Cain Doesn't Realize China Has Nuclear Weapons

Will new frontrunner keep his position?

(NEWSER) - Tonight’s GOP debate in Washington will focus on foreign policy—though, as Politico notes, “foreign policy isn’t going to decide the 2012 presidential race.” The topic just “isn’t where the interest has been for voters or the media,” a strategist tells the Economic Times . Even so, there will be lots of things to keep an eye on, particularly since we have a new not-Mitt-Romney frontrunner: Newt Gingrich.

• Gingrich has the most to lose, with the Washington Post noting that he's the fifth contender to top the polls this year. He has performed well in previous debates—in fact, debate performance is largely what resurrected his campaign—but he'll have to live up to a higher standard now that he’s seen as a serious candidate. Longtime observers expect him to do well, since foreign policy is one of his strengths.

And Samuel L. Jackson narrates

(NEWSER) - The Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC is certainly spending a lot of time and money urging people not to vote for Stephen Colbert . The latest ad released by the super PAC is an all-out attack on Colbert, an "East Coast Hollywood elite" who is "turning our election into a circus." Says who? Says Samuel L. Jackson, who narrates the ad . More»

Cain 'the only former candidate who shares my values,' says Colbert

(NEWSER) - Before he decided to get in the race himself, Stephen Colbert endorsed Herman Cain ; later, the Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC put out an ad urging South Carolina to vote for Cain in Saturday's primary. So is it any surprise that now Colbert will hold a rally in South Carolina with Cain? Colbert's campaign announced "The Rock Me Like a Herman Cain: South Cain-olina Primary Rally" in a typically humorous press release yesterday (see it in full at Buzzfeed ), and Colbert himself announced the rally on his show last night, promising it would be "even better than my rally in DC." (And yes, Cain is in on the joke; he tells Fox News , "To be perfectly clear, I will not be assuming Stephen Colbert's identity. We are very different when it comes to the color of our—hair.") More»

Gail Collins can't figure out why Herman Cain's mistress came forward

(NEWSER) - Gail Collins can't figure something out: Why the heck did Ginger White come forward to reveal her extramarital affair with Herman Cain? At this point, Collins fully believes White's story, simply "because nobody would want to make up something so bleak," she writes in the New York Times . From White's admission that she thought about groceries during sex , to her intimations that she frequently trades sex for financial support, it's "a completely unflattering saga to tell." More»

They were a match made in heaven, 'Daily Show' host explains

(NEWSER) - Herman Cain is "a man who believes it's appropriate to refer to a former Soviet satellite as ' Uz-beki-beki-stan-stan ,' and has never met a question he couldn't answer with '9-9-9,'" Jon Stewart reminisced last night. "I host a comedy program and don't like working hard, so: We belong together." It goes without saying, then, that the Daily Show host is going to miss Cain "sooo much" now that he's dropped out of the race. More»