Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Gingrich meets with Trump Monday--Club for Growth hits Thompson--Romney gets 29 Missouri endorsements--Cain talking to wife Friday--Cuccinelli running for governor--Gingrich opens an Iowa office
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:33:43 -0600

By James Hohmann (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] ; Twitter: @jameshohmann)

ORLANDO, Fla.-Good morning from the annual meeting of the Republican Governors Association.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=405c4c9d5d8f2dc4ba1e499f0798ccd87bd51b57bbb03968342660b992ba54ad 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=405c4c9d5d8f2dc4ba1e499f0798ccd87bd51b57bbb03968342660b992ba54ad 

EXCLUSIVE - GINGRICH TREKS TO TRUMP TOWER MONDAY:Donald Trump is scheduled to host Newt Gingrich at Trump Tower next Monday. The former House Speaker follows Romney, Perry, Cain and Bachmann in paying a visit to the New York businessman. A source familiar with his thinking tells Score that Trump wants to endorse a candidate during the primary season: "Mr. Trump looks forward to discussing issues and policy points with Speaker Gingrich." December 5th also happens to be the publication date for Trump's new book "Time To Get Tough: Making America #1 Again."

BIG GET - NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE SENATE PRESIDENT TO ENDORSE ROMNEY:The Romney campaign will announce later this morning the endorsement of New Hampshire State Senate President Peter Bragdon (R-Milford). He was a top McCain supporter in 2000 and 2008.

EXCLUSIVE - ROMNEY ANNOUNCES SUPPORT OF 29 MISSOURIANS:Thegroup is led by the Speaker of the state House Steve Tilley. Recall that Gingrich did not file the paperwork to appear on the Show Me state's primary ballot. See the whole list:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a877b08de3b8e40bf718ba14dfb6656898413263d0847edb5 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a877b08de3b8e40bf718ba14dfb6656898413263d0847edb5 .

FIRST IOWA AD - "THE RIGHT ANSWER":Romney is going on the air in Iowa Friday with a 30-second spot that touts his economic expertise. Buy size not yet known. Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438ae4d623a0a6577375c5c41056815c5ba72cce5b08b9f416db 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438ae4d623a0a6577375c5c41056815c5ba72cce5b08b9f416db .

EXCLUSIVE - CLUB FOR GROWTH LINKS TOMMY THOMPSON WITH LABOR, OBAMACARE:As former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson prepares to formally launch his campaign for U.S. Senate today, the Club for Growth PAC has compiled a report documenting his role as a board member of America's Agenda, a labor-backed organization that strongly supported the federal health care law. Several groups involved in the coalition are also now working to recall Gov. Scott Walker. A six-page memo is part of a broader push by the conservative group to persuade Republican primary voters that the onetime presidential candidate is a RINO. The AP's curtain raiser on the announcement notes that Thompson might be his own worst
 enemy:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a6b98822b66ad9edc06826ff4552569c0d3a13c9233fda74e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a6b98822b66ad9edc06826ff4552569c0d3a13c9233fda74e . The Club's memo:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438aff1265c0c31f65be4fe7676a1a6abf3a5745930691ed404f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438aff1265c0c31f65be4fe7676a1a6abf3a5745930691ed404f .

** As Romney reworks his plan to deal with Newt, Gingrich struggles to get organized and Larry Sabato puts out a new Senate forecast, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

CAIN'S COLLAPSE DRAGS ON -

INVOKING YOGI BERRA:"It ain't over till it's over, and it ain't over yet," Cain told 50 supporters at his New Hampshire campaign HQ last night.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438ab6fff3462b4ea2188cc8072eed4610a5be2d4af226c9352c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438ab6fff3462b4ea2188cc8072eed4610a5be2d4af226c9352c 

TALKING WITH HIS WIFE FRIDAY:"The candidate said his first priority was sitting down in person with his wife, Gloria, to 'walk through this,'" the LA Times' Maeve Reston reports from Manchester, N.H., where he had a press availability last night. 'I will do that when I get back home on Friday,' he said.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a9eef3c37ad5344c045f737afb9cd87c57b708bedb2ac632c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a9eef3c37ad5344c045f737afb9cd87c57b708bedb2ac632c 

MAKING A DECISION OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS:"I haven't set an exact time yet," he said on Fox News earlier yesterday. Story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a976a8cb40f623bc5bfc10c9b526ab9c2c52034f573046096 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a976a8cb40f623bc5bfc10c9b526ab9c2c52034f573046096 . Video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a49b94c743dc49ce49d680913d3637cfe39371095e7478d2f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a49b94c743dc49ce49d680913d3637cfe39371095e7478d2f .

