New Must-See TV: GOP Debates

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.

While Rick Perry tries to dig out of his hole, Romney tries to get over the hump

(NEWSER) - Herman Cain’s sudden meteoric rise from political novelty to poll-topping candidate should put him in the spotlight at tonight’s debate—which might be a very dangerous place to be. The big question for Cain is “are you serious?” Politico ’s Reid Epstein writes, noting that Cain has done “very little” to show he “has a factual command of the issues,” particularly on foreign policy. On Sunday, for example, he said he was “not familiar with the neoconservative movement.” 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»

When he'll most likely have clinched the nomination

(NEWSER) - Calm down, everyone. Mitt Romney will release his tax returns … just as soon as he has clinched the GOP nomination. "If I become our nominee, and what's happened in history is people have released them in about April of the coming year and that's probably what I would do," he said at last night's South Carolina debate . The presidential race will likely be decided by then, USA Today notes. As for the records, "I have nothing in them that suggests there's any problem and I'm happy to do so. I sort of feel like we are showing a lot of exposure at this point," Romney said. More»

A candidate-by-candidate breakdown

(NEWSER) - Republicans will face off in yet another debate tonight, one that a GOP strategist dubs "the most important two hours of the campaign for Iowa," so the Des Moines Register asked political operatives, strategists, and scientists to weigh in on what each candidate needs to do. Here's what they said:

• Newt Gingrich: To prove he has staying power, Gingrich will have to fend off attacks while remaining likeable—something he hasn't always been. "Newt Gingrich doesn’t have to hold a puppy and be overly warm," one conservative blogger said, but "if you want to be president, Americans have to like you as a person."
• Mitt Romney: Romney needs to erase the memory of his $10,000 bet with some good zingers. To fare well in Iowa, all he really needs is to win over one more niche of Republican voters, predicts one GOP strategist.