By NBC's Carrie Dann

STORM LAKE, Iowa -- The X-factor candidate in the Iowa caucuses is in Rick Perry's crosshairs. 

"Dr. Paul's just wrong on this issue," Perry said on Friday after ripping his libertarian-leaning rival's view that hawks have inflated the dangers of a nuclear Iran. "You can't make nice with the mullahs. They hate us." 

Perry, who trails Paul in the first caucus state, said that Paul's isolationist policies "truly make me nervous" and warned Iowans at two small-town campaign stops that such views could lead to the destruction of Israel or even the United States. 

"We cannot have a president of the United States that basically is so hands-off to a country like Iran that they say "it's not our business, we're not going to get involved,' he said. "It is our business." 

The swipes come as political observers increasingly wonder if Paul's organizational strength and fervent base of support could vault him to victory in the Jan. 3 caucuses. 

But Team Perry hopes that Paul's dogged doveishness, particularly on the issue of a nuclear Iran, is a bridge too far for Iowans. 

"You're trying to dramatize this, that we have to go and -- and treat Iran like we've treated Iraq and kill a million Iraqis, and 8,000- some Americans have died since we've gone to war. You cannot solve these problems with war," Paul protested during Thursday night's FOX News debate in Sioux City. 

Bob Haus, Perry's Iowa state co-chair, told NBC News after the debate that Paul's comments about Iran could give pause to voters who have been drawn to the congressman's deficit- and spending-based message. 

"His success has really stemmed around the economic side of his message," Haus said of Paul. "And in debates like tonight when you start seeing the foreign policy side of his message, that's where he starts to really have some difficulties. I don't think he represents most Republicans or even most Iowans on a lot of these defense issues." 

• Perry faces questions about retirement pension

Paul was not the only GOP candidate on the receiving end of a jab from Perry during the third day of his Iowa barnstorm. Asked by a reporter if former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's work for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac disqualified him from serving as president, the Texas governor slammed Gingrich's attempts to distance himself from the label of "lobbyist." 

"The idea that somehow or another 'I'm a consultant, I wasn't a lobbyist.' ... For most of us that is a very weak excuse at best," Perry said. 

Perry hit stops number four and five of his 44-destination Iowa bus tour, appearing in two crowded but intimate venues in conservative northwest Iowa. The retail-rich blitz is designed to repair the damage from Perry's early debate stumbles by placing the candidate face-to-face with Iowans.

But the campaign faced disappointment late Thursday night when it lost a key endorsement race in South Carolina, with Gov. Nikki Haley announcing her backing of Mitt Romney. 

"I respect Nikki. [She's a] good governor," Perry said today. "But, you know, she made her choice. And we'll see who was right." 

Newt Gingrich started on a high note and ended on the defensive. He's the Iowa front runner, but will it last?

LE MARS, Iowa -- During a town hall meeting in the back room of a restaurant here, Michele Bachmann’s husband, Marcus, outlined a socially conservative agenda he would advance as “First Gentleman.”

“Every first gentleman has an opportunity to have a cause. And I’ve decided my cause is not going to be Happy Meals,” Bachmann said, in what appeared to be a shot at First Lady Michele Obama’s healthy food message. “I’ve decided my cause is going to be what Michele and I have been a part of all of our life,” he continued. “And that is pro-marriage, pro-family, and pro-life.”

The remarks were the most voters or journalists have heard from Marcus Bachmann on the campaign trail, and they came on a day that all eyes were on his wife. The event here marked the second stop on Michele Bachmann’s 10-day, 99-county bus tour of Iowa -- and it was unusually packed with reporters from national-media outlets.

“We’re going to get this message across that marriage is between one man and one woman. We’re going to get across the fact that life is precious.  From conception to natural death,” he said, adding: “We're not going to minimize what the family is, we're going to promote families.”

Marcus Bachmann’s brief speech seemed to come as a surprise to the candidate herself. She had invited him to speak several minutes before, after telling the crowd, "I want you to say hi to the greatest man I know." He declined.

Bachmann had just finished fielding a remark from a supporter, who complimented on her on being “the peoples’ candidate,” when Marcus Bachmann finally volunteered to speak.

“I had to just think for a few seconds there,” he said, taking the microphone.

His speech was met with cheers -- and approval from his wife.

“That was wonderful,” she said. "Thank you so much."

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told NBC News that she started from a “brand new slate” before deciding to endorse Mitt Romney for the 2012 Republican nomination, even as she supported his first presidential bid.
 
“When I looked at all the candidates, what was so impressive is I’m no longer looking at a candidate that wants to win,” Haley told NBC in a phone interview today. “I’m looking at a leader that’s actually thought about what he’s going to do the first 30 days as president.”
 
Haley said one of her defining criteria for endorsing this time around was that she didn’t want “anyone that had anything to do with the chaos which is Washington D.C.”
 
“I didn’t want to support anyone who’s been involved or has any relationships in Washington,” she continued.
 
Haley denied, however, that she was taking an implicit jab at Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who's forced to defend his relationships with Washington entities like Freddie Mac during his career since leaving COngress on the campaign trail.
 
“You’re not going to see me criticize any of the candidates. I have great respect for the candidates,” she said. “What I feel good about is I don’t have to bring down any other candidate to make Mitt Romney look good.”
 
Gingrich is surging with Republican voters here, leading the field in a recent NBC/Marist poll with 42 percent of likely primary voters to Romney’s 23 percent.
 
Haley also suggested that electability was a big issue in her decision-making process.
 
“This is the one candidate that President Obama continues to go after time and time again shows me that he knows that’s the candidate that can beat him,” she said.
 