BUYING "GINGER WHITE" ON GOOGLE - NEWT BUYS CAIN:The Cain campaign bought the ad space that comes when you search for the name of the woman who has accused him of having an affair. The Gingrich campaign, meanwhile, is running ads that say 'Support the Candidate that can win' every time a voter in Iowa or New Hampshire searches for news about Herman Cain.

ROMNEY FOX FALLOUT -

HE FELT INTERVIEW WAS UNFAIR:'I think Gov. Romney didn't like the way the interview went,' Bret Baier said of his Tuesday sit-down with the candidate. Baier told Bill O'Reilly that Romney said he thought the questions were 'overly aggressive' and some were 'uncalled for.'
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438adacd3f1f5c1391df0b2448642d726e2039aad9540b70bc14 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438adacd3f1f5c1391df0b2448642d726e2039aad9540b70bc14 

FIRST IN SCORE - HUNTSMAN CAMP RELEASES "MITTSTANT REPLAY":TheHuntsman camp seizes on the Baier interview with a video that juxtaposes Romney disputing that he has changed his positions on a myriad of issues against video of Romney talking about those issues over the years. "After watching Mitt evade, distort, and eventually blame the questioner, its no wonder he is Scared Mittless of the press," a campaign official emails. "Can Republican voters trust Mitt Romney to beat Barack Obama when he can't defend his record?Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a87d14c62ae1cc4a0ef2991481cf316f1a7eb059b476bd10b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a87d14c62ae1cc4a0ef2991481cf316f1a7eb059b476bd10b .

"A DISASTROUS INTERVIEW":The DNC posted a 2.5-minute highlight reel of cable pundits dumping on Romney for his poor performance:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438aea207865d107ed97a0ee1505d606692747064de372534f3a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438aea207865d107ed97a0ee1505d606692747064de372534f3a .

#QUESTIONSMITTLIKES:Mitt haters in both parties mocked Romney on Twitter last night for calling the interview "overly aggressive" by jokingly posting questions the former governor would like to have fielded. See the top-rated ones:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a946f918f6590cb1d751a29a43d348b9479537843d0966625 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a946f918f6590cb1d751a29a43d348b9479537843d0966625 .

A DEMOCRATIC PARTY OFFICIAL emails:"Whining is not really a character trait people look for in leaders."

STRATEGIC PLANNING - BOSTON'S CURRENT THINKING ON HOW TO ENGAGE NEWT:"Romney's strategists...say they understand the risk that, in a multi-candidate field, any attack they make against Gingrich could boomerang to hurt Romney and help a third candidate," Phil Rucker and Peter Wallsten write in The Washington Post. "Taking on Gingrich is 'going to be a process,' one adviser said. 'It's not going to be an overnight kind of a thing, unless he steps in it. But he seems less likely than the others to do that.'...They are calculating that primary voters will overlook Gingrich's rocky career in public life- including ethics charges, extramarital affairs and a decade of trading his influence to
 enrich himself. Voters 'know all that, and they've discounted those things,' said a third Romney adviser. 'The leadership of the campaign recognizes that Gingrich has got staying power, that he's a very serious candidate.' This adviser said that the campaign considers Gingrich's rise 'absolutely' different from Cain's or Perry's, in part because they cannot count on him withering under his new spotlight."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a6a485b156d82159dafe7de6c8677dbb1540be0943698c0f3 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a6a485b156d82159dafe7de6c8677dbb1540be0943698c0f3 

