Subject: POLITICO’s Morning Score: Paul hits Gingrich for 'selling access' -- Gingrich up 10 in new IA poll --Former Huntsman manager endorses Romney, as he rolls out NH leadership -- Brunner hits McCaskill on earmarks -- NRCC hits Matheson with 60K buy
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:48:51 -0600

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

EXCLUSIVE - PAUL VIDEO BLISTERS GINGRICH FOR "SELLING ACCESS":Ron Paul continues to intensify his attack on Newt Gingrich, releasing another two-minute web video this morning that seeks to define the former House Speaker as a corrupt Washington insider who got rich by "selling access." The fast-paced video, which will be pushed hard on conservative web sites this week, includes a clip of Gingrich calling himself "an insider" and another in which he mind-bogglingly brags about getting paid $60,000-a-speech. The video comes on the heels of the Paul campaign's decision to expand the buy size for their first, 60-second Gingrich takedown in Iowa and New Hampshire. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney&#39;s
 campaign just launched unreliableleader.com to highlight Newt&#39;s breaks with conservative orthodoxy:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb1926560a283b8755bb9d4ea7d64c2ce83c3c73af279680cdd45 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb1926560a283b8755bb9d4ea7d64c2ce83c3c73af279680cdd45 . Watch the Paul video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192d35402a2b88155c57e5fca29b50ae6adf917ecee1ccd64be 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192d35402a2b88155c57e5fca29b50ae6adf917ecee1ccd64be .

FIRST IN SCORE - GINGRICH UP 10 IN NEW IOWA POLL:A Hawkeye Poll being released later by the University of Iowa puts Gingrich at the top of the field with 30 percent among likely caucus goers. Romney trails in second with 20 percent; Paul pulls 11; Michele Bachmann, 9; Rick Perry 8; and Rick Santorum, 5. Gingrich's lead over Romney narrows slightly among "strong" Republicans and "very likely" caucus goers, with 29 percent of the latter group saying they would vote for him if the caucus were held today, compared to 23 percent who back Romney. Among self-identified tea partiers, Gingrich leads Romney 34 to 16. Only 35 percent of likely caucus goers are "very satisfied" with their choices,
 which means two-thirds are not. The poll went into the field when Herman Cain was still in the race, and he pulled four percent. Another 11 percent of likely caucus goers remain undecided. The pollsters will announce the results in detail at 10 a.m. at the Zenger Room in the National Press Club.

SNEAK PEEK - HUNTSMAN ROLLS OUT N.H. "LEADERSHIP TEAM":Jon Huntsman's campaign will announce their New Hampshire Statewide Leadership team today, including over 130 community leaders representing all 10 counties and 90 towns. The former Utah governor is going all-in on the Granite State, and this list is meant to show the deep organization he's building - which the high command in Manchester says will translate into a competitive ground game on January 10. See the whole list (which the campaign will distribute later today):
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192f150127a4d9d6c4a913bc82152ad49960338ebce3f36f150 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192f150127a4d9d6c4a913bc82152ad49960338ebce3f36f150 .

JMART EXCLUSIVE - FORMER HUNTSMAN CAMPAIGN MANAGER ENDORSES ROMNEY:Jon Huntsman&#39;s former campaign manager is coming out Monday in support of Mitt Romney, POLITICO has learned. Jonathan Martin emails: Susie Wiles, who left Huntsman&#39;s campaign this summer after clashing with other aides, is to be named a co-chair of Romney&#39;s Florida advisory council. Wiles ran Rick Scott&#39;s gubernatorial campaign last year, and she's based in Jacksonville. By giving Wiles a title, Romney&#39;s camp is tweaking Huntsman, who has been a relentless antagonist. That Team Mitt is even paying enough attention to Huntsman to essentially mock him is in its own way something of an honor. Romney, while
 taking on Rick Perry earlier this fall and more recently lighting into Newt Gingrich, has largely ignored his fellow Mormon. Sources familiar with Wiles&#39; thinking indicate that she&#39;s signing up with Romney now because she&#39;s concerned about Huntsman&#39;s refusal to rule out running as a third-party candidate. Appearing at town hall meeting in New Hampshire over the weekend, where he&#39;s staking his entire campaign, the former Utah governor again dodged the question. Of course, given the circumstances behind her departure it&#39;s unlikely that Wiles would still be supporting her former boss&#39;s candidacy, regardless of his third-party intentions.But with New Hampshire
 appearing ever more crucial to Romney&#39;s hopes of winning the nomination, his camp wants to weaken Huntsman. Reminding Republicans that he&#39;s open to the prospect of an independent run helps that cause. With Gingrich surging on the right, Romney now needs all the center-right votes he can get. Watch the video of Huntsman:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb19226747691f12212f74f92df7fe469da1b893963896cbd6a11 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb19226747691f12212f74f92df7fe469da1b893963896cbd6a11 .

