CNN news 2012-01-07 加文本

cnn news 2012-01-07

CARL AZUZ, HOST, cnn STUDENT NEWS: Last week an entire day vanished somewhere out in the Pacific Ocean. You`re going to find out why in the next 10 minutes. I`m Carl Azuz, this is cnn Student News, the Iowa caucuses, the big U.S. political story this week, yesterday, Republican presidential candidates made their final push for support.

FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He was going to get everyone back to work. He was going to repair the nation and repair the world. Extraordinary promises -- but there`s a huge gap between the promise and the delivery.

FORMER REP. NEWT GINGRICH, R-GA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At the election level, I think I`m the only person who can take on Obama`s billion-dollar campaign and defeat him head-to-head in debates in a decisive way.

GOV. RICK PERRY, R-TEXAS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This election is about stopping a President of the United States and his administration that is abusing the Constitution of this country, that is putting America on a track to bankruptcy. And, folks, we are going to take America back.

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, R-MINN., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I want to do, too, is bring down the price of a gallon of gas. Gasoline was $1.79 a gallon the day that Barack Obama became president. We can get it back to that again because the United States is the number one energy resource-rich nation in the world.

REP. RON PAUL, R-TEXAS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If liberty is the most important issue, the most important responsibility of government is to protect liberty, and not to be the policeman of the world and not to have a runaway welfare state.

FORMER SEN. RICK SANTORUM, R-PA., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president is the most dangerous commander in chief we`ve seen since Jimmy Carter. And that`s why this election is not just about the economy. It is about the security of our country, and we need a leader who understands how to make that security for each and every one of you.

AZUZ: All right. That`s what the Republican candidates were doing yesterday. But what about the voters? What happened when they gathered for those caucuses? Tom Foreman explains how this process works in Iowa.

TOM FOREMAN, cnn REPORTER (voice-over): When the Democrats do it, there is debate, horse trading, a real raucous caucus. But the Republican caucuses all around the state are much more low-key.

Step one, show up. Any voter can take part as long as he or she is already a registered Republican or willing to become one at the door.

Step two, listen up. After the Pledge of Allegiance, caucusgoers hear speeches from people representing the candidates. They can be from in- state or out, big names or small town folks. They make a quick pitch for their pick.

Step three, mark it up. Pieces of paper are passed out, attendees write down a candidate`s name and the ballots are collected. It is more or less a secret vote, depending on the formality of that caucus site.

And step four, count them up. The votes are added and a winner is declared.

FOREMAN: That`s about it. Delegates to the national convention will be chosen later, and they`re not bound to the results of the caucus. So it`s really more like a high-powered poll. And yet many political analysts say it really does matter.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Because candidates who finish at or near the top are often given credit for having stronger organizations, more solid core support and better chances at winning in other states down the line -- Tom Foreman, cnn, Washington.

AZUZ: Well, as you can see, it is a busy newsroom behind me. And when we recorded today`s show, the Iowa caucus results hadn`t come in yet. To get them, go to cnnstudentnews.com, check out the "Spotlight" section and click on "cnn Election Center." That`s where you can see the results, find out how the candidates did, and you`ll hear us discuss that tomorrow on cnn Student News.