SUBTLETY IS KEY - EMPHASIZING ROMNEY'S HAPPY MARRIAGE:Reid Epstein reports in a similar story this morning that the Romney camp will go after Gingrich as an insider and flip-flopper while increasingly highlighting Romney's own STABLE family "while leaving an UNSPOKEN impression about Gingrich's two divorces." More: "The plan to increase the attention to Romney's wife of 42 years and five sons in the hopes of sparking more conversation about Gingrich's three marriages without raising the topic themselves is one of several subtle offensives."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a434e2c773ed4a420a3edfe4c53efbf14090284c142e97f2b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a434e2c773ed4a420a3edfe4c53efbf14090284c142e97f2b 

"SERIAL HYPOCRISY" - PAUL SCORCHES GINGRICH:The Drudge Report is linking directly to the 2.5-minute web video that Ron Paul's campaign out yesterday attacking Newt Gingrich for being a flip-flopper and profiting off his old job as Speaker. Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a06c439fd511a21a680ed1eafdff72bab611b2df4846b8d1b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a06c439fd511a21a680ed1eafdff72bab611b2df4846b8d1b .

WILL IT LAST? - GINGRICH PROMISES NO NEGATIVE ADS:"In a fund-raising pitch that he e-mailed to his supporters on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Gingrich promised that no money he collected would be used to rip down other Republican candidates in commercials. "There will be no :30 attack ads against my friends who are also seeking the Republican nomination; I will focus my criticism on President Obama."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a5f0c0caaddacfede905d209322b8445f5df12038fea15118 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a5f0c0caaddacfede905d209322b8445f5df12038fea15118 

NEWT NOT ORGANIZED - GINGRICH FAILED TO FILE FULL DELEGATE SLATE IN NH:While Romney continues to shore up establishment Republican support in the first-in-the-nation primary, Fergus Cullen just posted an item on NH Journal that reminds us of how much the unexpected insurgent could struggle if this becomes a drawn-out campaign. "As recently as two weeks ago, the Gingrich campaign was apparently unable to name 40 New Hampshire supporters of his presidential campaign," he writes. "Candidates needed to file their slates of 20 delegates to the National Convention, along with 20 alternates, with the Secretary of State by November 18. The Gingrich campaign filed a partial slate of 14 delegates and
 13 alternates, leaving 13 slots vacant. Among the 27 names Gingrich listed are three members of his staff... In contrast, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, and Mitt Romney all filed full slates of 40 people."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438abfed900700193bac23965fb51c9ae4280ff93cd5335e1009 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438abfed900700193bac23965fb51c9ae4280ff93cd5335e1009 .

ABOUT TIME - GINGRICH OPENS AN IOWA CAMPAIGN OFFICE: "Gingrich is the last of the major candidates to open an office here," NBC reports. "Furniture was just delivered and the office will be up and running for volunteers in the next couple days. Gingrich's space sits in the same business complex as that of fellow GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum." It's just outside of Des Moines:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438aec258427a62fab470a0a0179d4535a1c74c71699119bddcd 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438aec258427a62fab470a0a0179d4535a1c74c71699119bddcd . The AP's Tom Beaumont looks more broadly at Gingrich's lack of Iowa organization:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438abaee53d73a624041810ad7432e99920e4e575aa9e12b3017 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438abaee53d73a624041810ad7432e99920e4e575aa9e12b3017 .

WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO:Cain speaks at Middle Tennessee University in Middleboro and meets with the Union Leader editorial board. Gingrich gives two speeches in Des Moines and then a third at a dinner in Johnston, Iowa. Paul gives two speeches in Portsmouth, N.H., hosts a meet-and-greet in Rochester and a town hall meeting in Laconia. Bachmann has a late day press conference in Fort Lauderdale.

WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS UP TO:"In the morning, the President will deliver remarks at a World AIDS Day event hosted by the ONE Campaign and (RED) at George Washington University...In the evening, the First Family will attend the National Christmas Tree Lighting on the Ellipse."