Haley also pushed back on the notion that Romney isn’t spending enough time in South Carolina, as some top lawmakers, as well as South Carolina Republican Party chairman Chad Connelly recently said.
 
“I think the fact that Gov. Romney is coming here today, I think the fact that he’s going to be here tomorrow, the fact he’s going on the air on TV shows his commitment to South Carolina and shows he’s going to work hard to earn everybody’s support here in the state,” she said.

CHEROKEE, Iowa -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry isn't having a very relaxing retirement so far.

Perry faced questions Friday about a Texas Tribune investigation that found he "retired" from government service in January in order to access a monthly pension that nearly doubles his salary.

According to the story, Perry's lengthy time in state government, as well as his military service, combine to meet a threshold at which he can retire -- on paper -- as a general government employee  without stepping down from his elected position. The move means that Perry adds to his regular $150,000 annual gross salary a monthly annuity of $7,698 before taxes.

The governor said Friday that the state's Employees Retirement System contacted him to inform him of the provision.

Asked to explain the details of the unusual rules that allow him to receive the large boost in taxpayer-funded pension pay, Perry said, "I don't know the system well enough."

"ERS called me and said, 'Listen, you're eligible to access your retirement now with your military time and your time in service,'" he explained. "I think it would be rather foolish to not access what you earned."

Two weeks to Iowa, Bachmann, Perry, Gingrich on bus tours, and will Congress act on the payroll tax cut.

Texas is packing up its 155 delegates and moving its primary date to April, as Republicans and Democrats in the state announced today that they will move the primary to April 3.

The Lone Star State was previously slated join 10 other states and hold its primary on March 6 (Super Tuesday), but a fight over the state’s congressional map forced Texas to push back its primary, and the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments about the issue early next month.

The move is a significant shakeup to the slate of states scheduled to hold contests on Super Tuesday. Texas would have been the largest state to vote that day. And it's not the only change to the March 6 calendar -- Ohio lawmakers this week agreed on a bill moving the Buckeye State’s primary up to Super Tuesday from June. With Texas moving, Ohio will hold the second most delegates of any state on Super Tuesday.

Holding its primary after April 1 would potentially allow Texas Republicans to hold a winner-take-all primary instead of the proportional plan that was in place for March 6. The Republican Party of Texas, however, told NBC News that delegates will still be allotted proportionally.

The saga is not over. A federal panel has to approve the proposed April 3 primary, and Texas still does not have a congressional map. Election officials told the state parties that if a map is not settled by late January, the primary date will likely have to be renegotiated and postponed to an even later date.

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Hours after South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley endorsed him, Mitt Romney’s campaign is sending out a recorded phone message in which Haley explains why she supports the former Massachusetts governor.

In the robo-call, obtained by NBC News, Haley says she decided to endorse Romney because he is “not a creature of Washington." a veiled jab at House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is currently surging in polls of South Carolina Republican voters.

“Mitt Romney knows what it means to make decisions, real decisions, not simply cast a vote,” Haley says, also implicitly criticizing Gingrich’s long career in Congress.

Haley invites the recipient of the call to join her family and Romneys at a rally this afternoon in Greenville, where she will be appearing with the candidate.

The call was paid for by the Romney campaign.

Full text below:

Hi, this is Gov. Nikki Haley, and this morning I announced my endorsement of Mitt Romney for President of the United States.

I want you to know how and why I came to endorse the man I believe should be our next president.

Mitt Romney knows what it means to make decisions, real decisions, not simply cast a vote. He is not a creature of Washington. He knows how the private economy works, how to fix it, and most importantly how to solve problems. And he has proven it.

Whether by turning around broken companies and a failing Olympics or successfully balancing a budget and cutting taxes in a Democratic state. From where I sit, working every day to bring jobs to South Carolina and keep our budget balanced, Mitt Romney is the best choice. He has the experience, the agenda and the leadership to deliver us the results we deserve.

Please join the Romneys and the Haleys today in Greenville for a rally at the Bowling Springs fire station at 4:30.

Thank you for your time. This call was paid for by Romney for President Inc.

The hottest argument in Republican circles these days isn’t about immigration, taxes or even health care policy.  It’s about New Gingrich and whether nominating him as the party standard-bearer would be disastrous or providential.

The pundits and professional consultants have weighed in on the question in a largely negative manner but many of the Republican candidates seeking election to Congress next fall don’t appear to share the concerns the GOP establishment seems to have about the impact Gingrich would have on downballot races as their presidential nominee.

A dozen of the GOP’s top recruits to run for Congress, part of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “Young Guns” program for 35 promising candidates, said in interviews with NBCPolitics.com over the last week that they’re not worried about running with the former House speaker at the top at the ticket. Some are downright excited about the prospect.

"I’ve been telling people all along that Newt is the real thing, and he’s substantially different than when he was Speaker of the House," said Dave Garrison, the Republican challenging Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett in Texas.

“I think for my race, my views are more in line with Newt Gingrich, and if the base rallies behind a Newt Gingrich-like candidate, it will benefit me,” said another Republican running for Congress in the southwestern U.S., who asked for anonymity in order to speak candidly about the race. “I think Newt’s a more exciting candidate; he’s going to bring more attention to the conservative cause.”

Some Republicans worry that, at best, Gingrich wouldn’t be as competitive of a candidate against President Barack Obama, and would diminish Republican prospects downballot. At worst, the GOP establishment fears an implosion by Gingrich, whose career has been marked by lapses in discipline, that has catastrophic effects on the Republican brand in 2012.

