During last night’s debate, Rick Perry’s campaign sent out an email to the press making this incredible claim: “Gov. Perry never said that Social Security was unconstitutional.”

Benjy Sarlin walks us through Perry’s rapid evolution from declaring Social Security unconstitutional to pretending he never said such a thing.

Our photographer Jeff Malet reminds me that Gary Johnson’s best laugh line from last night’s debate made it into our slideshow of the Top Ten Protest Signs of 2009.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) becomes the first Republican House Co-Sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, the bill that would repeal DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act.

One of the big factors or mysteries of the GOP presidential primary context. Virtually all the polling data available says Mitt Romney is a substantially stronger candidate against President Obama than Rick Perry. But Republican voters don’t agree. They consistently say Perry is more likely to beat President Obama.