Santorum: 'I Condemn' Boos of Gay Soldier

Gail Collins mocks the latest GOP debate

(NEWSER) - Last night's debate threw the GOP race into focus for Gail Collins, and it predictably begins with her favorite prop, Seamus Romney: "Take your pick, Republicans. On one hand, the guy who once drove to Canada with the family dog strapped to the roof of the car," and on the other, the guy who "was defeated for re-election by one of the widest margins in American history," Collins writes in the New York Times . Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum spent most of the night squabbling, with Santorum proving he could bring up Romneycare "even if the subject was rutabagas." More»

Santorum's on the hot seat, Romney's back is to the wall, Gingrich needs a comeback

(NEWSER) - It's been a while, but America's favorite political game show is back. Yes, the Republican presidential candidates will square off in Mesa tonight for their first debate in nearly a month. Here are the storylines in play:

• The final showdown—The stakes are "about as high as they could be," the Washington Post observes, because this might be the last debate of the GOP primary, and certainly the last before Super Tuesday. And since losses in Arizona and Michigan could be fatal for Mitt Romney's campaign, he has to perform tonight.

Strong performance leaves Gingrich looking like top anti-Romney

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney emerged largely unscathed from last night's Republican debate in South Carolina, while consensus pegs Newt Gingrich as the best of the rest. A breakdown of the chatter:

• This was Gingrich's "best debate of the entire race," decides Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post . The former House Speaker "let ‘er rip tonight," he writes, winning applause from the boisterous audience for calling President Obama the "food stamp president" and for slamming "elites" and "liberals" who don't want to help poor people find good jobs.
• Writing at Hot Air , AllahPundit agrees, citing Gingrich's bold responses to Juan Williams and Ron Paul among his shining moments. "I’m thinking he might have turned South Carolina from a solid Romney lead into a nailbiter. Has any candidate at any debate had the crowd more riled up than this?" (Watch videos at left.)

Rivals don't exactly hammer the frontrunner in GOP debate

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney was supposed to be the prime target at tonight's ABC debate, but it didn't quite work out that way, writes Steve Peoples at AP . His rivals took some shots at him but squabbled among each other just as often. Romney, for his part, focused most of his fire at President Obama. ("His policies have made the recovery more tepid.") Romney "never appeared flustered," writes Michael D. Shear at the New York Times , and his display of "perfect calm" was tailor-made for a front-runner. "Shots so not fired," adds Elspeth Reeve at the Atlantic blog. Some notable moments:

• Paul-Santorum: Ron Paul accused Rick Santorum of being a "big-government person" who also was "corrupt" for taking lobbyists' money. Santorum called the corruption charge "ridiculous" and said his record was "pretty darn good."

President fires away at GOP contenters at gay rights fundraiser

(NEWSER) - Ah, election season—when politicians remember that they once had guts. President Obama swung hard at GOP presidential hopefuls last night, blasting them for not condemning the crowd that booed a gay soldier at a Republican debate on Sept. 22, reports the Hill . "We don’t believe in the kind of smallness that says it’s OK for a stage full of political leaders—one of whom could end up being the president of the United States—being silent when an American soldier is booed," Obama said at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization. More»