Debate Swings Door Open for Perry, Closed For Palin  —  Most people have better things to do than to watch a presidential debate eight months in advance of the Iowa caucuses.  So when considering a debate like the one that took place among Republican candidates in New Hampshire tonight, it's important to be mindful of the following:

5 things we learned tonight  —  Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) - Five things we learned at the debate:  —  1) Michele Bachmann is now a candidate for president.  The congresswoman from Minnesota was the only person on the stage who was not officially a candidate at the start of the debate.

GOP DEBATE: Bachmann grabs spotlight with filing announcement  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) announced during Monday evening's presidential debate that she'd filed paperwork to run for president.  —  “I filed today my paperwork to run for president of the United States ... I wanted you to be the first to know,” she said.

CNN's Crazy, No-Holds-Barred, Social-Media Debate  —  It's got more bells and whistles than a video game and could send the candidates into anaphylactic shock  —  Manchester, N.H. — By nature, I'm a debate skeptic.  They're hard to differentiate, and the last one is usually forgotten as soon as the next one rolls around.

Pawlenty beats hasty N.H. retreat  —  GOFFSTOWN, N.H. - Tim Pawlenty's puzzling decision at Monday's debate to abandon a new line of attack on Mitt Romney's healthcare record is prompting fresh doubts among members of his own party about his readiness to confront the GOP frontrunner.

BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL  —  My take on the New Hampshire debate  —  Senior Political Analyst Follow Him @MichaelBarone  —  My Washington Examiner colleagues have given their ongoing reactions to the CNN/WMUR/New Hampshire Union Leader two-hour debate at St. Anselm's College (what a fab auditorium! …

Taxpayers pay Weiner for “sex-rehab” vacation?  —  The House voted unanimously on Monday night to give Rep. Anthony Weiner a two-week paid leave of absence.  Rep. Mike Capuano, Massachusetts Democrat, sponsored the request from the New York Democrat.  Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi …

Second lesbian blogger exposed as a man  —  Paula Brooks, who claimed to be editor of LezGetReal.com, admitted to the Washington Post that ‘she’, too, was a man  —  A second supposedly leading lesbian blogger was exposed as a man masquerading as a gay woman, a day after the Gay Girl …