SNEAK PEEK - AXE-WIELDING THOMPSON TO ENDORSE ROMNEY:Tom Thomson is going to make a surprise endorsement today at Mitt Romney's event at the Madison Paper Mill in West Ossipee. [At Chez Vachon at 8 a.m. - the first event of the day Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas will formally endorse Romney.] Thomson is a tea party leader and longtime conservative activist in the state. Most recently, he's been involved with the Americans for Prosperity chapter. He is the son of the late, legendary arch-conservative Governor Meldrum Thomson, which should give Romney some credibility with conservatives. Watch for him to bring his famous "Axe The Tax" ax, pictured here:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192f27e94c20a62a762bc9df872bccf55458f98d90724177952 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192f27e94c20a62a762bc9df872bccf55458f98d90724177952 .

** As Perry admits back trouble, Brunning slams McCaskill on earmarks and the NRCC challenges Matheson's conservative bona fides, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

THE STAKES - FIVE QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD: This is the week Newt Gingrich finally spends some quality time in the early states. The former Speaker, looking to lock in his frontrunner's position, has four events in New Hampshire on Monday, including a one-on-one debate with Jon Huntsman in Manchester. Then he spends Wednesday and Thursday in Iowa. Gingrich's 90-minute Lincoln-Douglas-style debate is a reminder of the unorthodox campaign he continues to run: Most frontrunners wouldn't take the risk of mixing it up with and punching down at an opponent stuck in single digits. But strong debate performances, including his latest Saturday night in Des Moines, have powered Gingrich's
 unexpected comeback. Without enough money to saturate the airwaves and without the organization to win on the ground, he will continue to take all the earned media he can get. Thursday brings the last formal debate before the Jan. 3 caucuses, now just three weeks away. The Fox News forum in Sioux City will offer the final opportunity for Gingrich's rivals to bloody him in front of a national television audience. Most everyone has motive to knock him down a peg, but it won't be easy if his Saturday performance is any indication. Read more from our preview of the week-ahead:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192efb49a513062444a2478961dfad62d2fbc8211a93022569d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192efb49a513062444a2478961dfad62d2fbc8211a93022569d .

With all that in mind, we have these questions for the week ahead:

(1) Can Rick Perry&#39;s return to retail with his 44-city bus tour begin to change his fortunes?

(2) Who will be the most prominent Gingrich endorser?

(3) Who will hit Mitt harder at their Lincoln-Douglas-style debate Monday -- Huntsman or Gingrich?

(4) Was the DNC web video attack on Gingrich after Saturday's debate a sign of more to come?

(5) Is there any evidence to suggest real, undecided voters actually care about the flap over Romney&#39;s $10,000 bet?