PROTECT THE VOTE - DNC LAUNCHES MICROSITE:The Democratic National Committee will announce a new effort today to push back on restrictive voter ID laws, building it around a site called protectingthevote.org. They're putting out a report called "A Reversal in Progress: Restricting Voting Rights for Electoral Gain". DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz will hold a press conference call with reporters at 10:30 a.m. to discuss it. "Democrats will not sit idly by while the Republican Party attempts to infringe on the rights of American voters," DNC Counsel and Director of Voter Protection Will Crossley writes in an op-ed:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a9801e1f0d37b08d96614706a694354f9868de6795d813bce 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a9801e1f0d37b08d96614706a694354f9868de6795d813bce  . The new web site:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a614061e1f13557c99661729ab91317e05b6dac8030565d03 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a614061e1f13557c99661729ab91317e05b6dac8030565d03 .

ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY - RNC HITS OBAMA FOR IGNORING BOWLES-SIMPSON:They'reout with a four-page research document this morning, noting that the president promised his deficit commission would not be "one of those Washington gimmicks."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438ad43b1aa3c6e2c27efab02eece792955603cfde7ba5d3862f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438ad43b1aa3c6e2c27efab02eece792955603cfde7ba5d3862f 

NEW WEBSITE - SGLF SITE HAS STATE LEGISLATIVE TRACKING TOOL:The Republican-backed State Government Leadership Foundation rolled out a new website overnight as part of a ramping up of efforts to help pursue conservative goals at the state house level. There's a state-by-state legislative tracking tool, policy discussions regarding the top issues state lawmakers are facing, articles, email updates and other resources. SGLF is an affiliate of the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC). The site:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a67a887140f88982812878485528bdd3ae621ad8944e92f9c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a67a887140f88982812878485528bdd3ae621ad8944e92f9c .

FENCES MENDED - TONY PERKINS WILL SPEAK AT CPAC:David Brody reported last night that Family Research Council President Tony Perkins will speak at CPAC's 2012 conference and his group will be a co-sponsor of the confab. They boycotted last year partly to protest the inclusion of a gay rights group called GOProud. "They will NOT be at CPAC this year," Brody writes of the gay rights group. "Ever since ACU's new chairman Al Cardenas came on board last year his goal was to bring social conservatives back into the fold and strengthen the infamous GOP 'Three Legged-Stool.' Getting Perkins to speak at the conference is a big step in that direction."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a110b8a7c12ea3e6f2e3af2c830c68c489c7c4c99f42b37bc 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a110b8a7c12ea3e6f2e3af2c830c68c489c7c4c99f42b37bc 

SENATE TALKER - CRYSTAL BALL CHANGES FL, MA TO TOSS-UPS:Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball blog has updated prognostications for all the Senate races. Most notably, they now have Florida as a "toss-up" (down from "leans D") and Massachusetts as a toss-up (down from leans R). They upgraded Democratic chances in four other seats - MN (safe D now), AZ (now just leans R because of Richard Carmona's potential), WV (Manchin now "likely D") and NJ (Menendez also "likely D"). That said, the authors still favor the Republicans to take the Senate: "While we still favor Republicans to take the four seats they need to win control of the upper chamber, we can also see a conceivable if unlikely path for the
 Democrats to retain control if the breaks go their way, especially if President Obama picks up steam in his reelection bid."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a6be4c86f42594d870c0de10d33709e7ebb4f328e4b5562d4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a6be4c86f42594d870c0de10d33709e7ebb4f328e4b5562d4 

VIRGINIA GOVERNOR - CUCCINELLI WILL RUN IN 2013:"Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) will reveal his plans next week to run for governor in 2013, according to well-placed Republican sources," The Washington Post reports. "Cuccinelli, a tea party hero who garnered national attention for suing the federal government over the health-care law, expects to make a formal announcement after the legislative session in the spring, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so they could speak freely about his plans. For months, the former state senator from Fairfax County had said he was considering running for reelection or against Sen. Mark Warner (D) in 2014. But
 in recent weeks, speculation had turned to a run for governor, possibly setting up a primary race against Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R)."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a89e39ddaeec31a18abecaf9eb1a70666cb43440f81e03028 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438a89e39ddaeec31a18abecaf9eb1a70666cb43440f81e03028 

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY:'In 2006, I had cancer for a year. So I wasn't having an affair with anybody." - Herman Cain
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438af6bd2c04298530d62da7131722e66c1a42c53a04d543db45 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b481eaa40501438af6bd2c04298530d62da7131722e66c1a42c53a04d543db45 

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