Conventional wisdom in Washington, reinforced by recent polling, suggests that Gingrich would perform worse as a general election candidate than former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. But the crop of Republican candidates seeking election to Congress doesn’t seem to mind.

Data from the most recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll reinforces that viewpoint. Gingrich performs worse against Obama than Romney in key demographic groups like women aged 18-49 and independents. Romney also fares better versus Obama in the Northeast and West, according to the data. At the same time, the poll showed that conservative enthusiasm is behind Gingrich, signaling that he could carry GOP enthusiasm with his candidacy.

In the interviews, the Candidates’ opinions toward Gingrich boiled down to the belief that, while he might not be the perfect nominee, he’s more likely to aggressively contest the election and, by that strategy, spark Republican enthusiasm, particularly among conservatives. The candidates brushed off Gingrich’s baggage, both personal and professional.

Most candidates refused to pick explicitly between Gingrich and Romney when assessing which of the two might help their own prospects. Two of the GOP’s most astute political minds – Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole and former Virginia Rep. Tom Davis, each of whom spent time running the NRCC – said the Gingrich-or-Romney effect would vary most strongly across regions of the country.

“What we’ve seen in polling to date is that Gingrich is a weaker candidate at the top of the ticket, especially in the Northeast and Midwest,” Davis explained. “Romney is more acceptable to swing voters in that area.”

But even an admitted Romney admirer like Mike Clark, a Republican candidate in Connecticut, expressed comfort about having Gingrich at the top of the ticket. “He certainly stimulates a lot of discussion. One of my concerns is that a lot of voters are apathetic, and I think he erodes that,” he said. “I would not view a Gingrich campaign as a death knell for the Republican Party in the Northeast.”

The candidates see the presidential contest affecting their own races in several key ways. Chiefly, they say that a good candidate could help drive turnout, especially in swing districts where every vote matters at the margin. They also see the eventual presidential candidate as helping to set the pace and tone of their debates.  That might mean that when Gingrich, who’s given to speak extemporaneously, says something controversial on the national stage, it will trickle down to other GOP candidates.

“If he’s the candidate and he takes a position on something with illegal immigration or the economy or whatever, I think it’s a totally appropriate question to ask a candidate,” said California Republican candidate Gary DeLong.

“There isn’t any question about it that my opponent, whoever he or she may be, will try to find whatever the most extreme position whatever presidential candidate might have, and push me right up against it,” said John Koster, a GOP candidate in Washington state. “And they can probably expect Republican candidates will take Democrats and shove them right up against President Obama.”

It’s fear of exactly that scenario that’s driven concerns about Gingrich among Republicans in Washington, some of whom view the prospects of a Gingrich implosion as a matter of when, not if. And at that point, a serious stumble could harm the GOP brand. Their unease about Gingrich is well-documented; a number of them expressed their concerns this week to Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper.

“Romney definitely gives Republicans their best chance downballot,” said a veteran GOP strategist familiar with congressional contests who requested anonymity to provide candid analysis. “Whether the Republican nom wins or loses, the most important thing for congressional candidates is a close race.”

Cole, the Oklahoma congressman who headed House Republicans’ campaign efforts in 2006-08, was more forgiving. “The reality is that presidential campaigns are long and complex,” he said. “While that can really magnify your flaws, it also means that any single flaw is seldom debilitating.”

A few of the Republican candidates contacted by NBCPolitics.com citied the Massachusetts health reform Romney spearheaded as governor as a reason to give them pause about him.

“In my district, what I hear, the epitome of right track/wrong track is ObamaCare,” said Ed Martin, one of two Republican candidates in Missouri’s Second district.  “Here’s the problem with Romney: RomneyCare dilutes that argument.”

Most of the candidates said they’re planning their campaigns independently of the eventual nominee. (“Campaigns can really rise and fall in a matter of minutes. I’m not going to irrevocably tie myself to any one candidate,” said Ricky Gill, a GOP candidate in California).

And still others believe that Republicans’ enthusiasm in beating Obama in 2012 is enough to carry the day, regardless of the eventual nominee. (“To the extent that the election is a referendum on the Obama administration, whoever the nominee is, they’re going to do just fine,” said Andy Barr, a repeat Republican candidate in Kentucky.

Even Gingrich supporters acknowledge the candidate’s flaws. Garrisson said the former Speaker’s talk about “amnesty” – referencing his statements in favor of allowing a citizenship process for illegal immigrants who establish roots in the U.S. – doesn’t help him. Garrisson also said Gingrich’s advocacy work on behalf of troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac, which earned his firm a reported $1.6 million, “cumbersome.”

The former speaker’s personal baggage – three marriages, the current one being the byproduct of an affair – are well-documented, too. None of the candidates mentioned that as a concern, though. And Gingrich has sought to defuse the issue by publicly acknowledging that he’s made mistakes, and saying that he’s sought forgiveness for his actions.

And just as primary voters appear to be looking for someone who might rock the boat, so are Republican candidates.

“I think what we want at the top of the ticket is someone who’s smart and articulate and is willing to challenge the status quo,” said Mark Meadows, a House candidate in North Carolina.

Who benefited, who was hurt at last night's debate? NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro break down the day in politics in the latest First Read Minute.

Senior U.S. officials say they are deeply concerned by reports of the seizure of smuggled radioactive material heading into Tehran and commend the Russian security services for seizing the material.

That said, an early read by U.S. intelligence is that the main purpose of this isotope, Sodium-22, is for medical diagnostics. It's used for radiation therapy -- and officials say the materials can be bought legally, so it does not have implications for suspected weapons development.

