"There's a lot of different scenarios. We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it."

"But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot."

Said Rick Perry... a while back.

Rick Perry will say he's dropping out.

He'll say it during before tonight's debate (on CNN), say CNN sources.

He was this year's Fred Thompson — looks good from a distance, but doesn't sound right in the debates.

ADDED: "I believe that Newt is a conservative visionary who can transform our country. We have had our differences, which campaigns will inevitably have. Newt is not perfect, but who among us is?"

"The movie pejoratively claims that the 'Bain Way' was shorthand for being able to 'turn the misfortunes of others into their enormous financial gains.'"

"Bain Capital was actually an offshoot of Bain & Company, a consulting firm, and the 'Bain Way' refers to its heavily analytical and data-driven approach to problems."

More here:

Bain didn’t make “people lose their jobs;” on the contrary, it created all of the jobs in Gaffney that [Rick] Perry is talking about. It would have been good if the jobs had lasted more than four years, but there was obviously a net benefit of four years’ work to the employees.

"And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State... Here we come South Carolina!!!"

Perry hangs in.

At the Iowa Caucuses.

Photo sent in from a reader in Waukee, Iowa.

ADDED: My Waukee reader says: "Here is the line to register in Waukee Iowa (point of grace church) at 714pm. That's 14 mins after the doors closed. Rick Perry is here. No way we start before 745."



And a few minutes later: "Perry's talking. Says he'll take a 'Sharpie pen' to Obama care. Obviously well received. Romney's wife is talking now. Praising his exec abilities..."

Gingrich and Perry fail to make it onto the primary ballot in Virginia.

What a screwup! You have to get 10,000 signatures....

Perry’s campaign told state election officials it had submitted 11,911 signatures, and Gingrich’s campaign said it submitted 11,050 signatures. State party officials spent Friday night validating the signatures.

... valid signatures.

When Ariana says "simply no there there" about a white hot story about a GOP presidential candidate, that's the definition of "false Internet garbage"...

Which is what the Perry campaign called Glen Maxey's self-published book "Head Figure Head: The Search for the Hidden Life of Rick Perry":

Initially, Maxey was collaborating with a reporter ("The Journalist") for a "National News Outlet" – unidentified in the book, but outed last week by Politico as Jason Cherkis of the Huffington Post. It eventually became clear that Cherkis' story was unlikely to be published. (Despite editorial and legal clearance, Ariana Huffington spiked it, last week telling Politico's Ken Vogel, there was "simply no there there.")

George H.W. Bush endorses Romney, because of his "stability, experience, principles. He’s a fine person."

"I just think he’s mature and reasonable — not a bomb-thrower... I’ve got to be a little careful because I like Perry; he’s our governor."

ADDED: By contrast, Rush Limbaugh bashes Romney for declining to call Obama a "socialist."  Romney — responding to Bill O'Reilly's "Is Obama a socialist?" — said:

You know, I prefer to use the term that he's just over his head.  I consider him a big government liberal Democrat.  I think, as you look at his policies, you conclude that he thinks Europe got it right, and we got it wrong.  I think Europe got it wrong.  I think Europe is not working in Europe, and I'll battle him on that day in and day out. But I'm probably not gonna be calling him names so much as calling him a failure.

Get ready for another debate... and hang out here, while I live-blog.

In 15 minutes, "the Republican presidential candidates will convene for the 13th televised debate of the 2012 cycle, the fourth from Fox News." They're in Sioux City, Iowa, on Fox News.

8:15: Rick Perry is the Tim Tebow.

8:20: Ron Paul identifies 2 factions in Congress: those who are for welfare and those who are for warfare. (He's against both.)

8:22: Listening to Huntsman, I blurt out: "He'd be a great candidate if only he hadn't worked in the Obama administration." He just can't get any respect. It's kind of sad! He was reelected governor with 80% of the vote. He's used to being immensely popular, so it must be bewildering not to get any traction. And yet, he knows exactly what his problem is. Too bad... perhaps for all of us.

