"Face the Nation" transcript: April 1, 2012

Vice President Joe Biden talks about the 2012 presidential race with Bob Schieffer in Milwaukee on March 29. (CBS News)

BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, but I mean, when he says that, I mean just-- just to be the devil's advocate here, I mean, it's-- nobody ever gets much done in an election year, in Washington. I mean, that's-- that's pretty much a true fact. It wasn't that really just stating the obvious, I mean, it's embarrassing.

NEWT GINGRICH: Look--

BOB SCHIEFFER: I mean, I think--

NEWT GINGRICH: Look, I-- I don't know. The-- the last time we had an open-mic incident with a foreign leader, it was Sarkozy complaining about Prime Mister Netanyahu of Israel, and Obama actually sort of trumping him and saying it's even worse I have to deal with him every day. And it was a very derogatory reference to Israel. And if I were the Israelis, and I was watching this President wander around the planet, I'd be a little worried and I would want to know, what-- what he's going to be like after the re-election. I-- I also think, if you look at his policies, he will be more radical. And this by the way, is-- is a President whose environmental protection agency declared war on coal this week, and-- and despite Vice President Biden's effort to-- to apologize for it, his attack on the Catholic Church is certainly seen by the Catholic bishops as a direct frontal assault on their religious liberty and they do not agree with the Vice President's interpretation of that kind of a radical assault.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Do you think it's-- it's good politics so for Republicans to be sort of campaigning against birth control, I mean, I take your points on the Catholic side of it.

NEWT GINGRICH: Nobody is campaigning. This is-- this is a canard. Nobody is campaigning against birth control. And nobody is blocking the young lady who testified from having access to birth control. The question is, first of all, the Obama rule includes abortifications, things that lead to abortions, not just birth control. And second you can have total freedom as an individual without having to coerce a church or a synagogue into doing something against its religious beliefs. I mean, the real question is does the government of the United States--just as in Obamacare generally, does the government of the United States have the power to coerce religious institutions against their religious beliefs? That's a pretty fundamental question.

BOB SCHIEFFER: You know, I-- I want to talk a little politics and personal politics about you.

NEWT GINGRICH: All right.

BOB SCHIEFFER: You-- and I'm going to say in the beginning, I have learned my lesson about counting you out in this campaign. I-- I think I declared you dead about twice, and-- and both times you-- you came back alive and were still in there. But right now, it looks to me like it's going to be very difficult for you. I mean, Sheldon Adelson, who gave you ten million dollars or gave your Super PAC ten million said the other day, he thinks you have reached the end of the line, I mean, where do you go from here?

NEWT GINGRICH: Well I think we keep campaigning and-- and Governor Romney, as he himself said in the clip that you used, had says he has to earn the eleven hundred and forty-four. We're not going to concede it to him. You know, Kansas last night set the second record for coming from behind. They were down nine points at the half. That is the second biggest margin to come back from in the final four series. So, I'm going to take Kansas as a model. St. Louis last year was ten-and-a-half games out with twenty-eight games going against as an Atlanta Braves fan that was a very painful lesson. If Governor Romney gets to eleven forty-four not counting by the way disputed delegates in Arizona, Florida and Idaho, but if he gets to eleven forty-four, he will be the nominee.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Will you then endorse him at that point.

NEWT GINGRICH: Absolutely. I will do everything I can to help elect him. If Rick Santorum becomes the nominee, I'll help him. And I believe both of them would tell you, if I became the nominee they'd help me. We are all committed to defeating Barak Obama. We think his re-election would be a disaster for the country.