"We don't know whether the receipient was a government agency," one agency said. "It's unclear why they would want to smuggle it in; we are still investigating, but it does not appear that this involves Iran's nuclear program."

It’s a bird; it’s a plane; it’s Romney’s Super PAC!... Restore Our Future is playing a large role in the battle for Iowa… Breaking down the Iowa and Super PAC spending… Breaking down last night’s debate… Wyden gives Romney lots of cover on Medicare… Why? It’s a bipartisan stamp of approval… Romney officially picks up Nikki Haley endorsement in SC today… Government shutdown averted, again… And “Meet the Press” has Bachmann on Sunday.

*** It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Romney’s Super PAC: At last night’s GOP presidential debate, Mitt Romney -- after spending the past week attacking Newt Gingrich in some brutally personal ways in interviews -- didn’t lay a single hand on the former House speaker. And he didn’t have to, thanks to the pro-Romney Super PAC that’s hammering Gingrich with negative TV ads in Iowa (here and here). So far, the Super PAC, Restore Our Future, has spent $2.7 million in Iowa and $2.9 million overall on the airwaves to help Romney and to hurt Gingrich. Looking at it another way, the Super PAC is spending 1,200-plus points of advertising in the Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Sioux City. Folks, that’s a TON of advertising. If Gingrich’s poll numbers in Iowa are dropping -- as some of the less reliable robo polls and anecdotal evidence suggest -- Restore Our Future has to be a chief reason. And get this: Romney’s campaign has yet to spend a single cent on a negative TV ad hitting Gingrich. We always knew that the Super PACs would play a large role in this presidential contest, and now they are.  

*** By the numbers: Here is the total ad spending in Iowa to date: Perry $4.3 million, Restore Our Future $2.7 million, Make Us Great Again (pro-Perry group) $1.3 million, Ron Paul $1.3 million, Romney $536,000, Gingrich $233,000, and Red White and Blue Fund (pro-Santorum group) $200,000. And here is the total Super PAC spending: Make Us Great Again $3 million, Restore Our Future $2.9 million, Our Destiny PAC (pro-Huntsman) $1.5 million, and Red White and Blue Fund $200,000. Some more perspective on Romney’s TV ad spending: The ACTUAL campaign has barely spent over $1 million; four years ago at this SAME POINT in the campaign, Romney had already spent more than $10 million on the air… What a difference a Supreme Court decision makes.

*** Breaking down the debate: As far as last night’s debate, Romney perhaps had the best night because he didn’t have to engage with Gingrich and allowed Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann to do that work for him. However, Romney did struggle when talking about his changing positions on social issues (like gay rights and guns). Gingrich had a difficult time fending off the attacks on his Freddie Mac work, but he did get stronger as the night went on. (In fact, it’s probably another reason why Romney didn’t engage; Gingrich actually thrives in political combat, and Romney’s worst debate moments all year after been when he’s engaged in verbal combat.) We wonder if the several minutes that were spent on Paul’s stance toward Iran could end up hurting him with GOP caucus-goers and slow his momentum. Perry had another solid debate performance, and so did Bachmann. But she might have summed up her entire rational for running when she said, in a somewhat defensive tone, “I'm a serious candidate for president of the United States.”

*** Wyden gives Romney cover: When he was asked about the new Paul Ryan (R)/Ron Wyden (D) Medicare proposal at last night’s debate, Romney said, “I hope people understand just how big today is for this country.” And if he’s the nominee, he won’t be kidding. Wyden partnering with Ryan on a plan to give seniors a choice between Medicare and a privatized system -- which just happens to be Romney’s own plan -- gives the former Massachusetts governor LOTS of cover on Medicare. Earlier this week, we mentioned that President Obama hasn’t been performing well among seniors, and that Democrats are hoping that the Paul Ryan plan would help them narrow that margin. Consider this: At a time when Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins is hesitant to partner with the White House on any kind of legislation, specifically health care, here comes Ron Wyden embracing Paul Ryan. We know in political circles (especially in Chicago) Democrats have to be furious right now.

*** Why? The bipartisan stamp of approval: This is a potentially gigantic move. We know some Democrats think they can STILL run against the Romney-Ryan plan, but the bipartisan stamp of approval in push-backs from someone that isn’t viewed as someone who is simply a centrist Democrat trying to survive in a red state, is a pretty good response. And get this: Democrats are trying to win a special congressional election -- on Medicare! -- in Wyden’s home state of Oregon….

*** Romney wins Nikki Haley endorsement: As Romney heads to South Carolina today, he will pick up the key endorsement of South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), NBC’s Garrett Haake and Ali Weinberg report. An endorsement that means Romney is playing seriously in South Carolina. Up until yesterday, it wasn’t very clear. Also on the trail today: Romney stumps in Sioux City, IA before traveling to South Carolina… Bachmann makes numerous stops in the state… Perry remains on his bus tour through Iowa… And Santorum holds one event in the Hawkeye State.

*** Government shutdown averted, again: “Congressional negotiators signed off Thursday evening on a $1 trillion spending agreement for 2012 for federal agencies, barely 27 hours before a deadline that could have led to a government shutdown,” the Washington Post reports. “After dropping minor policy prescriptions that President Obama opposed, members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees gave final approval to the plan after a four-day standoff related to Obama’s demands to extend the payroll tax holiday for 160 million workers. That negotiation, lawmakers and aides said, also could be headed toward an agreement, with lawmakers considering extending the $120 billion tax break for two months to buy more time to determine how they offset the benefit’s cost so it does not add to the federal deficit.”