8:25: The first commercial break. I go over to read what my son John is live-blogging:

9:07 - Rick Santorum is asked why he's doing so badly when he's spent more time in Iowa than any of the other candidates. "I'm counting on the people of Iowa to catch fire for me." He says he presents a "clear contrast" with the others because he's been a consistent conservative. If that's so clear, yet he's going nowhere, doesn't that imply that hardcore conservatism isn't the voters' top priority?

(John is in the Eastern Time Zone.)

8:35: Ron Paul goes after Gingrich on government-sponsored enterprises. They're not private business. Gingrich, given a chance to defend himself, says some government-sponsored enterprises do a lot of good. Then Bachmann gets to pile on: Gingrich stands for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and "they need to be shut down."

8:45: Rick Perry seems to be trying to get in on that Ron Paul small-government magic. Perry's new thing: "Part-time Congress."

9:01: Megyn Kelly invites them to trash those terrible judges, the legislators in black robes. At one point, she insists that they all name their favorite Supreme Court Justice. Rick Perry says: "Alito, Thomas, or Roberts — pick one!" What about Scalia! Man! What happened? Scalia used to be the favorite. Next, it's Romney, and he recites: "Roberts, Thomas, Alito, and Scalia," then almost giggles, as if to say: I did it, I named all the conservative Justices!

9:02: Gingrich agrees about those 4 Justices, then chooses Scalia, because he's "the most intellectual." Hmmm, maybe that's why Scalia didn't rate with Perry.

9:03: Ron Paul says: "All of them are good and all of them are bad." And Bachmann puts Scalia at the top of her list, then adds the other 3: Roberts, Thomas, and Alito. Huntsman gives a little homily about the rule of law... then picks Roberts and Alito.

9:10: "A foreign policy based on 'pretty please,' you've got to be kidding." Romney mocks Obama's request that Iran return our drone.

9:21: "I'm very concerned about trying not to be zany," says Gingrich, in a reference to something Romney said the other day.

9:48: I'd like to see all of them with false eyelashes.

9:51: Gingrich would like to "eliminate abortions as a choice... defund Planned Parenthood and shift the money to pay for adoption services to give young women a choice of life rather than death." Why not eliminate the word "choice" then?

9:52: What happened to the Ronald Reagan commandment "Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican?" That's the new question.

9:53: "There's an NFL player. His name doesn't come to mind, but he said if you don't get your tail kicked every now and then, you're not playing at a high enough level." Hey! That's the second time Perry dragged in football. Gratuitously. And ineptly reminding us of the way he can't remember stuff. And he wants to give "all you all" credit for letting him play at a high enough level. So he dragged in football again, quite unnecessarily, and got stuck not remembering something again.

9:54: Romney these attacks don't matter. Obama's the real opponent. Gingrich agrees: everyone on the stage is his "friend" and would be better than Barack Obama.

9:55: "I kind of like Huntsman. I think it's a shame he ruined himself by working for Obama," say I. Meade says, "I don't like him at all he's..." "Smarmy?" I volunteer. "Yeah, smarmy," says Meade. "He's a smarmdog."

"A $10,000 bet between Romney and Perry tops chatter at GOP debate."

Typical post-debate headline. It was the spin among the ABC commentators right after the debate too. Everyone had the same take on it: The amount of the bet is so much it reminds people that Romney's really rich, and that's bad.

I had 3 responses to that last night, and here they are, in the order that they crossed my mind:

1. When I heard Romney's "Rick, I’ll tell you what, 10,000 bucks?" my instant reaction was that it's gambling. Are Mormons allowed to gamble? And many voters frown on gambling or regard it as a sin. Is a bet like that, especially when made for rhetorical purposes, considered gambling by people who are opposed to bad gambling? Will this make people think Romney really isn't very religious, and, if so, will that help him in some quarters?