FLORIDA - GINGRICH HIRES RUBIO CAMPAIGN MANAGER AS STATE DIRECTOR:"His new state director is Jose Mallea, who helped steer Marco Rubio&#39;s come-from-behind victory in the 2010 Senate race," the National Journal's Beth Reinhard scoops. "The Miami-based campaign strategist has longstanding ties to powerful Republicans in the state, which will hold one of the nation&#39;s earliest primaries on Jan. 31. Mallea&#39;s move is likely to fuel speculation that Rubio will endorse Gingrich, though the freshman senator has said he would stay neutral in the primary. Gingrich and other candidates have dropped his name as a likely running mate. Rubio had an autographed picture of Gingrich on his desk
 when he served in the Florida Legislature and brought it with him to Washington, Mallea said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192716a83473b5310dad4485bbbda6da034e4d91e71e306826a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192716a83473b5310dad4485bbbda6da034e4d91e71e306826a 

HUMANIZING HIMSELF - ROMNEY PERSONALIZES HIS CAMPAIGN:"In the last 24 hours, the former Massachusetts governor has talked about his father, experiences while working as a missionary that weren't even in his memoir - and twice in two days, he's brought up the Mormon faith that he's until now largely steered clear of," Reid Epstein wrote from Manchester last night. "For a candidate who's developed a reputation for stiffness after years spent focusing on his professional background and business expertise, it's a sizable rhetorical pivot...He's casting himself as more personable, connecting with the economic struggles of the voters despite his own multi-million dollar fortune, and even taking a
 new route to talking about American exceptionalism."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192bfbf9d2057ebd3a40dbfd7708745f6bac680fe0cf3c565c4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192bfbf9d2057ebd3a40dbfd7708745f6bac680fe0cf3c565c4 

THE DOOMSDAY CANDIDATE - GINGRICH OBSESSED WITH EMP ATTACK:The New York Times fronts a story about one of the former Speaker's science-fiction-inspired hobby horses: "[He] wants you to know that as commander in chief he is ready to confront one of the most nightmarish of doomsday scenarios: a nuclear blast high above the United States that would instantly throw the nation into a dark age," William Broad writes. "In debates and speeches, interviews and a popular book, he is ringing alarm bells over what experts call the electromagnetic pulse, or EMP - a poorly understood phenomenon of the nuclear age. The idea is that if a nuclear weapon, lofted by a missile, were detonated in outer space
 high above the American heartland, it would set off a huge and crippling shockwave of electricity. Mr. Gingrich warns that it would fry electrical circuits from coast to coast, knocking out computers, electrical power and cellphones...A number of scientists say they consider Mr. Gingrich's alarms far-fetched."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192e40c1d658e0ff04c2577f013fa6448cc382bf694c6db1a21 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192e40c1d658e0ff04c2577f013fa6448cc382bf694c6db1a21 

DEBATE WRAPUP- GINGRICH WON:"Facing tough questions from his Republican rivals and debate moderators in Des Moines, Gingrich parried blow after blow without losing his cool or showing the much-discussed undisciplined side of his personality," JMart assessed. "It was the former House speaker's first debate as the undisputed frontrunner and not only did he stand up to the fresh scrutiny, he reminded Republican primary voters of his command of the issues, his intellectual dexterity and his self-assured, forceful arguments."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb1925b977818bf4299507f5d714f4bab7655ccce44170b07101e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb1925b977818bf4299507f5d714f4bab7655ccce44170b07101e 

MAGGIE HABERMAN'S 7 TAKEAWAYS: "Mitt Romney had a $10,000 unforced error. Newt Gingrich accomplished what he needed to. Gingrich is testing how far right a GOP candidate can go on Israel. Rick Perry still has some game. Michele Bachmann is the only one invoking Herman Cain. The Jon Huntsman-Newt Gingrich debate just got more interesting. Ron Paul gets his due."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192751f1f6aec28948d490720892ea81caef465e1e70a61fc0d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192751f1f6aec28948d490720892ea81caef465e1e70a61fc0d 

ROMNEY'S SHOW - TIME OF POSSESSION:Everyone expected the debate would primarily be about Gingrich, but the center of attention - and all the stories after -- focused on Romney. The University of Minnesota Smart Politics tabulated the amount each candidate spoke: Romney spoke for a full 25 percent of the debate, with 17 minutes and 40 seconds. Gingrich trailed behind at 13:11. The others: Bachmann, 11:50; Perry, 10:18; Santorum, 9:34; and Paul, 7:59. Romney talked more than both moderators, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos, combined (15:48).
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb19247f095fd54c8d89b1cb5298fda7993791cc59fa6184634e6 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb19247f095fd54c8d89b1cb5298fda7993791cc59fa6184634e6 