Countdown to Iowa caucuses: 18 days
Countdown to New Hampshire primary: 25 days
Countdown to South Carolina primary: 36 days
Countdown to Florida primary: 46 days
Countdown to Nevada caucuses: 50 days
Countdown to Super Tuesday: 81 days
Countdown to Election Day: 328 days

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*** Friday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: NBC’s David Gregory on last night’s debate and NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell with the latest on the Capitol Hill negotiations… Woodrow Wilson Center’s Robin Wright on Iraq’s path forward… NBC’s campaign embeds Carrie Dann and Anthony Terrell with updates from the trail… And more 2012 news with Newsweek/The Daily Beast’s Lois Romano, Republican strategist Kevin Madden and former DNC spokeswoman/msnbc’s Karen Finney.

*** Friday’s “Jansing & Co. line-up: MSNBC’s Chris Jansing interviews former Cain advisor Steve Grubb, the New York Times’ Charles Blow, Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler, and Dem Rep. Chris Van Hollen.

*** Friday’s “Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts interviews Tony Fratto and David Goodfriend, Stephen Hill (the gay soldier booed at the not-too-long-ago GOP debate), and Newsweek's Nick Summers.

*** Friday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include MSNBC’s Richard Wolffe, Politico’s Ben White, S.E. Cupp, and Slate’s Jacob Weisberg.

*** Friday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza, former chief White House advisor on Middle East policy Ambassador Dennis Ross, former White House Budget Director Peter Orszag, House Intelligence Chair Mike Rogers, Bob Shrum and former Rep. Susan Molinari, and National Journal’s Major Garrett.

*** Friday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: MSNBC’s Tamron Hall interviews Dem Sen. Jeff Merkley, as well as Anne Kornblut, Michelle Bernard, and Mo Elleithee.

*** Saturday’s (and Sunday’s) “Up with Chris Hayes” line-up: MSNBC’s Chris Hayes interviews Sen. Merkley and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (on Saturday) and former Obama State Department spokesman PJ Crowley (on Sunday).

*** Sunday’s “Meet the Press” line-up: NBC’s David Gregory interviews Michele Bachmann.

“Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul aggressively challenged Newt Gingrich last night for the Republican presidential nomination,” the Boston Globe writes. “Mitt Romney instead trained his sights on President Obama and the general election.”

“A congenial Newt Gingrich defended government aid, waxed on about the beauty of bipartisanship, complimented chief rival Mitt Romney, and, in keeping with his promise not to tussle with his fellow Republicans, saved his fire in Thursday night’s GOP debate for the Democratic resident of the White House,” the Des Moines Register’s Jacobs writes.

The Washington Post: “Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney found themselves on the defensive in the last Republican debate before the Iowa caucuses, with Gingrich challenged on whether he can defeat President Obama and Romney questioned about his consistency on social issues.”

The New York Times’ take: “After a dozen debates in the Republican primary race, which ranged from cantankerous to contentious, a forced sense of restraint hung in the air throughout the two-hour debate at the Sioux City Convention Center. Ten days before Christmas, with the Iowa caucuses not far behind, the candidates walked a careful line between making their points without souring voters and challenging their opponents.”

The Iowa Republican website says its overall winner was Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul was the loser. “‘Yes.’ That was his answer, twice, when being asked if he was to the left of President Obama. Enough said,” it writes.

The Sioux City Journal’s Hayworth thought Gingrich won the debate. His ranking: “(1) Gingrich, (2) Rick Santorum, (3) Bachmann, then Mitt Romney and Ron Paul in the middle tier, followed by Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman at the bottom.”

GOP 12’s Heinze liked Romney’s performance.

Taegan Goddard also thought Romney did well.

BACHMANN: An Iowa GOP county chairman who had been leaning toward Gingrich tells msnbc.com’s Tom Curry that he’s now in Bachmann’s corner. “After last night's debate, I'll be supporting Michele Bachmann. She has always been solid in these debates, but last night she was impressive,” wrote Jeff Jorgensen, the Pottawattamie County GOP chairman.

GINGRICH: “Newt Gingrich opened tonight’s debate by invoking the spirit of Christmas and he wound up with the biggest gift:  far fewer attacks than he faced in last week’s Iowa debate,” the Register’s Obradovich writes. “Gingrich did face criticism, and he had some difficult moments in particular when trying to draw fine lines between consulting and lobbying related to Freddie Mac.  But it wasn’t the open season on Gingrich that the Dec. 10 debate featured and there was a big gun missing from the hunting party.”

Gingrich took it from all sides at the debate; he’s been getting pummeled on air, and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad told AP this about him: "Whether he has the discipline and the focus [to be president], I don't know."

John Podhoretz was unimpressed with Gingrich: “It was a mistake, in front of a Republican audience, not to disown his service to Freddie Mac and a mistake not to acknowledge that as wonderful as home ownership might be, the expansion of mortgages was the root of the financial calamity of 2008. But the offputting vainglory he displayed was far worse. That is one of the unattractive qualities that make so many people fear a Gingrich candidacy would be devastating to GOP chances. The Gingrich rocket may have reached its apogee and begun its rapid descent.”

“The former House Speaker held his celebrated tart tongue for the most part during Fox News' Iowa debate, part of his strategy to show that he is not too ‘erratic’ to gain the White House,” the New York Daily News writes.

PERRY: He told David Brody, per GOP 12: "When you are being criticized, for me, consider it an honor. That's the Scriptural part of it is that, listen, if I stand up for my values and one of my values is being a Christian, and we're going to get criticized for that. I mean, 2,000 years ago, we knew we were going to get criticized for standing up for the values Jesus Christ talked about. But I can no more divorce myself from those values than I can my upbringing.... That's who I am.”

