Will Reporters Be This Craven?

TPM Reader MJ gets the plan ...

Romneyworld is not pushing the 50% angle because they really believe it, clearly. They're pushing it because they know it will muddy the waters on the issue, since mainstream media reporters are constantly looking for their "balance" these days, and now the 13.9% or 15% reference will surely start being accompanied in press stories by "but Romney claims the figure is more like 45-50%." Conservative outlets and talk radio then start pushing Romney's angle, and I can hear it now, an exchange between Republican primary (or for that matter, general) voters - "can you believe Romney only paid 14% tax on all those millions?" "Nah, I heard that was wrong! It's more like 50%!" And the seeds of doubt are successfully sown, taking the power out of the 15% story.

Romney: Actually, I Kind of Pay 50% Tax

I'm pretty surprised that Mitt Romney's team let their guy go down this path. Or maybe it's just him. Stung by the 13.9% tax rate story and goaded on by some conservative columnists, Mitt Romney is now saying that his actual tax rate is "really closer to 45 or 50 percent."

The Quest for the Mantle of Saint Ron

In the absence of a validated shroud or holy relics, who's winning the all-important ex-Reagan staffer primary? Click here to find out.

Oooops. Brewer Story Not Holding Up Well

We're at 3 out of 4 now. The other witness to the alleged Brewer/Obama 'confrontation' says that the whole thing wasn't tense at all.

I keep hearing anchors at MSNBC and CNN repeating her story, even though both witnesses now say on the record that her story is bunk. What's up with that? Chuck? Wolf?

Newt Bags New Endorsement

With few establishment endorsements, Newt Gingrich has just gotten the nod from incarcerated former Rep. Duke Cunningham who tells Newt he'd have the felon vote locked down.

The Obvious Uncovered

Ron Paul knew about and signed off on the racist newsletters, says former Secretary who still supports him.

Not So Quick Reax

I found last night's debate so messy and scattered that I had a hard time knowing quite what to make of it. But here's my take. As a debate, I thought it was terrible. Very disorganized. The moderation was close to not there at all. Perhaps it was that we've been through this routine so many times there wasn't much more to say or to ask. I don't know. One of the funnier moments for me was when Newt apparently got tired of waiting for a host to say something that outraged him and just attacked the host anyway, to pretty poor effect.

Hate Mail

Things you probably shouldn't do when accused of a race motivated attempted bombing:

Correspond with a noted white supremacist leader from prison.

Grandmas Are Awesome!

The Jacksonville Republican debate boiled down into 100 uproarious seconds.

Wow

TPM's "Not-So-Veiled-Insult-Of-The-Night Award" goes to Fred Thompson for his remarks about Bob Dole.

Best Moment So Far

Romney says he never saw the Romney ad he said he approved.

Florida Debate Live Blogging Pt.3

9:13 PM: It's not worth getting angry about? What did that even mean?

9:13 PM: Dead to rights. It's amazing that it took 19 debates but Santorum finally got Romney dead to rights on his plan being more or less identical to Obama's.

Worst Debate Ever?

A lot of these debates have been pretty bad. But this strikes me as the most disjointed debate I think I've ever seen. The moderation is poor. The candidates seem to be the campaign equivalent of punch drunk. What do you think?

Florida Debate Live Blogging Pt.2

8:53 PM: I think this debate is a bigger mess than any of the previous ones.

8:56 PM: Newt started off strong but this extended digression on space and moon states. Just not happening.

8:59 PM: When I was a little kid I used to watch those great Ali fights when you had these two heavyweights exhausted in the late rounds. Got sloppy. Messy. About like this debate.

9:01 PM: Newt started pretty strong. And then Mitt got in that pretty embarrassing spot where he said he hadn't seen one of his own ads and denied it even being his ad. A classic Mitt moment. But since then Newt's just been all over the place and he's given Mitt all sorts of opportunities to come in and be the grown up. Not good for Newt.

9:04 PM: Mitt: I'd fire anyone who bought me a moon base.

Every Last Debate Detail

Every last nugget of debate information at TPMLiveWire.

Combo!

I pay a 40% combo tax and charity rate.

Nope

There's a lot of evidence that Romney's 'blind trust' isn't that blind.

Remember

Here's the last time Mitt Romney denied having seen an ad at the center of the campaign debate. That time it was from a Super Pac working on his behalf.

Florida Debate Live Blogging Pt.1

8:11 PM: When's the fighting start?

8:17 PM: Really good answer there.

8:18 PM: Mittdignation!

8:19 PM: Is Newt actually managing to use logic and understatement this time? That's total newtjitsu.

8:22 PM: Okay, this may be a problem for Mitt. He just said he hadn't seen this ad about Gingrich allegedly attacking the Spanish language and doubted it was his. (Here's the ad.) Well, it's his ad and actually have the 'I approve this message' tag at the end.

Where Things Stand

Three big dynamics are likely to drive the Florida primary race between now and next the election next Tuesday.

The biggest and most interesting is the growing effort by what we think of as the GOP establishment to knock Newt down hard enough in Florida that he can't get up off the canvas. Bob Dole's seering attack on Newt today and Larry Kudlow's very aggressive interview with Newt tonight on CNBC are the latest examples of the Stop Newt movement. The second dynamic is the $5 million of pro-Newt money from the Adelsons. Does it go toward a ferocious last-minute attack on Mitt? Signs point to yes. The final driving force is tonight's debate, in a primary season where the debates -- nearly 20 of them now -- have had sometimes outsize influence.

The debate starts at 8 p.m. ET. You can follow the debate here in the Editors Blog and on TPM Livewire.