2. When I heard commentators calling attention to the $10,000 amount, I was surprised, especially since they were all harping on the same point. (Presumably, tweets got the meme going.) The amount, if anything, seemed small to me, and not because I'm rich. When people are essentially saying "I'm absolutely sure I'm right" — which Romney was — they'll often say "I'll bet you a million dollars." Kids say that. You have to say a large amount, because the point is that you know you're not going to lose it. It's like saying "I'll eat my hat." You don't name an item that won't be too hard to eat. If anything, the problem with $10,000 was that it's not enough to make the point. But I think Romney made the number small to seem more like a modest, regular guy. Plus "I'll bet you a million dollars" sounds childish.

3. Finally, what's wrong with a candidate being wealthy? Candidates for President are men and women in the later stages of their careers. They are presenting themselves as highly competent and knowledgeable about economic matters. If they're not rich, why should we trust them managing our prosperity? The main reason some good candidates aren't rich is that they've spent their careers in government. Fine. But Romney hasn't, and indeed, that's his pitch: He's experienced in the private sector. If so, he'd better be rich. We should want someone who's worked for decades in private business but hasn't gotten rich to switch over to being President of the United States? We want the United States to grow richer! Rich is good. The commentators who imply that rich isn't good are letting their leftism show.

78 right-of-center bloggers respond to a poll about the 2012 Republican candidates.

At Right Wing News. I'm one of the respondents, by the way, and I don't usually answer RWN polls, mainly because I don't have answers to the questions John Hawkins tends to ask. Let me highlight the Gingrichy results:

If you had to pick a 2012 GOP contender today, which of the following candidates would you select?... 1) Newt Gingrich: 39.2% (31 votes)

Romney came in third, with 10 votes. Rick Perry got in at second place with 21.

Do you consider Newt Gingrich to be a conservative?

Yes: 63.6% (49 votes)
No: 36.4% (28 votes)...

Do you consider Mitt Romney to be a conservative?

Yes: 33.3% (26 votes)
No: 66.7% (52 votes)

If you had to choose between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, which candidate would you select?

Mitt Romney: 26.3% (20 votes)
Newt Gingrich: 73.7% (56 votes)

Which candidate do you think would be more likely to beat Barack Obama in 2012?

Mitt Romney: 42.3% (33 votes)
Newt Gingrich: 57.7% (45 votes)

So there you have it. The right-of-center bloggers are gaga for Gingrich.

I'm in the NYT, suggesting that Rick Perry is... maybe... dumb.

Here.

IN THE COMMENTS: Meade says:

...and when my campaign and what's left of my manhood gets to Wisconsin, there'll be one smart-mouthed little lady law perfessor who'd better be GONE!

Uh... uh... Ann something.

Perry, the radical: "I’m a true believer that we need to uproot..."

"... tear down and rebuild Washington, D.C., and our federal institutions."

Of particular interest to law folk:

“Too many federal judges rule with impunity from the bench, and those who legislate from the bench should not be entitled to lifetime abuse of their judicial authority.” He proposed 18-year terms, staggered every two years, for new Supreme Court justices, and suggested similar limits on federal appellate and district court judges...

 It would take a constitutional amendment, of course.

Gingrich picking up the percentage points that Cain and Perry are shedding.

He's up 5, with Cain and Perry losing 1 and 4 respectively.

UPDATE: In another poll released today, from CNN/ORC International Poll, Newt vies with Romney for first place: "24% of Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP say Romney is their most likely choice for their party's presidential nominee with Gingrich at 22%. Romney's two-point advantage is well within the survey's sampling error." Significantly, Romney's level of support is stable, while Gingrich is up 14 points since October.

Perry goes on Letterman for a "Top Ten Rick Perry Excuses."

You can read the list here, but it's actually pretty fun to watch. Perry is good at doing comedy. In fact, he's so good at doing comedy, he can do comedy without even trying.

I liked #2: "I wanted to help take the heat off my buddy Herman Cain."

