Free Republic

Texas Governor Rick Perry can expect his most conservative rivals to try to knock him out of the saddle Tuesday in a high-stakes presidential debate in the key state of New Hampshire. The debate, hosted by Dartmouth College and broadcast live by Bloomberg Television, will be the first to focus solely on the economy as US unemployment remains at a stubbornly high 9.1 percent with 14 million Americans looking for work. "The goal of conservatives in the debate is to take Perry out first, and go after Romney later," said Allan Louden, a presidential debate expert at Wake Forest University.

Now that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has announced he will not seek the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, all of the Republican donors, elected officials, and party activists pining for a savior to jump into the race must face the reality that the field is set. They need to channel Stephen Stills: “If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” No doubt the fundraisers for Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are tying up the phone lines into New York’s financial district, wooing donors who had either been holding out for Christie or had used...