9:34 PM: Newt: We occupy Iraq; we occupy Afghanistan; so why can’t we occupy America.
9:41 PM: Bachmann campaign rolls out announcement video after announces her candidacy during the debate.
9:44 PM: Pawlenty spending most of the rest of the debate trying to look like the guy in his campaign adventure videos. Sorry. You showed your hand, bub.
9:47 PM: Bachmann: “We are the head not the tail.”
9:48 PM: Gingrich: 10 year after 9/11 our intelligence is so bad we just killed bin Laden.
9:57 PM: GOP prez hopefuls agree: We Rawk!
For the last week or so I’ve felt that Romney just looks a lot stronger than he’s looked in a while. Maybe it’s the growing consensus that the economy is in trouble or the implosion of Gingrich. But it’s just seemed that way to me. Just a gut sense, though the underlying weakness based on health care reform definitely remains. And he seemed solid tonight.
But the big story here was Pawlenty. He choked at a critical moment when he wouldn’t repeat the criticisms he’s made of Romney to his face. That makes him look weak. And more than weak I think it cuts against people’s sense of fair play and just being what we Jews call being a mensch. If you criticize someone when they’re not around. Be ready to stay it to their face. If you’re not, you’re just not for real. That’s elemental and I think people understand and remember that in a way they just don’t with the endless run of policy details candidates toss out.
A few commenters disagree on this point and said, well, it’s not smart to come out swinging against Romney too early. But that misses the point. It’s not that he missed a chance to criticize Romney or that Romney got away unscathed. It’s that Pawlenty deeply damaged himself. And as the only other really credible nominee in the race, that’s a big win for Romney. I don’t see any way around that judgment.
With the historic exodus of Democrats from the House after the 2010 midterms, the revolving door into the lobbying biz has been spinning like a top. So we’ve updated our interactive Shadow Congress feature — a state-by-state breakdown of which former members of Congress have become lobbyists. The total size of this formerly elected Shadow Congress is now almost 200.
One notable wrinkle: We had to take two former Members of Congress off the list because they left the lobbying biz and went back to Congress. The revolving door goes round and round …
Check out which of your state’s former lawmakers are now plying the K Street trade:
Secret grand jury probing the 2003 death of a man in CIA custody and other potential torture-related abuses.
Wisconsin GOP leaders are prepping to re-pass their controversial union-busting bill after courts struck it down the first time on procedural grounds.
CBO Director Doug Elmendorf: Not raising the debt ceiling is a “a dangerous gamble.”
Nancy Pelosi explains to Dems why she pushed Anthony Weiner in front of the train.
Best way to make Weiner story go away is for new prominent Democrat to tell him to resign each day. Ideally early in each news cycle.
Minnesota State Rep. Tom Hackbarth, the guy who got caught with a handgun at an abortion clinic last fall, has now sent a constituent an email calling unions communists and comparing them to Hitler and Castro.