Video: Can Gingrich momentum roll in Florida?

>> is moderator of "meet the press" and chuck todd is the political director and chief white house correspondent in tampa at the site of tonight's republican debate. good morning to you both.

>> good morning.

>> david , in that piece we hear newt gingrich saying he raised more than $1 million in less than 24 hours following the win in south carolina . i know that money will come in handy. do we have any idea how much it will cost the candidates now that the campaign has taken a dramatic turn? how much they will spend in the state of florida ?

>> it's what they will spend and what a the super pacs on their behalf will spend as well. if you're newt gingrich you're relying on debates. paid advertising has got to play a role. he's got to rely on momentum taking him in to florida at this point. i don't think he can go toe to toe with mitt romney 's funds from his own campaign and his own super pac to make an impact in such a tv-rich state.

>> chuck, i watched you on the roundtable yesterday. one thing that struck me is how few people seemed to give newt gingrich a realistic chance of winning the nomination. i know the pundits counted the guy out on a couple of occasions.

>> right.

>> is that risky?

>> i think you're right. it is risky. when you look at where the republican electorate is, they are looking for a conservative. not the most electable candidate but a conservative. mitt romney hasn't successfully made the case. with gingrich , you hear all of the back room chatter that there will be this whatever it takes to, quote, stop gingrich . you have members of the house leadership who think, look what gingrich did when he was essentially on the ballot in '96 and '98. he helped re-elect a democratic president and almost cost them the house when he was in charge. there is panic he could lose the presidency, lose control of the house and blow their chances at picking up the senate. that's why a panic that the establishment will do whatever it takes to stop him. even find a new candidate.

>> because of momentum the debate takes on more significance. it's safe to say mitt romney is wounded after south carolina . what do you expect to hear from him in the debate?

>> peter alexander 's report and interview were quite telling. this is a different mitt romney . mike murphy , republican strategist, said to me yesterday romney is in a corner with a broken bottle in his hand. he has to decide if he'll fight or be overtaken by gingrich . this is not a candidate who's been defined by that willingness to really fight in the course of a campaign. he's not in fighting shape. he has to be soon. he has to draw bright contrasts. he's up against something powerful here. he's running as a populist with a lot of insider credentials. that's the calling card of the grief-stricken right right now. the element of the conservative party . that's what he's going to have to contend with in these debates and in florida .

>> the issue of tax returns , mitt romney will release them tomorrow. does that take it off the table as a subject during the debate tonight?

>> a tiny bit. you heard gingrich himself to david on "meet the press" saying it may take it off the table. let's see what's in there. what is it that was in these tax returns that made mitt romney say at a debate, hey, you know, i'm worried about beating president obama . what's he worried about? what's in there? there is something to that. and when you go even by the president bush standard when he was candidate bush he released ten years before taking the oath of office . this isn't fully going away but it sounds like gingrich is willing to have it go away for a little while, at least from what he told david .

>> guys, thank you very much. just a reminder, you can see the nbc news republican debate tonight on a special edition of "rock center" with brian williams on nbc. it's

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46098263/

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