Morning Examiner: Opponents make Romney look presidential
By Conn Carroll
Judged in a vacuum, last night was probably Mitt Romney's weakest debate performance so far. He let both Rick Santorum and Rick Perry throw him off his normally measured, calm, and reassuring delivery. But judged next to the other contenders, Romney, again, looked like the most presidential candidate on the stage.
Early on Herman Cain failed to respond adequately to every other candidate's contention that his 9-9-9 plan amounted to a tax hike on the vast majority of the American people. Perry looked small and petty when he repeatedly attacked Romney personally over some illegal immigrants a former Romney contractor had hired. The crowd let the initial exchange go, but when Perry pressed the issue again, there were loud boos from the audience.
Michele Bachmann, when she wasn't desperately shouting moderator Anderson Cooper's name, was also petty and personal. RedState's Erick Erickson tweeted that even he cringed when Bachmann went after President Obama's uncle and aunt.
Contrast those moments with Romney's grace in dealing with Perry Reverend Jeffress comments on Mormonism. After Perry said, "I did not agree with the — Pastor Jeffress's remarks. I don't agree with them. I — I can't apologize any more than that," Romney replied, "That's fine."
He may not be their first, or second, or even third choice, but many Republicans are beginning to feel the same way about Romney.
GOP Debate
The Examiner's Byron York: "Perry, for the first time in any GOP debate, rattled former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. … Recovery might be beyond reach. But if Perry is to have any chance to recover, he had to start doing things differently, and Tuesday night in Las Vegas was that start."
The Examiner's Byron York: "Perry, for the first time in any GOP debate, rattled former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. … Recovery might be beyond reach. But if Perry is to have any chance to recover, he had to start doing things differently, and Tuesday night in Las Vegas was that start."
The Examiner's Phil Klein: "I'm not sure it changed the dynamic of the race. Romney absorbed more blows than in past debates, and showed why he remains vulnerable, but is probably still the best positioned to win the nomination given the weaknesses of the rest of the field."
The Examiner's Michael Barone: "Mitt Romney, for the first time I can recall in this cycle's debates, seemed to get flustered. He got into shouting matches with Perry and Santorum when they interrupted him and succeeded, but only barely, in showing the sense of command that I think voters seek in a president."
The Washington Post's Jenifer Rubin: "Romney showed his normal fluency on the economy and steered a question on Occupy Wall Street back to an argument for his own candidacy and an indictment of Obama's failed stewardship of the economy. It was his toughest debate yet, but whatever setbacks he suffered were outweighed by Cain's and Perry's troubles."
The Washington Post's Jenifer Rubin: "Romney showed his normal fluency on the economy and steered a question on Occupy Wall Street back to an argument for his own candidacy and an indictment of Obama's failed stewardship of the economy. It was his toughest debate yet, but whatever setbacks he suffered were outweighed by Cain's and Perry's troubles."
National Review's Rich Lowry: "Perry showed up, an improvement over New Hampshire. His statements on energy were strong, and–as mentioned above–he at least got under Romney's skin. But he still can't take him down in a toe-to-toe match."
RedState's Erick Erickson: "Where has this Rick Perry been? Finally, the guy showed up with unscripted, from the gut answers. The few scripted answers fell flat (see e.g. Jeffres). The rest were good. He's not the best debater. But he certainly did not lose that debate."
The American Spectator's Aaron Goldstein: "Every time [Michele Bachmann] shouted, "Anderson! Anderson!", it was reminder of how increasingly irrelevant she's become in this race."
Around the Bigs
ABC News, Obama: Potential Supporters Sense Recovery 'Still Hasn't Gotten Done Yet': In an interview with ABC News' Jake Tapper, President Obama acknowledged that he face a tough re-election because of "the disillusionment of his supporters with his leadership on the economy."
ABC News, Obama: Potential Supporters Sense Recovery 'Still Hasn't Gotten Done Yet': In an interview with ABC News' Jake Tapper, President Obama acknowledged that he face a tough re-election because of "the disillusionment of his supporters with his leadership on the economy."
