memeorandum: Why is Romney doing such a lousy job defending his record at Bain Capital? (James Pethokoukis/The Enterprise Blog)

8:30 AM ET, January 8, 2012

Top Items:

Romney up in South Carolina — Mitt Romney's taken a modest lead in South Carolina. He's at 30% there to 23% for Newt Gingrich and 19% for Rick Santorum. None of the other candidates hit double digits- Ron Paul at 9%, Rick Perry at 5%, Jon Huntsman at 4%, and Buddy Roemer at 1% round out the field.

Discussion: The Politico, Guardian, 2012 Decoded, Taegan Goddard's …, Taylor Marsh, Balloon Juice and Weekly Standard

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

New Hampshire primary: Mitt Romney rises above squabbling pack — GOFFSTOWN, N.H. - The Republican presidential debate Saturday broke out into a volley of charges and counter-charges between the candidates, but left front-runner Mitt Romney almost entirely unscathed in the second-to-last forum before Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and The Page

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Romney's A ‘Job Cremator’ — Democrats are in full force at Saturday night's Republican debate in New Hampshire, ostensibly to rebut the GOP field, but in practice mostly to go after frontrunner Mitt Romney. — Well, not necessarily, the frontrunner.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Raw Story, The Reality-Based Community and The Political Carnival

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:

Social conservatives start to coalesce around Santorum — Conservative Christian leaders are beginning to unite behind Rick Santorum to try to avoid a repeat of 2008, when their movement fractured between candidates and denied former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee the Republican presidential nomination.

Discussion: Prairie Weather

New York Times:

Romney Eludes Rivals' Attacks at Republican Debate in N.H. — GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — A relaxed and self-assured Mitt Romney sailed above the fray at a crucial debate on Saturday night as his Republican rivals engaged in a spirited fight to determine which of them would emerge as his most formidable opponent …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Outside the Beltway, Prairie Weather, The Daily Caller, FiveThirtyEight, The Caucus and Firedoglake

Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:

Romney's private sector record cross-examined in NH Republican debate — MANCHESTER, N.H. — The Republican presidential candidates took turns interrogating Mitt Romney's record creating private-sector jobs at the start of Saturday's ABC News debate, accentuating the top-dog status Romney …

Discussion: The Politico

A.Killough / CNN:
Gingrich in friendly attack-mode ahead of debate

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Politico and Hot Air

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Gary Bauer to endorse Rick Santorum

Discussion: Reuters, The Politico and CNN

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Rick Santorum to get Gary Bauer endorsement Sunday

Discussion: Don Surber, The Other McCain, Hot Air, ABCNEWS and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Trailing in New Hampshire, Jon Huntsman takes the long view — MANCHESTER, N.H. — More than 160 New Hampshire events and counting to his name, Jon Huntsman is hoping to pull off a political miracle Tuesday with the same shoe-leather campaign Rick Santorum ran with success in Iowa.

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Paul pushback on Huntsman video — Ron Paul supporters have pushed back furiously in the last 24 hours on the charge that one Paul backer posted an offensive video questioning Jon Huntsman's national loyalty, and showing clips of Huntsman speaking Mandarin with his adopted Chinese daughter.

Discussion: Doug Ross, Erick's blog, The Caucus, The Spectacle Blog and Connecting.the.Dots

Emily Goodin / Ballot Box:
Huntsman's New Hampshire strategy: ‘Speak from the heart’

Discussion: CNN

ThinkProgress:

Didn't matter, Matthew said, since the medicine obviously wasn't for him. … The situation got worse from there. Melbourne put his wife on the phone and even Googled the medication to show the pharmacist there was no law against selling it to a man. But “she didn't want to see it,” he said.

Discussion: Sky Dancing, Crooks and Liars and Jezebel

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Black Woman Confronts Santorum Over Comments: ‘Why Do You Have A Problem Against Black People?’ — ThinkProgress filed this report from Hollis, New Hampshire — At a campaign event outside a pharmacy in Hollis, New Hampshire Saturday afternoon, an African-American woman confronted Rick Santorum …

Discussion: field negro and The Political Carnival

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:

Santorum Accuses Obama Of ‘Elitist Snobbery’ For Wanting Every Child To Go To College — ThinkProgress filed this report from Amherst, New Hampshire — President Obama has laid out an ambitious agenda for America's high school students, stating that by 2020, he wants the United States …

Discussion: The Political Carnival and The Huffington Post

Danny Yadron / Washington Wire:
Santorum: All Students Shouldn't Be Pushed to Go to College

Discussion: Mediaite and The Hill

Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:

GOP debate: No love for gay marriage — Republican presidential candidates staked out their positions on gay marriage during a Saturday debate in New Hampshire, where gay couples have been legally permitted to marry since 2010. — Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney want gay couples to enjoy certain benefits …

Discussion: The Politico

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

Live-Blogging The New Hampshire Debate — 11 pm. Oh, and Diane was much better this time. But why is Stephanopoulos still droning on on Sunday morning when Jon Karl and Jake Tapper are so, so, so much better at what they do - and much less compromised by their past? — 10.57 pm.

Discussion: Crooked Timber and The Atlantic Online

James Pethokoukis / The Enterprise Blog:

Why is Romney doing such a lousy job defending his record at Bain Capital? — One of Mitt Romney's campaign slogans is “Obama isn't working.” (It's a play off the Tory “Labour isn't working” ad from the 1979 U.K. elections that swept Margaret Thatcher into power.)

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Crooks and Liars