After another bad debate, is Rick Perry finished?  —  HANOVER, NH — It would be an understatement to say that Texas Gov. Rick Perry's top aides are unhappy with press reports casting Tuesday night's Republican debate as a make-or-break moment for the Texas governor.

Mitt Romney builds case for inevitability  —  HANOVER, N.H - Hours after Chris Christie signaled he believes Mitt Romney is the Republican party's inevitable nominee, Romney and the rest of the GOP field went about proving him right.  —  Romney again outclassed the opposition in Tuesday's Bloomberg/Washington Post debate.

Who is Rich Lowrie?  —  Herman Cain says his much-touted “9-9-9” plan is the product of extensive testing and thinking, but the only man he cited as involved with its research — Rich Lowrie, of Cleveland, Ohio — is not a trained economist.  —  Instead, Lowrie — who's the only economic adviser Cain …

The Shame Of The Crowded Field  —  The ridiculous thing about these Republican debates is that you keep needing to wade through this vast field of candidates who are essentially doing book tours in order to hear the actual presidential candidates debate.  Rick Santorum is not going to be a major party presidential nominee.

First Thoughts: Is Romney a sure thing?  —  By NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Brooke Brower  —  Is Romney a sure thing?  All signs point in that direction, but the numbers tell a different story... Recapping last night's debate: Another missed opportunity for Perry …

My Advice to the Occupy Wall Street Protesters  —  Hit bankers where it hurts  —  I've been down to “Occupy Wall Street” twice now, and I love it.  The protests building at Liberty Square and spreading over Lower Manhattan are a great thing, the logical answer to the Tea Party and a long-overdue middle finger to the financial elite.