In Iowa tonight, a surging Newt Gingrich said he won’t meet Romney’s fire with fire. Read our just-filed report from Urbandale,Iowa.
It’s been hard to say one debate stands out from another in the seemingly endless round of Republican presidential primary debates. But one’s on tap tonight that is definitely in a separate category. Formally, it’s all the same; in context, it’s entirely different. All the other remaining candidates have fallen far into the background and this is the first debate with Newt Gingrich as the clear frontrunner (he leads nationally and in every early state beside New Hampshire) and Team Romney trying everything at their disposal to take him down before time runs out.
Everyone always assumed this contest would come down to Mitt versus some non-Mitt.
What I don’t think many figured was that Mitt would so clearly be behind.
We’ll have live coverage tonight.
Our Evan McMorris-Santoro is on the ground tonight in Iowa getting a read on the Romney/Gingrich collision course. The state’s airwaves are blanketed in Romney ads heralding the Romney marriage of many centuries standing. And Mrs. Romney is barnstorming the state holding “Women for Mitt” events. So subtlety will not come in first on January 3rd.
Benjy Sarlin dissects why Rick Perry is narrowing down his message to a red meat core.
Rick Perry “pauses for six seconds” while trying to remember the name of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “Montemayor,” is his first effort.
To get his campaign out of its tailspin, Romney goes all Paul Ryan Plan all the time.
Now it’s clear that Gingrich and Santorum will be the only participants in Trump’s “debate,” it seems The Donald is losing his enthusiasm.
Now Dems walloping Mitt for being an attack dog candidate.
If you’re a congressional aide, tweeting that your congressman is a “pu$$y” might get you fired.