:] Yes, right?
[J. Huntsman:] And with each passing hour of the day, we're probably going to have another one. Yes.
[Burnett:] How much?
[J. Huntsman:] Don't know. I don't know what the numbers are, but I suspect today and tomorrow and depending upon how tomorrow night goes, it could be a bonanza.
[Burnett:] Bonanza.
[M.k. Huntsman:] But there's excitement on the ground, that's what you know, what we feel and we see. And you know that energy when you feel it.
[Burnett:] All right. Governor Huntsman and Mary Kaye Huntsman, thanks so much to both of you. Good to see you.
[Huntsman:] Thanks for having us.
[Burnett:] Good luck. I hope that you get just a little bit of rest.
[Huntsman:] Thanks.
[Burnett:] Good to see you. All right, pretty clear telegraph there that New Hampshire was a must win to get any further for Huntsman. And we'll check with Anderson Cooper. Anderson, what's on "A.C. 360" tonight?
[Anderson Cooper, Host, "a.c. 360":] Erin, keeping them honest tonight. With just hours remaining until the first votes cast in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney obviously in the lead, his opponents he's in his opponents' crosshairs. The target: jobs. Tonight, in their own words, the candidate's claims and we're keeping them honest with the facts. In crime and punishment, 21-year-old month Ayla Reynolds has been missing from her Maine home for more than three weeks now. Police suspect foul play. Tonight, only on "360," bombshell from her grandmother. That interview ahead tonight, and those stories and tonight's "Ridiculist" at the top of the hour, Erin.
[Burnett:] Anderson, any hint on the bomb? So, I've been following that case, too. Just amazing.
[Cooper:] Well, the grandmother tells CNN she didn't hear anything that night. She didn't hear anything that night because she wasn't home that night, but she gave a different impression days earlier. It's a story full of, as you know, full of twists and turns with all the latest tonight.
[Burnett:] Yes. All right, well, looking forward to that, Anderson. See you in a couple of moments. In the meantime, New Hampshire is ground zero for one of the most amazing trends in this country politically and that is the I's. Forty percent of Americans consider themselves independent voters. So, which candidate has the most to gain from them tomorrow and come November? And then, oh, no, where did it go? My cigar. We smoke out the truth about the New Hampshire vote at a cigar bar named Castro's.