Perry about Iowa voters: "They want to touch you, feel you, and sniff on ya."

The Texas Tribune: “Gov. Rick Perry may have had a lot riding on the last debate before the Iowa caucuses, but U.S. Rep. Ron Paul stole the show Thursday night in Sioux City. Perry managed to survive the two-hour event without committing another "oops" moment. Sounding more confident than he has in previous televised appearances, the Texas governor drew positive reaction for his efforts to make Congress a part-time body. He also said he was ready to take on President Barack Obama in a general election debate.”

But: “Demonstrating why he is far outside mainstream Republican views on defense spending and engagement abroad, Paul also said the war in Iraq was ‘useless’ and ‘we lost so much.’ He called for using ‘diplomacy once in a while.’”

“Texas Monthly chose Rick Perry (R) as their “Bum Steer of the Year” for 2011, the Texas-based magazine announced Thursday,” The Hill writes.

ROMNEY: “Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney may not have liked President Ronald Reagan in 1994; but he sure loves him today,” the Boston Globe writes. “The former Massachusetts governor [yesterday] unveiled a coalition of ‘Reaganites for Romney,’ led by Jerry Carmen, a Reagan administration official and former ambassador to the United Nations.”

“Congressional appropriators agreed to a $1 trillion deal to fund the federal government through the end of 2012 late tonight, in principle narrowly averting a government shutdown,” Roll Call reports.

“House and Senate negotiators on Thursday night reached a tentative agreement on a $1 trillion omnibus spending bill that would avert a government shutdown, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee announced,” The Hill adds.

“Freshman Rep. Allen West is stirring things up by comparing the Democratic Party to Nazis again,” Roll Call writes. “If Joseph Goebbels was around, he’d be very proud of the Democrat Party, because they have an incredible propaganda machine,” he said, per the Washington Post.

From the AP-GFK poll: “For the first time, the poll found that a majority of adults, 52 percent, said Obama should be voted out of office while 43 percent said he deserves another term. The numbers mark a reversal since last May, when 53 percent said Obama should be re-elected while 43 percent said he didn't deserve four more years.”

But: “For the first time since spring, more said the economy got better in the past month than said it got worse. The president's approval rating on unemployment shifted upward -- from 40 percent in October to 45 percent in the latest poll.”

“President Barack Obama will speak at the 71st General Assembly of the Union for Reform Judaism in Washington on Friday afternoon,” AP writes.

“A major leader in the Tea Party movement was arrested at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Thursday after he tried to check in for a flight while carrying a gun,” The Hill reports. “Prosecutors charged Mark Meckler, the co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, with felony weapons possession after he told a Delta ticket agent early Thursday morning that he had a weapon in his luggage.”

KENTUCKY: “Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY) announced today that he will not seek another term in Congress,” Roll Call writes. And a former Mitch McConnell staffer might run for it.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will endorse Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney today.

Haley’s endorsement was coveted among Republican presidential hopefuls given her popularity among Tea Party supporters in South Carolina and around the country.

“The election next November will have ramifications for generations.  Neither South Carolina nor the nation can afford four more years of President Obama, and Mitt Romney is the right person to take him on and get America back on track,” Haley said in a release from the Romney campaign.

But while she still enjoys support among many grassroots groups, her statewide approval rating among all voters stands at 35 percent according to a recent poll from Winthrop University. Republicans gave her a 53 percent approval rating while 22 percent disapproved of her job in a poll conducted in late November/early December.

Haley rode a wave of Tea Party support to an unexpected 2010 primary victory over three establishment South Carolina Republicans: Attorney General Henry McMaster, former U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett and Lieutenant Gov. Andre Bauer (she defeated Barrett in a primary runoff election, 65 to 35 percent).

Romney endorsed the then-state representative’s campaign in March, three months before South Carolina’s June 8^th primary and two months before Sarah Palin’s endorsement catapulted her candidacy to a national scale.

In 2008, Haley served on Romney’s South Carolina Women’s Leadership Team and was a co-chair of his “Women for Mitt Team.”

Haley leveraged her state’s first-in-the-South primary status into a bit of a kingmaker’s role, inviting all presidential candidates to stay at the Governor’s Mansion overnight. Romney's wife Ann stayed at the mansion in late September on a solo trip to the Palmetto State.  Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista, as well as Michele Bachmann, also took her up on the offer.

After months of wrangling over the front end of the GOP primary calendar, partisan fighting in Ohio is still shaking up the middle and late months of the 2012 schedule.
 
The situation in Ohio couldn't be more confusing. The Buckeye State was slated to have two separate primaries, with its presidential primary held in June. The split primary would cost the state an extra $15 million. Lawmakers sought to consolidate the contests, but partisan disagreement over the state's redistricting plan held up a bill unifying the primaries on one date.
 
Earlier this week, the logjam broke. The Ohio House and Senate passed House Bill 369, moving the state's presidential primary to March 6 (Super Tuesday). The bill now goes to Governor John Kasich's desk.
 
Observers may remember less than two weeks ago when lots of buzz surrounded whether or not Newt Gingrich would meet Ohio's December 7 filing deadline. It was ultimately a moot point because even if Ohio lawmakers did nothing to consolidate the primary date, a separate law would have kicked in reopening filing.
 