THE MOST WATCHED DEBATE OF THE YEAR:7.57 million tuned into ABC for the 9-11 p.m. Saturday broadcast, including 2.1 million in the key 25-54 demographic.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb19226b276bad952f5cfc344c4037ddab4699d0de4e07a268eaf 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb19226b276bad952f5cfc344c4037ddab4699d0de4e07a268eaf 

THE $10,000 BET - DOES IT MATTER?Much of the Sunday coverage looked at Romney's offer of a $10,000 bet to Perry over whether or not he altered a passage in his book on Romneycare being a model for the nation. The two have already had the argument in previous debates, but it was different this time because Romney offered a large wager. His rivals in both parties think such a large bet shows him as out of touch. Romney's team initially said that it was planned, and that people often offer large bets when they know they're right. But then the candidate tried to joke as reporters dogged him about it in New Hampshire yesterday.

ROMNEY'S LINE:"Actually after the debate was over Ann came up and gave me a kiss and said I was great and she said there are a lot of things you do well, betting isn't one of them," Romney said in Hudson, N.H.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192bf42e55886f9516f3c54b1b5f0e57c326d1679b4ef47733c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192bf42e55886f9516f3c54b1b5f0e57c326d1679b4ef47733c 

PERRY'S VIDEO:Rick Perry's campaign posted a one-minute Lucas Baiano web video last night attacking Romney for offering the bet. The message on the screen: "One bet you can count on...The truth isn't for sale." Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192b3da33fdf109227f2055c9be04651f669a0b12b5e0d399b4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192b3da33fdf109227f2055c9be04651f669a0b12b5e0d399b4 .

DNC VIDEO:The Democratic National Committee says the bet shows Romney is out of touch. "Anybody that offers a $10,000 bet on stage during a debate, only has $100 bills in his wallet, is a multi-millionaire who jokes that he&#39;s unemployed and truly believes corporations are people - cannot possibly understand the lives of middle class Americans," a DNC official writes. Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192195eb29fb191e17e01d7aa03db69fbd8a32150d71d69ed0f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb192195eb29fb191e17e01d7aa03db69fbd8a32150d71d69ed0f .

FIRST LOOK AT IOWA DEMOCRATIC FUNDRAISING EMAIL:State party chairwoman Sue Dvorsky writes in a message going out to the party's fundraising list later this morning: "Here in Iowa, $10,000 could cover: Two and a half months household income for the typical Iowa family ($4,098/month). 3,125 gallons of gas (average price $3.20). Three semesters of tuition at Iowa State University ($3,204/semester). Almost three times what the average family spends on groceries in a year ($3624).More than a year's worth of mortgage payments for the typical American home purchased today ($8,376). 1,666 pork chops on a stick at the Iowa State Fair ($6/pork chop).1,709 bushels of corn ($5.85/bushel).2,500 Smitty's
 tenderloins ($4/sandwich)." Sue tells Iowa Dems to tweet what they could cover using the hashtag #What10kbuys, which trended Saturday.

HUNTSMAN MICROSITE:While the debate was still going on, the Huntsman campaign bought and announced they owned 10Kbet.com:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb19289ff2a7541d4b3a31b56f0c157b6efc6c365cf2049e805a5 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b372d62fa75fb19289ff2a7541d4b3a31b56f0c157b6efc6c365cf2049e805a5 .

