Prez Debate Panel Snubs New Orleans

Everyone but Newt Gingrich turned it down

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich would probably love to fill an hour or more of debate time all by his lonesome, but CNN would rather he not. The network canceled a debate scheduled for March 1 after Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum bowed out, reports the National Journal . The trio cited hectic campaign schedules ahead of Super Tuesday on March 6. A CNN debate scheduled for Feb. 22 is still on, however. More»

Florida GOP says 'rank-and-file' got tickets to Jacksonville debate

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney enjoyed a favorable audience last night ... because his campaign loaded the hall with supporters, Newt Gingrich aides tell the Huffington Post . "They definitely packed the room," said a top adviser. Another staffer called the situation "obvious," noting, "I was getting calls and emails from all over saying this. Just average people saying, 'Wait a minute.'" The Florida Republican Party "picked 900-plus seats" in the room, about 75% of the total, the rep added, a figure confirmed by a party spokesman. More»

Let the crowds make noise: David Weigel

(NEWSER) - The Republicans debate again tonight , and there's plenty of carping about how there's too many of these things. Not from David Weigel at Slate . He wants more, more, more. If they weren't debating, the candidates would be in choreographed campaign mode, which reveals little. "The ideal campaign moment comes when a candidate answers questions with cameras pointed at him and no possibility of escape," he writes. "No control over conditions, or setting, or who does the interview: The candidate is trapped." More»

Polls show Romney may have stopped his momentum ahead of CNN Florida debate

(NEWSER) - The GOP field will have its last debate before the Florida primary tonight, and it just might be a doozy. Here's why:

• Newt Gingrich's polling advantage may have vanished. The latest CNN poll has Mitt Romney at 36% and Gingrich at 34%, a statistical tie, and a far cry from some of Gingrich's earlier numbers.
• Nate Silver says his statistical model now rates Gingrich's chance of victory at 60%—a huge dip from the 75% it predicted yesterday . But looking at polling trends, Silver thinks Romney might actually be a slight favorite.

The Comeback Kid would trump Newt in debates: David Maraniss

(NEWSER) - If the GOP can revive Newt Gingrich from his political grave, Democrats are allowed to play retro too—and bring back Bill Clinton, David Maraniss writes in the Washington Post . True, "the law prohibits the Comeback Kid from coming back to serve a third term, and Obama might not go for it, but only old-school twits would let any of that get in the way," chuckles Maraniss. Plus it's a perfect matchup: Bill and Newt's foibles would brilliantly balance each other out, banishing "pious baloney about sex" from our national debate. More»