Pre-Debate
I’ll be covering the debate tonight starting at 9 p.m. Eastern. It will not be a “Live Event” but rather, me giving commentary as it goes, probably at the breaks as I have done for several other debates.
In the meantime:
- Newt is sliding in the polls, and now is more or less even or slightly behind Romney, the result of relentless attack ads run by Ron Paul and others against Newt in Iowa, and a ferocious attack on Newt by the mainstream conservative media.
- Newt has not had the money to fight back, and until now has not had the well-funded SuperPACs like others. But, Newt’s apparently getting a huge $20 million contribution from Sheldon Adelson for a SuperPAC. This is the second pro-Newt SuperPAC announced this week. The question is, is it too late to reverse the slide?
- I knew those Alan Grayson ads would be used against me, but I didn’t think it would be by someone at National Review.
- In the Wisconsin recall, supporters say they have enough signatures, well ahead of the mid-January deadline.
- Karl has analysis and links to the Ryan-Wyden Medicare bill. Sam Stein at HuffPo notes the plan has the White House worried because it damages the Democrats’ planned Mediscare campaign theme.
- Maybe the yutes are onto something, they think Obama will lose.
- The drone which the Iranian captured may have originally landed in Afghanistan.
- Israel announces long range command. How long is long? My guess is it’s about 1598 kilometers, and clear skies.
- Interesting read about Newt’s meeting with “movement conservatives.”
- This is the guy Glenn Beck said he’d vote for in a third party over Newt Gingrich.
- Perry supporter defends Newt.
- More to come.
- Finally some scrutiny of Romney, of course from a foreign newspaper: “Romney aides had asked him not to speak publicly about their time together there.” I may have a separate post on this, but not today.
- The Gingrich Derangement Hyperbolic Outrage Disorder has infected Stephen Hayes at The Weekly Standard who goes ballistic over an interview Newt gave, terming it the nastiest attack so far by any candidate. Really? Weeks of cut-and-paste hatchet job anti-Newt televisions ads, the strategy of crazy I have documented here, Romney’s not so subtle dig at Newt’s conversion to Catholocism, and so on. I think I’ll start reading DailyKos where at least I can get a fair assessment of the Republican race.
For some unknown reason, this song seems like a good prelude to tonight’s debate (via Keith Burgess-Jackson):
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