MORE POLLING - NBC/MARIST SHOWS GINGRICH SURGING IN SC, FL:"In South Carolina, which holds its presidential contest on Jan. 21, Gingrich gets the support of 42 percent of likely primary voters, including those leaning toward a particular candidate," NBC's Mark Murray wrote yesterday. "Romney gets 23 percent (a five-point drop since October), and no other Republican candidate registers in double digits...In a field reduced to three candidates in South Carolina, Gingrich gets the support of 48 percent of likely voters, Romney gets 30 percent and Paul gets 12 percent. In a simple two-way race, Gingrich's support increases to 57 percent and Romney's moves to 33 percent."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e9bdc2dc7d7b5136eaf39394053ff9bf60f05e22f16a11cf4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e9bdc2dc7d7b5136eaf39394053ff9bf60f05e22f16a11cf4 

"InFlorida, which holds its primary on Jan. 31, Gingrich is at 44 percent among likely voters -- a 38-point increase from October. He's followed by Romney at 29 percent (a four-point decline), Paul at 8 percent and Perry at 4 percent. In a three-way race in the Sunshine State, it's Gingrich 51 percent, Romney 31 percent and Paul 10 percent. And in a simple head-to-head contest, it's Gingrich 54 percent, Romney 36 percent." Crosstabs:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e89c62326c7022ac1ab1109e1f5c21ac1e9f88d6135cf27a2 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e89c62326c7022ac1ab1109e1f5c21ac1e9f88d6135cf27a2 . Mark's write-up:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e2248c6a68949f73b7ca38022b66f1b5fca166e564a496e57 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e2248c6a68949f73b7ca38022b66f1b5fca166e564a496e57 .

SNEAK PEEK - GREENBERG POLL SHOWS HOUSE GOP LOSING INDIE EDGE:Democratic polling guru Stan Greenberg, CEO of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, will hold an 11 a.m. conference call to go over the results of his new poll of 1,000 likely voters in the 60 most competitive Republican House districts (Obama carried 48 in 2008) for Democracy Corps. In September, independents favored these Republican incumbents by an 18-point margin. It has now closed to 8-points (36-44.) Stan argues that many of these independents do not appear to be coming back: 51 percent now say they 'can&#39;t vote to reelect (the named Republican incumbent.)' Here's a preview of what will be covered on the call: "On all of our
 thermometer scales, Republicans have declined among independents-61 percent of independents now give the Republican Party a cool rating and 62 percent give the Republican Congress a cool rating, a 14 point shift since last month. And for the first time in our tracking, cool ratings for incumbents outnumber warm ratings among independents...Among all voters in these districts, 60 percent want the Republicans to work with the president and 50 percent say they 'want to vote for a Member of Congress who will ask the wealthiest to pay a greater share of taxes and cut special interest spending to address our problems and the deficit.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e15b1fbfc725c66a481f732d32569d1d88334dd77f34dcc60 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e15b1fbfc725c66a481f732d32569d1d88334dd77f34dcc60 

GOING AFTER NEWT - DNC:For the first time, the DNC released a post-debate web video hitting Gingrich over the weekend. It paints him as a tea partier eager to shut down government, slash Medicare and give tax breaks to Wall Street.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e0afe39564ef70da2639cfb18060a9bbb83ea70f0ff95388a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e0afe39564ef70da2639cfb18060a9bbb83ea70f0ff95388a 

USA TODAY - "GINGRICH SLAMMED '96 RIVAL ON CHILD LABOR":"Before Newt Gingrich questioned the validity of child labor laws, he used them to attack an opponent," Jackie Kucinich writes in what is likely a rival campaign's quick-hit oppo dump. "...in a 1996 ad titled 'Cookie,' Gingrich slammed his then-congressional opponent, Michael Coles, former CEO of Great American Cookie Co., as an 'unscrupulous businessman' partly because of a 1993 violation of child labor laws and accused him of using children 'for hazardous labor,' according to a transcript of the ad in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e5793ec53e5431dbfaa8acc9e4569eae4ce9c8e7e33313b5b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e5793ec53e5431dbfaa8acc9e4569eae4ce9c8e7e33313b5b 

