The Golden Report

5 DAYS UNTIL THE SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY (25 delegates)
8 DAYS UNTIL THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
15 DAYS UNTIL THE FLORIDA PRIMARY (50 delegates)

POST-DEBATE EDITION

TONIGHT…from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina…the 16th Republican Presidential Candidates Debate.

And it was fight night in Myrtle Beach.

Four of the five remaining candidates recognized that they have four hours over two of the next four nights to knock off the front-runner before he makes it 3 for 3 in the early primary states.

From POLITICO’s Alexander Burns, “South Carolina GOP debate: Mitt Romney pressed on Bain, tax returns”

“While Romney stayed focused on a tightly controlled and almost entirely familiar message, there were a few rare moments when the former Massachusetts governor appeared to stammer and grasp for balance.

And after weeks of declining to promise to release his tax returns, Romney relented — mostly — under persistent questioning from moderators.

“In history, people have released them around April of the coming year and that’s probably what I’ll do,” Romney conceded.

Among Romney’s opponents, Newt Gingrich was first to start the pile-on, accusing Romney and his former private equity firm, Bain Capital, of having acquired companies, “leaving them with enormous debt and then within a year or two or three, having them go broke.”

THE DEBATE WAS FIERCE

Romney responding to Gingrich’s attacks on his Super PACs “If we’re talking about super PAC ads that are inaccurate, Mr. Speaker, you have a super PAC ad that attacks me. It’s probably the biggest hoax since Bigfoot. The people who’ve looked at it said it was entirely false…somehow for you …to suggest I have different standards here is not quite right.”

Romney answering a question about the last time he went hunting “I’m not going to describe all of my great exploits,” Romney began, “but I went moose-hunting —- went elk-hunting with friends in Montana.”

Newt Gingrich responding to Ron Paul’s comparison of Al-Qaeda terrorists (including Osama bin Laden) to Chinese dissidents: “He’s not a Chinese dissident. The analogy that Congressman Paul used was utterly irrational. A Chinese dissident who comes here seeking freedom is not the same as a terrorist who comes to Pakistan seeking asylum.”

Ron Paul invoking MLK: “Martin Luther King would be in agreement with me on the wars as well, I’m the only Republican who favors total withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan He was a strong opponent of the Vietnam War.”

Ron Paul on building the US Embassy in Iraq “You consider that defense spending - I consider that waste.”

SANTORUM’S BIG MOMENT IN THE DEBATE- from POLITICO’s Maggie Haberman

“Rick Santorum seized control of the Fox News/Wall Street Journal debate about 20 minutes in Monday night, interrogating Mitt Romney with a series of questions about his position on voting rights for felons – and attack ads a pro-Romney super PAC is airing against Santorum.

Santorum noted that Restore Our Future, the pro-Romney group, ran ads implying the Pennsylvanian wanted to let felons vote from prison.

In fact, Santorum said, he wanted to give voting rights to people who had already paid their debt to society.

“I would ask Gov. Romney,” Santorum said, “do you believe people who are felons who have served their time, who have exhausted their parole and probation, should they be given the right to vote?”

When Romney began with a few words about the rules governing super PACs and non-coordination, Santorum cut in to demand an answer to his question.

“That’s how you got the time. It’s actually my time,” Santorum said, adding of the voting rights issue: “This is Martin Luther King Day, this is a huge deal in the African-American community.”

Romney responded in a level tone: “I don’t think people who committed violent crimes should be allowed to vote again.”

And that’s when it became clear that Santorum had set a trap.

“In the state of Massachusetts, when you were governor, the law was not only can violent felons vote,” Santorum said, but they can vote when on parole or probation – a “more liberal position” than Santorum ever supported.

“If in fact you felt so passionately about this,” Santorum asked, “then why didn’t you try to change that when you were governor of Massachusetts?”

Romney shot back that he had to contend with an 85 percent Democratic legislature and that, by the way, he didn’t order a super PAC hit on Santorum because that would be illegal.”

FIRST THOUGHTS:

This was not a good debate for Romney who was off his game tonight. He should be considering these debates as practice for the general election cycle and he missed an opportunity to respond with crisp convincing answers to a whole host of questions tonight

Newt Gingrich did very well tonight in his role as attack dog and conservative cheerleader. The question now is if its enough to carry him to a close 2nd place or an upset victory in Saturday’s primary. And with polls released this weekend showing Romney running away with the lead in the state, that is not looking likely.

Ron Paul had his worst debate and seemed to be stumbling over his answers when he finally had an opportunity to answer the moderator’s questions.

The audience for tonight’s debate was wild. The Myrtle Beach Convention Center hall was packed and they were animated..frequently booing candidates up and down the stage..and moderators too.

It’s too early to say if tonight’s debate changed the dynamics of the South Carolina race. It may be too little too late for the anybody but Romney candidates. Or the Republican primary, which seemed late last week to be all but over, could be taking one more, final, crazy turn.

The next debate is Thursday night at the Citadel.