The story of Gingrich getting on the ballot did, however, raise questions about his campaign organization. On December 7, Gingrich had not filed up to four hours before the state's 4:00 p.m. deadline, but his campaign did ultimately make the cutoff. Interestingly, according to the Ohio Secretary of State's office, there were only three other candidates who did properly file by that date to get on either party's primary ballot: Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Barack Obama. Ron Paul, who is pretty well organized in the Buckeye state according to a GOP source in Ohio, did not file before the seemingly meaningless December 7 deadline.
 
If Governor Kasich signs HB 369, the new filing deadline will be on December 30, 67 days before the March 6 primary. All of the candidates will have to re-file to get on the ballot, but unlike the previous filing requirements, it would be easier to get on the ballot the second go-round. Under the new law a candidate can get on Ohio's ballot if he or she has raised at least $5,000 in at least 20 states. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Buddy Roemer has raised over $200,000. It's unclear how many states the money comes from, but perhaps there will less scrambling leading up to the next Ohio filing deadline.
 
Ohio, with its 63 delegates, is a significant addition to Super Tuesday. Combined with the fact that a separate fight in Texas may bump the Lone Star State and its 155 delegates to April, Super Tuesday could look much different than we thought come March.

HOLSTEIN, Iowa -- Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) arrived early and mingled with locals before speaking to over 30 people at a Java Junkies here, telling the audience "you are my debate prep."
 
“Between now and January 3rd I’m going to give Iowa two days off from me,” Santorum told the crowd, then explaining by Christmas, he will have conducted about 350 town hall meetings in Iowa.”
 
He also claimed the experience in Iowa helped shape his economic plan.
 
“I’ve really learned a lot from this experience. Actually even fashioned part of my economic plan based on some of the experiences I had, driving around to small town Iowa and seeing some of the economic problems that small town America in large part because of a decline of manufacturing and processing base in America.”
 
During the question and answer, Santorum was asked, “Why you, not Mitt?”
 
“I’ve got a track record that shows someone who has been consistent and authentic,” he said. “Someone that you can trust.”
 
“What evidence out there that Mitt Romney can win? He’s won three races in his life, he’s lost two of them. The first race he ran, he ran for the Senate in Massachusetts as a liberal. If you doubt that, go to YouTube and listen to the debate between him and Ted Kennedy. It was hard to tell the difference between the two of them. He ran for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 as a liberal to moderate Republican. He switched his position on abortion, later in his term as governor and a few other things and became more conservative. I give him credit for that, but he didn’t even try to run for reelection in Massachusetts in 2006. And if you look at his poll numbers at the time, you’ll see why he didn’t run. So, the idea that Mitt Romney can run as a conservative and win, there’s no evidence of that at all, that he can do so. I have evidence that I’ve done it, I’ve done it.”
 
Santorum then talked about the current GOP frontrunner, Newt Gingrich.
 
“Newt Gingrich has only ever run for Congress in his life. In a heavily Republican, suburban Atlanta district. What gives you the idea that he’s the best guy, what proof do we have that he can attract any votes? We have none. In fact, if you look at the national polls, you don’t see many of these folks able to attract swing voters. I’ve done it.”
 
The former Pennsylvania Senator then gave his campaign pitch, that he can win swing states necessary to beat President Obama.
 
“The difference between me and Mitt Romney, me and anybody in this field, nobody in this field has ever beat a Democrat, has ever run in a Democratic majority district, or a majority state and no one has run against the best political team the Democrats have ever faced and done it as a conservative.”

All eyes are on the GOP hopefuls who are taking the stage tonight in Sioux City at a debate sponsored by FOX News and the Republican Party of Iowa.

The NBC political team will be live-tweeting the debate, offering minute-by-minute updates and analysis.

Tweets from NBC producers and correspondents will appear in this post as the debate begins at 9 p.m. ET.

Restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba have emerged as one of the final sticking points in reaching a deal on end-of-year government funding legislation stalled before Congress.

Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY) and Democratic aides cited a provision inserted into the so-called "megabus" as a sticking point in reaching a deal on the bill, which would fund the government through the end of its fiscal year next September.

"I know that this is a lot of, maybe it sounds like theater, but it is the result of people simply making an anti-Castro statement without thinking of the consequences," Serrano said.

The policy rider, introduced by Florida GOP Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, was included as an amendment to the Financial Services Appropriations bill, and would revert travel restrictions and rules regarding remittances to Cuba back to where they were before the Obama administration took action on the issue.

"What you have is a situation where, in a desire to get bills through, and I under that there are nine bills that need to be approved, this one last sticking point is still hanging around, without people fully understand the ramifications of what it means to people," Serrano said.

President Obama changed restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba in 2009. Since then, Serrano said, that over 300,000 people have scheduled travel to Cuba, something that could be jeopardized if this provision is passed.

"For the first time this past summer, people did something that is very common with Dominicans, and Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans, they sent their children to spend time with Grandma in Cuba and learn Spanish and so on," Serrano said. "The irony of this is 52 years later Castro is still an issue in Congress."

The Republican Chairman to the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Hal Rogers (KY), admitted to journalists that there were "still some things yet to be completed," but said he was "optimistic" that they would strike a deal.

Congress has until midnight Friday to pass a piece of legislation that extends government funding for the 2012 fiscal year.  If they fail to do so, the government will shut down.

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Two top legislative leaders in Iowa and New Hampshire are set to endorse Newt Gingrich in the Republican presidential primary.

Iowa House Speaker Kraig Larsen and New Hampshire House Speaker are each expected to announce their support for Gingrich just weeks before their respective states host critical nominating contests.