ON BACKGROUND - "A SENIOR AIDE IN THE GINGRICH CAMPAIGN" WAS ACTUALLY GINGRICH:After John Sununu attacked him last week as "untrustworthy and unprincipled," citing the time he reneged on the 1990 tax hike deal, Gingrich called up and went on background for an interview with the Union Leader. "The newspaper, quoting a source identified as 'a senior aide in the Gingrich campaign,' elaborately rebutted this account," according to an account in today's New York Times by Trip Gabriel. Gingrich spokesman R.C."Hammond said the source was actually Mr. Gingrich, who did not want to be identified to avoid the impression he was getting into a fight with the Romney camp."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e43c81be47ca0bd9c548648b0f7b5a0dc5f23f3bd244dbfdc 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e43c81be47ca0bd9c548648b0f7b5a0dc5f23f3bd244dbfdc 

PERRY -

HECKLED OVER GAYS IN MILITARY AD:At a coffee shop in Ames yesterday, a man identifying himself as a Marine veteran from the Iraq war heckled Perry. Other activists were there too, per the LA Times.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89efad8422afac36e08e3579502c3f8d49185ac0134e1b24a72 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89efad8422afac36e08e3579502c3f8d49185ac0134e1b24a72 .

FINALLY ADMITS BACK TROUBLE IMPACTED PERFORMANCE:"I'm back running again for the last six weeks. I think part of the reason you have seen a somewhat different candidate on the debates is my health, and (I'm) both physically and mentally just back in the game. You have fusion on your back, and it takes you a while to get back on your game," Perry told Des Moines Register political columnist Kathie Obradovich on Sunday. "I would suggest to you that I was pretty fatigued [in the early debates]. No excuses. It was error. It's what it is."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e08d3f3829da64ada291c21c70f4d38d7b2548ab04f7e2ea8 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e08d3f3829da64ada291c21c70f4d38d7b2548ab04f7e2ea8 

SELF-ASSURANCE IS PERRY HALLMARK:The Washington Post has a front-page profile of Perry today, the second in their "candidate week" series. Michael Leahy: "Self-assurance has accounted for most of his major moves in life and politics. But what has happened in his four-month presidential campaign has demonstrated the limits of how far confidence can take a driven person without ample preparation...After he made early gaffes, the greatest surprise of all occurred: His confidence ebbed on the trail and during interviews." Romney "the problem solver" got on Sunday A1:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e56425d45b78e99ae64efbc64cdb16d33873f58ae0349e44f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e56425d45b78e99ae64efbc64cdb16d33873f58ae0349e44f . The Perry piece:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89ebec1639944f87ec2336b84c2373581a0fb79bcca35925700 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89ebec1639944f87ec2336b84c2373581a0fb79bcca35925700 .

IOWA TALKER - BALZ SUGGETS DECLINING IMPORTANCE OF CAUCUSES:Dan Balz writes in his Monday Post column that "Iowa has lost much of the unique character that has marked previous campaigns." More: "What's not clear is whether this year's campaign in Iowa is an anomaly or a look into the future...The organizational duels that marked previous campaigns are missing this year because no one appears worried that they are far behind another candidate. Finding county chairs in the 99 counties has been a struggle for some candidates, let alone finding precinct leaders for the more than 1,774 precincts that will hold caucuses next month." Meanwhile, Santorum has spent more time than anyone in the state
 and is at the back of the pack. Perry has spent more on ads than anyone, but they can't make up for bad debate performances.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89eafa5f570801b6717a43796e0a31303415fc633fa27435854 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89eafa5f570801b6717a43796e0a31303415fc633fa27435854 

TWEET DU JOUR: "# of min of TV I&#39;ve watched in Des Moines: 20. # of Romney ads I&#39;ve seen: 4 (3 Super PAC ads, 1 campaign ad)." - Scott Conroy (@RealClearScott) at 6:42 p.m. CT last night

SUNDAY SHOW HIGHLIGHTS -

Barack Obama on 60 Minutes:'It doesn&#39;t really matter who the nominee is gonna be. The core philosophy that they&#39;re expressing is the same. And the contrast in visions between where I want to take the country and where they say they want to take the country is gonna be stark.' Story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e1e09418bca7a4c40911264d577732da039fe6fd9194f2401 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e1e09418bca7a4c40911264d577732da039fe6fd9194f2401 . Video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e67f24976be5b921338c08c0736ed4ce3465e43adc6aac8fe 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e67f24976be5b921338c08c0736ed4ce3465e43adc6aac8fe .