New York Magazine, Are You Smarter Than a Wall Street Occupier?: According to a poll of 50 Occupy Wall Street protesters, the movement is grossly ignorant about the federal government. Ninety-four percent of respondents thought the government spent more on the military than on health care and pensions.
The New York Times, Goldman Loss Offers a Bad Omen for Wall Street: Glodman Sachs posted its first quarterly loss since the financial crisis yesterday. Many see the loss as a sign the rest of the financial industry is in trouble again.
The New York Times, Gloom Grips Consumers, and It May Be Home Prices: The Times talks to economists who believe the collapse of housing prices is to blame for the weak economic recovery. "People don't expect their home to regain value, and that's really led to a change in consumer attitudes about the economy that we've just never seen before," Richard Curtin, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan, told The Times.
Politico, Spending bill hits wall with moderates: President Obama is having no more luck getting his second stimulus passed in smaller chunks, than he did getting it passed as one big package. "At some point — and my opinion is now — we've got to stop spending money we don't have," Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., told Politico.
Associated Press, Senate votes to end 'Fast and Furious' gun program: By a vote of 99-0, the Senate voted to block the government from transferring guns to drug cartels, last night, effectively banning program's like President Obama's failed Operation Fast and Furious.
The Wall Street Journal, Wayward Senate Democrats Keep Distance From Obama: Democrats from all but the most liberal states are keeping their distance from Obama, making it next to impossible for the president to advance his agenda in Congress.
The Wall Street Journal, Another White House energy favorite hits financial trouble: Ener1 Inc., a lithium-ion battery maker that received $118 million from the Obama administration, told the Securities and Exchange Commission this August that it is "in the process of determining whether the company has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations."
The Los Angeles Times, Officials' embrace of Occupy L.A. loosens a bit over fiscal issue: A Los Angeles City Council plan to honor the OccupyLA movement by severing ties with all major lenders will cost the city $58 million in termination fees and higher interest rates, according to an analysis by the city's administrative officer.
Gallup, Americans Blame Government More Than Wall Street for Economy: By a 64 percent to 30 percent margin, Americans blame the federal government, not Wall Street, for the economic problems facing the United States.
Campaign 2012
Cain: An analysis by the Tax Policy Center shows that more than 90 percent of people earning under $37,000 would pay higher taxes under Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan.
Cain: An analysis by the Tax Policy Center shows that more than 90 percent of people earning under $37,000 would pay higher taxes under Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan.
Righty Playbook
Allahpundit hits Herman Cain for saying he could see himself freeing all of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
Allahpundit hits Herman Cain for saying he could see himself freeing all of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
AEI's James Pethokoukis flags 9-9-9 co-author Steve Moore telling Larry Kudlow that he is going to advise Cain to drop the sales tax portion of the plan.
Verum Serum rounds up reports of sexual assault at Occupy protests nationwide.
Lefty Playbook
ThinkProgress' Judd Legum obtained the results of the poll Doug Schoen wrote about in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, and he says Schoen misrepresented the data: "He writes that a "large majority" are bound together by support for a "radical redistribution of wealth." But when he asked the protesters what they'd like the Occupy Wall Street movement to achieve, just 4 percent said "radical redistribution of wealth," which tied for last on the list of answers given."
ThinkProgress' Judd Legum obtained the results of the poll Doug Schoen wrote about in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, and he says Schoen misrepresented the data: "He writes that a "large majority" are bound together by support for a "radical redistribution of wealth." But when he asked the protesters what they'd like the Occupy Wall Street movement to achieve, just 4 percent said "radical redistribution of wealth," which tied for last on the list of answers given."
The Washington Post's Sarah Kliff profiled Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., as the senator who killed the CLASS Act.
Esquire's Charles Pierce attacks The New York Times' David Brooks for his column on Americans rediscovering the problem with debt.
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