But I was especially interested in #10:

Actually there were three reasons I messed up last night: One was the nerves, and two was the headache, and three, um… uh… oops.

What caught my ear was the pronunciation of "oops." Did you notice the difference between the way he said it there and the way he said it at the end of the 53 seconds of hell on Wednesday night? He said it the old-fashioned way, with the "oo" as in "foot." In the debate, he said the "oo" as in "moo," which is a recent and especially girlish way to say it. It's the way Britney Spears pronounces it in "Oops! I Did It Again." (Hey that guy in the space helmet looks like Rick Perry!)

And by the way, there was something painfully school-girlish about the last 10 seconds of the 53 seconds. He starts the list of 3 over again, like a kid who's memorized a list. Then there's the pathetic... "I can't... I can't..." And finally, "oops," said with the Britney Spears pronunciation that seems to express an inane lack of interest in one's own helplessness.

And this extremely weak, girlish ending is especially bad because of the hypermasculine beginning: "And I will tell you, it's 3 agencies of government, when I get there, that are gone." Like he's that Texas gunslinger, comin' in there to git ya. But who's he gonna git? He doesn't even know!

That's why we shouldn't feel sorry for him. He wants to be the guy who's gonna git in there and do big things. He just knows what needs to be done and he's got the balls to do it. But if he doesn't know what he's doing... !!!

Perry's screwup goes viral.

Peggy Noonan found Rick Perry's "brain freeze" "endearing."

I see the point:

Rick Perry's candidacy wasn't going anywhere before the famous 53-second brain freeze. Now it's official. To me it was the first thing he's done that was endearing. You're out there live in front of six million people, they're watching closely, you're under the lights, every word counts—and you blank. You forget the third element of your robotic soundbite. This is human. But we don't want our presidents to be human, we want them to be perfectly prepped and drilled so we can make fun of their inauthenticity.

Ha. Exactly. Speaking of which:

Mitt Romney, of course, did well, and continues to deserve an award for Heroic Self Discipline in the Cutaway Shot. He looks at the other candidates with a benign, encouraging look, as if he'll take no pleasure in it at all when he squashes them like bugs.

Oh, yeah, the split screens with Romney looking on completely crack me up. I've been wracking my brains trying to come up with the right description, and Peggy's take is just perfect.

Rick Perry's "oops."

How horrible is it?
	Utterly devastating.
	Horrible.
	Bad, but things like that can happen.
	Not such a huge deal. Relax, people.
	It's a trifle. Everyone blanks out sometimes, and he seemed good humored.
pollcode.com free polls

ADDED: My son John is live-blogging the debate, and here's how he covered the Perry gaffe:

9:17 - My brother Chris IMs (and gives me permission to quote):

Perry just had the worst moment of any candidate in a debate I think I've ever seen!

Perry started out by saying he was going to list 3 agencies that should be abolished. He said "Education, Commerce" — but then spent a very long time trying to think of the third one. Another candidate suggested: "EPA." Perry jokingly said, "Yeah, the EPA." The moderator asked Perry if he seriously meant the EPA, and he said no. Finally, he admitted he just couldn't think of the rest of his message. Perry ended his segment by actually saying out loud: "Oops!"

UPDATE: Perry comments:

"I'm glad I had my boots on tonight... I stepped in it out there.... I stepped in it, man. Yeah, it was embarrassing. Of course it was."

ADDED: I bet Rick Perry really hates the Energy Department now.

AND: Perry's Intrade stock crashed immediately. Click on "last day." It goes from around 9 to below 4 instantly.

"We now know and have been able to trace it back to the Perry campaign that stirred this up, in order to discredit me and slow us down."

Says Herman Cain, who if he's not sure the oppo drop came from Perry is an immense hypocrite.

By the way, who dropped the "Niggerhead" story on Perry? Did we ever find out?

"Cain Says Perry Camp Behind Sex Harassment Leak."

Oh!