Ron Paul on NBC said Gingrich should pay back the money he got from Freddie Mac:"I wouldn&#39;t have taken their money, just for the fact that I think it was an immoral thing to take money." Blog post:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89ebcc15aeddae46ba7b5cd8c9b23d7d2c52b53ee3ef27ca8ac 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89ebcc15aeddae46ba7b5cd8c9b23d7d2c52b53ee3ef27ca8ac . Video:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e70884e847cd9e4726c94b3318f8f905358575dd9c28ded59 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e70884e847cd9e4726c94b3318f8f905358575dd9c28ded59 .

Michele Bachmann on CBS doubled down on her "Newt Romney" construct from the night before:"He's the big government candidate just like Mitt Romney is the big government candidate. That's not what we want in our nominee. It doesn't survive the falling-off-the-chair laughing test."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89eabd559ece5cfb880501a92fa2d6448eed973df280088049f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89eabd559ece5cfb880501a92fa2d6448eed973df280088049f 

Rick Perry on Fox:"The fact is, I don&#39;t have memorized all of those Supreme Court judges."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89ea21caa83b21270084c3a6df6931fced66b2aeef0eb148580 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89ea21caa83b21270084c3a6df6931fced66b2aeef0eb148580 

Rick Santorum on CNN: "It is interesting if you watched the debate last night between Romney and Gingrich, they were back and forth on some peripheral issues but the core issues, whether it was the Wall Street bailout or cap in trade and globe global warming which is a huge government takeover [or the individual mandate] ... Gingrich and Romney are in the same place."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89eebe75bb58e8058e4a071014218073d31f8c7d37298a3ebff 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89eebe75bb58e8058e4a071014218073d31f8c7d37298a3ebff 

Sen. Lindsey Graham on NBC: "The South Carolina Republican, who helped organize a failed attempt to oust Gingrich from his post as Speaker of the House in 1997, said Sunday that Gingrich has 'matured' and that he would 'certainly support him as president if he won the nomination.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e513f29c2ed458d892ab09b12d1dabe6ad7911bdfb1c66bb4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e513f29c2ed458d892ab09b12d1dabe6ad7911bdfb1c66bb4 

WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO:Gingrich has a 9:20 a.m. town hall in Londonderry, a 10:45 meet-and-greet at the pharmacy in Hollis, the 4 p.m. debate against Huntsman (will be livestreamed) and an evening town hall in Windham. Romney has his event at the famous Chez Vachon and then goes to a lumber mill. Before his L-D debate with Newt, Huntsman speaks to the Petersborough Rotary Club. Santorum gives a noon speech in Des Moines, visits Cornell College at 3 p.m. and speaks at a GOP Christmas party in Cedar Rapids at 6:30.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e7405efacba0c38bd938da44af2898b396f5fdc8ee23a5906 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e7405efacba0c38bd938da44af2898b396f5fdc8ee23a5906 

WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS UP TO - AL-MALIKI DOMINATES HIS DAY : "In the morning, the President and the Vice President will hold an expanded bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Iraq in the Oval Office...Following this meeting, the President will hold a bilateral meeting with al-Maliki in the Oval Office...Later, the President will hold a joint press conference with al-Maliki in the South Court Auditorium...In the afternoon, the President, the Vice President and al-Maliki will participate in a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery...Later in the afternoon, the President will meet with Secretary of State Clinton in the Oval Office."

CROSSROADS - $500K BUY HITS OBAMA ON SOLYNDRA:"The Crossroads GPS ad will target the administration&#39;s loan guarantee to Solyndra, which critics say cost taxpayers a half-billion dollars after the company filed for bankruptcy protection this fall," the AP scooped. "The ad will run over the next two weeks on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC and is among the most specific aimed at President Barack Obama's record." Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e233fa5241e1bd1136cd8c522f70d3b830ecf2d7735fb95e3 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e233fa5241e1bd1136cd8c522f70d3b830ecf2d7735fb95e3 .

