Forget 'Humble Service'— Ego Prods Politicians to Run

Candidates make last-minute preparations

(NEWSER) - A day ahead of Iowa voting, three candidates are within two points of each other in the latest poll: Ron Paul is leading the field at 20%, while Mitt Romney follows at 19% and Rick Santorum boasts 18%, having jumped eight points since earlier this week, notes Public Policy Polling . That gives him the clear momentum; he's also got the highest favorability rating at 60%. Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich trails at 14%, ahead of Rick Perry with 10%, Michele Bachmann with 8%, and Jon Huntsman with 4%. More»

And more from the Sunday talk shows

(NEWSER) - Rick Perry today weighed in on last night's big debate moment— the $10,000 bet . "I was taken a little aback" by Mitt Romney's wager, Perry said on Fox News Sunday, Politico reports. "Driving out to the station this morning I'm pretty sure I didn’t drive by a house that anyone in Iowa would think a $10,000 bet was possible. It was a little out of touch with the normal Iowa citizen." (Perry also addressed a recent gaffe of his own , explaining , "I don’t have memorized all of the Supreme Court judges," but added that Americans "aren’t looking for a robot that can spit out the name of every Supreme Court justice … They're looking for somebody who's got values.") More»

Cain needs more substance; Perry just needs a better performance: Politico

(NEWSER) - Tonight’s GOP debate—the last one for three weeks—is one of the few remaining chances for the Republican presidential candidates to change the opinions (for better or worse) of millions of TV viewers before Iowa’s Jan. 3 caucuses . With that in mind, Maggie Haberman offers some advice to the candidates, via Politico :

• Hermain Cain: He’s sitting pretty right now, but he needs to prove he deserves to be on top. Cain doesn't exactly hit the ball out of the park when discussing his 9-9-9 plan , but "given his foreign policy weaknesses and his inability to correctly identify a 'neocon' to [David] Gregory, he may want to avoid talking about anything other than '9-9-9.'"
• Rick Perry: He needs to stop giving canned answers, and keep Mitt Romney from turning all of his attacks back on him. But mostly, “he needs to avoid seeming like the Rick Perry of the last four debates, and more like the confident version who took the stage for the first half-hour at the Reagan Presidential Library face-off.”

Orthodoxy vies with electability among party faithful

(NEWSER) - Herman Cain's surprise win in Florida's straw poll yesterday shows how unpredictable this election cycle is—but it also provides some valuable lessons about that state of the GOP nation, reports the St. Petersburg Times .

• The top GOP contender is still Not-Mitt-Romney: Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry—Republicans are still waiting for the great candidate who can lead them to the chosen land. All they know for now is that frontrunner Romney is not him. Next up ... Chris Christie? .
• It's too late for a new candidate: A major reason Perry imploded was that he just did not have enough time to get the infrastructure in place that he needed. Money, volunteers, the whole process takes way too much work to ramp up so late in the game. So maybe Christie is not an option, after all.

Social security and Tea Party topics likely to be big issues

(NEWSER) - Yes, it’s debate time again. Here’s what to watch for when the 2012 GOP presidential candidates face off tonight in Florida, at an event sponsored by CNN and the Tea Party Express:

• Social Security will likely continue to be a flash point. At the last debate, Rick Perry attacked Mitt Romney’s record on jobs; this time around, he could take a swipe at his inconsistent social issues record, Politico notes. All of the candidates will be walking a “fine line” when it comes to Social Security, one strategist predicts.
• Rick Perry “did OK” at the last debate, one insider tells the Texas Tribune . “Not good, not poor.” The paper took a survey of insiders and found that 65% felt the governor’s performance was “good,” while 15% called it “great” and 8% said it was “poor.” But some note that he started out strong then began to fade—at this debate, he’ll have to prove he has stamina.