The two speakers will appear together with Gingrich in Iowa on Wednesday before traveling to New Hampshire later that day for another endorsement event, according to the the New Hampshire Union Leader, which first reported the endorsements. Paulsen endorsed Fred Thompson in 2008. O'Brien did not endorse in the last cycle.

"Having a double endorsement would be a big win for the campaign. I hope it happens. We will wait and see," spokesman R.C. Hammond told NBC News, declining to comment directly on the endorsements.

It was widely expected that O'Brien would back Gingrich, but his support came only after flirtations with other campaigns. O'Brien had considered both Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and helped lead a delegation to Austin this summer meant to encourage Texas Gov. Rick Perry to enter the race. The state house speaker also defended Perry to critics following a particularly jovial and energetic speech in Manchester earlier this fall.

Over the past several months, O'Brien made it known that he would not endorse Mitt Romney, the longtime leader in polls in the Granite State.

O'Brien's endorsement is one of the last major one remaining in New Hampshire ahead of its Jan. 10 primary. N.H. Rep. Frank Guinta (R) is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks between Romney, Gingrich, Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Rep. Charlie Bass and Manchester mayor Ted Gastas have endorsed Romney.

President Obama said Congress "cannot" leave for its holiday vacation until lawmakers finish up work on a deal to extend an expiring payroll tax cut.

With neither Democrats nor Republicans appearing quite ready to back off their positions in the fight over how to extend a payroll tax cut, the president challenged lawmakers to stay in town at an unrelated "We Can't Wait" announcement.

“Congress should not and cannot go on vacation before they have made sure that working families aren't seeing their taxes go up by a thousand dollars and those who are out there looking for work don't see their unemployment insurance expire," he said.

The president also cautioned that there’s no reason those items can’t be taken care of before the holidays and said “there’s no reason the government should shut down over this.”

Obama has postponed his own vacation to deal with the stalemate. The rest of the first family is set to leave for their annual Hawaiian vacation on Friday.

This statement was very similar to what Speaker John Boehner said during his weekly press conference, “We believe that it's important to keep the government open, and we believe it's important to finish the work on the payroll tax cut, unemployment insurance, and the doc fix.”

Both sides might be seeking the same outcome, but their path toward averting a shutdown is different. The details of a tax cut extension bill that can get through the House and the Senate are still unknown. After his announcement, the president ignored shouted questions about how he wants the payroll tax cut extension paid for and if he’s worried about a government shutdown.

While everybody seems to agree that a shutdown is unnecessary, the Office of Management and Budget released a statement yesterday that said, “We do need to be prepared for any contingency, and in case Congress does not act, we are taking the steps necessary to be prepared if a lapse in funding should occur. That is why agencies are sending an email to employees this afternoon to alert them to this possibility and how it would affect them.”

NBC's Frank Thorp contributed to this post.

There’s been no shortage of establishment-minded Republicans and members of Congress to have served in the 1990s that have come out and endorsed Mitt Romney for president, or raised concerns about Newt Gingrich’s candidacy.

But perhaps more unexpected has been the emergence of outside-the-Beltway conservatives to bolster Romney’s candidacy in the few weeks before primary voting begins Jan. 3 in Iowa.

A surprising group of conservatives have lined up for Mitt Romney – or, at least, against Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who’s zoomed to frontrunner status on the strength of his support from anti-establishment Republicans.

Take, for instance, the endorsement of Romney this week by Christine O’Donnell, the former GOP Senate candidate from Delaware who was maybe the most visible example of the anti-establishment crop of Republicans in the 2010 election cycle.

"I am endorsing Gov. Romney because I trust him to do the right thing," O'Donnell said Tuesday night in a statement that sought to combat conservative suspicion of Romney, and drew heavily on O'Donnell's experience as a Senate candidate last cycle.

"The day after I won the primary in Delaware, after the Washington establishment had gone on national television to say that I had no chance, Mitt Romney was the first to not only encourage me but to contribute to my campaign and to tell me that it was a worthy fight," she said.

That endorsement turned heads given the dividing line that’s emerged in the Republican primary. Romney is seen as the candidate of the Republican establishment, and has attracted support from figures representing that camp. By contrast, the series of challengers who have emerged to test Romney – first Donald Trump, then Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN), then Texas Gov. Rick Perry, then Herman Cain, and, now, Gingrich – have seen their fortunes rise (and fall) on the strength of support from anti-establishment, Tea Party types within the GOP.

But as Gingrich surges in the polls, Romney’s gotten cover from prominent conservatives, too.

Conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage, who’s not exactly known as a wallflower of the right, offered Gingrich a million dollars to drop out of the presidential race.

And conservative lightning rod Ann Coulter, who had previously said she thought Romney couldn’t beat Obama, has now reversed herself, calling the former Massachusetts governor “the strongest candidate” versus the president.

“I have a problem with Newt Gingrich’s big government conservatism,” Coulter said this week on Fox News. “I think that of the candidates on the stage, Newt Gingrich is tied with Ron Paul … as the least conservative candidate on the stage.”

For as much as Romney’s had trouble winning over conservatives, the groundswell of late may say just as much about Gingrich, too.

“Gingrich has always said he wants to transform the country. He appears unable to transform, or even govern, himself. He should be an adviser to the Republican party, but not again its head,” the editors of the conservative National Review wrote Wednesday in a scathing anybody-but-Gingrich missive.

Glenn Beck drove a same line of thought during an interview with Gingrich earlier his month. Beck said he had “serious concerns” about Gingrich, and proceeded to grill the former speaker in the interview.

And as if to underscore the point, the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza compiled a list of ten conservative columnists to have emerged in opposition to Gingrich.