FIRST IN SCORE - BRUNNER SLAMS MCCASKILL ON EARMARKS:Republican John Brunner, locked in a fight for the Republican Senate nomination in Missouri, looks toward the general election with an attack on vulnerable freshman Sen. Claire McCaskill. A web video that will be distributed by his campaign today highlights her vote for a $1.9 million earmark that went to the Pleasure Beach Water Taxi Service in Pleasure Beach, Connecticut. From a forthcoming press release: "The Pleasure Beach Water Taxi earmark was originally included in the FY 2009 omnibus spending bill. But when senators offered an amendment to specifically eliminate the Pleasure Beach Water Taxi earmark, McCaskill specifically voted
 to keep it. (Senate Amendment 610, 03/04/09) Pleasure Beach...has been abandoned for more than a decade. While Claire McCaskill claims to oppose earmarks, her record is filled with support for thousands of earmarks." Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e5f05d242ba5f3fc9f8992a726532cc2066a7d12688f6bd78 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e5f05d242ba5f3fc9f8992a726532cc2066a7d12688f6bd78 .

THE BIGGEST NRCC BUY OF 2011 - $60K TARGETS MATHESON'S "MODERATE" BRAND:'The National Republican Congressional Committee is taking aim at Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson in a new television commercial in Utah, using his own words against him in an effort to soften him up ahead of next year's election," the Salt Lake Tribune&#39;s Tommy Burrreports in today's newspaper. "The Republican group has purchased $60,000 in cable and broadcast spots to air in Utah for 10 days, the most the NRCC has spent this election cycle targeting a single member outside of a special election...&#39;I'm a Democrat, and I'm here to tell you I don't run from that label,&#39; the ad shows Matheson saying. &#39;That's
 not the only label he wears,&#39; an announcer intones. &#39;Matheson is also President Obama's biggest supporter in Utah.&#39; Matheson has yet to say whether he will seek re-election in the 2nd Congressional District, choose another district to run in or challenge Gov. Gary Herbert...The Democrat represents the most Republican district of any of his fellow party members in Congress. And that district will be more Republican based on recently approved redistricting maps.'

An NRCC official emails Score: "Matheson has always tried to cater to both Rs and Ds but that&#39;s put him in a weird place where he can never make either base truly happy. With this ad, we exploit that. We highlight his allegiance to Obama, which blows up the 'moderate' brand he tries to portray." The story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e0b4986fc6e434c0d81379feff0c327865aa7b040063c583b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e0b4986fc6e434c0d81379feff0c327865aa7b040063c583b . The ad:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e937b0bff131bcb6ea1fb45a4cfdab2a209516d81456466da 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e937b0bff131bcb6ea1fb45a4cfdab2a209516d81456466da .

OUT THIS MORNING - RNC SHARPENS PAYROLL TAX MESSAGING:The Republican National Committee will release a two-page research piece today in an effort to begin turning the tables on Obama's payroll messaging this week. It faults the president for threatening to veto a payroll tax extension compromise that would force his hand on the Keystone Pipeline. The gist of the hit is that Obama is already blocking 20,000 jobs by kowtowing to the environmentalists, and now he's willing to allow 160 million families to see a $1,000 per year average tax increase to continue appeasing green activists.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e39a20e40d0aba9496cb2b252bd937e075563626ca2e002a6 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e39a20e40d0aba9496cb2b252bd937e075563626ca2e002a6 

DCCC ROBOCALLS -FIRST PAID CAMPAIGN ON PAYROLL TAX FIGHT:The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee quietly launched a robocall campaign Friday to target 10 Republicans for not supporting an extension of the payroll tax cut.

Go to POLITICO Morning Score Now >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ccc1367c231fa89e0deba5f0b16da7adc158cdf65e9f3fa2ea6b6de3cd7d0a74

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