As finger-pointing continues from the failure of the congressional “Super Committee” to strike a deal, one member of the panel said he sees a bright spot.

“One small, silver lining in this is we certainly identified many, many programs that have either outlived their usefulness or gotten bloated or are otherwise inappropriate,” said Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA). “So there are plenty of items to choose from and, while we couldn’t roll them into one big package and get a consensus and get that passed, maybe we can pass some of them individually.”

Speaking with NBC’s Luke Russert on MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown,” Toomey repeatedly dismissed the idea that more tax revenue is needed to fix the country’s fiscal future.

“We have a spending problem,” the first-term senator said.

A former president of the conservative Club for Growth, which advocates for lower taxes and a simpler tax structure, Toomey had floated a plan among his panel colleagues to increase revenue by $250 billion over the next decade.

Critics said Toomey’s plan wouldn’t put much of a dent in the nearly $15 trillion national debt.

“I don’t think we should be damaging our economy with some job-crushing tax increases,” Toomey said. “My colleagues on the other side think we should.”

The man charged with guiding his party through a presidential primary fight said Monday that the fluctuating horserace will produce a strong nominee.

“I just wouldn’t equate volatility in some of the field to any sort of indication that there isn’t going to be a lot of horsepower in defeating this president," said Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown.”

Priebus pointed to the 2008 Republican race as a guide to how a race can change quickly in the final weeks before official primary voting begins.

“Four years ago today," Priebus said, "you had Fred Thompson in second place and Rudy Giuliani in first place, [Mike] Huckabee and [John] McCain way back in the field and, lo and behold, McCain became the nominee. I don’t think this is all that uncommon."

A re-contact of Republicans surveyed in November’s NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ex-businessman Herman Cain have lost support in the wake of Perry’s debate difficulties and sexual harassment allegations facing Cain.

Despite those developments, Priebus said he believed either man could defeat President Obama as the Republican nominee.

“Both of those candidates," he said, "and our entire field provides a better alternative to the four years of misery that this president has put us on."

Priebus said media coverage of the primary fight is helping Republicans. He also cited past Democratic primaries as inspiration for Republicans.

“I don’t think this primary field is a whole lot different than primary fields and stories that occurred four years ago or in 1992 during the Democratic primary contest or 1988,” Priebus said. “Quite frankly, Hillary [Clinton] and Barack Obama’s epic battle four years ago, I think, just gave the president a tremendous amount of horse power moving through the summer.”

Mitt Romney's showed flashes of testiness at last week's debate. It was the first time a national audience saw it, but that side of him has come through several times on the campaign trail this time around -- something that wasn't seen as much in 2007-2008.

Romney's raw reactions are reminiscent of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose popularity with conservatives seemed to soar higher because of his contentious moments with voters. Christie considered a run himself, but opted against it and endorsed Romney.

But is Romney channeling his inner Christie -- or is this just how he reacts to being challenged?

There's a split on the interpretations of Romney's testy moments. Some, including the campaign, say the moments reflect strength. Others thought differently.

Republican voters may respond to the confrontational style in a primary, but will swing voters in a general election?

Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul responded this way in an email to First Read:

"These moments have been moments of strength for Gov. Romney -- he has shown his passion about the issues and made it clear that he is going to stand up for what he believes in and to defend his record from misrepresentations."

The statement pivoted to President Obama:

"While President Obama has created an economic disaster zone, yet still seems to think things are going well, Gov. Romney realizes that this campaign is about the big issues facing our country and understands what is at stake."

Republicans this year are on pace for the most GOP primary debates in history. Primary debates can’t necessarily make a campaign, but they can break it.

Video edited by Domenico Montanaro.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I omitted when talking with Chuck after the piece about when the first debates were in 2004. It turns out, there was one in May 2003, so the process was starting earlier then as well.

Mitt Romney, the presumed front-runner, is setting up a national, general-election message. But does he run the risk of alienating primary voters he needs to win the nomination?

As we wrote in First Thoughts this morning, he's taking flak on Afghanistan and abortion from his base. He's focused on the economy, is skipping the Iowa Straw poll, and he's struck out moderate positions on global warming and religious freedom.