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By James Hohmann (
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jhohmann@politico.com ; Twitter: @jameshohmann)

SNEAK PEEK - N.H. STATE SENATOR TO BACK ROMNEY ON BUS TOUR:As Mitt Romney's bus tour hits the North Country today, he will unveil the endorsement of the state senator who represents all of rural Coos County. John Gallus, who supported John McCain in 2000, is a real estate broker in the town of Berlin. Reflecting the local flavor of his pitch in the must-win state, Romney's forthcoming statement praises Gallus (one of 24 state senators) for his work in Concord "to protect the New Hampshire Advantage."

FIRST LOOK - RAND PAUL'S CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR HIS FATHER:As part of their big ad buy, Ron Paul's campaign will begin airing a 30-second Christmas Message from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Sitting in front of a Christmas tree, he describes his father as a principled leader and links him with the tea party movement.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1afe9353ce8c02bfd1419177bb88fce0229cfe9ae7cc6c0c6d94fab8548221b2
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1afe9353ce8c02bfd1419177bb88fce0229cfe9ae7cc6c0c6d94fab8548221b2 .

We're en route to RICHMOND this morning,following Newt Gingrich for a third straight day.

LAST NIGHT - NEWT MOCKED MITT'S KITCHEN VIDEO:Gingrich announced last night that his campaign has collected enough signatures to get him on the ballot in Virginia after an intense last-minute scramble that highlighted his campaign's organizational disadvantage. "We're playing catch up. I thought we'd be one of the top four in Iowa, and we'd probably do pretty well by the time we got to South Carolina,' he told about 200 supporters at the Marriott in Rosslyn last night. 'But a couple weeks ago we became the frontrunner, which of course is when everybody shot at us. We weren't ready for it yet because we don't have the structure and we don't have the money to compete at that level. So we had
to scramble a little bit." Then he took a shot at Romney, who touted his own 16,000 signatures Sunday night in a web video shot in his kitchen with his wife Ann, Gingrich suggested his rival was essentially hanging out. "We have this one competitor who has been running for about six years and has raised millions of dollars from his close friends and did a little YouTube about how 'I'm being orderly'...When you've got it all going, you don't have to worry about it. You can sit in your kitchen and do it. I'm gonna tell you up front: that ain't us."
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ON DEFENSE - GINGRICH CHALLENGES ROMNEY TO DEBATE:The above comments illustrate a real problem for Gingrich: he is spending so much time complaining about the negative attacks on him - without directly responding or punching back - that he comes across as having no coherent message on the trail and, what's more, like a whiner. Without prompting, he brought up the attacks during stops in Iowa, New Hampshire and Virginia yesterday. "Less than two weeks before the caucuses, Gingrich - who bills himself as the candidate of solutions - has drowned out any talk of policy, ideas or vision by litigating the multi-million dollar pounding he's taking on TV, radio and in the mailbox," Jonathan Martin
and I write. "For his part, Romney can't seem to figure out if the rise of Super PACs is an indicator of a failed campaign finance system or if the attacks launched by the group helping him are fair game... By the end of the day, Gingrich seized on Romney's trash-talking and was attempting to call his bluff with another process tactic: a debate challenge: 'If he wants to test the heat, I'll meet him anywhere in Iowa next week, one-on-one, 90 minutes.'"
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WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO:RonPaul hosts town halls in Maquoketa, Dubuque, Manchester and Cedar Rapids. Gingrich has a meet-and-greet in Virginia at 8 a.m. and another rally in the capital of the Commonwealth at 11. Romney continues his bus tour around northern New Hampshire. Perry's Iowa bus tour takes him to Burlington, Ottumwa and Newton. Bachmann's bus stops in Anamosa, Vinton, Tama, Brooklyn, Iowa City, Sigourney, Oskaloosa, Albia and Ottumwa.

** As Perry prays a lot, Paul walks out of an interview and the DNC releases a web video on the bin Laden raid, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED - GINGRICH CHALLENGE MAY STRENGTHEN ROMNEY FOR GENERAL:In a story this morning,John Harris and I introduce the Nietzsche Theory of Presidential Politics: That which does not kill you makes you stronger. Many prominent veterans of past presidential campaigns told us that Romney's fight with Gingrich could potentially be the best thing to happen to him - as long as he prevails. This is counterintuitive - and a few prominent operatives disagree - but the argument that long nomination battles inevitably leave the victor in a weakened state for the general was demolished by Barack Obama, who emerged as a better-known, more skilled, and more respected politician after his
2008 marathon against Hillary Rodham Clinton. The only problem with Gingrich's surge, by this logic, is that it may be fading a bit too fast - too soon for it to give Romney an opportunity to grow in stature by beating a head-to-head challenge from a formidable opponent, or to give voters a window into the former Massachusetts governor's character by how he handles himself when the chips are down.
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"INCREASINGLY CONFIDENT" - ROMNEY PIVOTING BACK TO OBAMA:The Wall Street Journal got an interview with Romney last night, and they describe him as "increasingly confident" and "looking beyond his Republican rivals and again focusing his attacks on President Barack Obama." In the interview, "Romney reflected a new tone-a more biting version of his earlier rhetoric against the president-predicting Mr. Obama will resort to 'a politics of envy and divisiveness and demonizing of business and business people that will shock' voters."
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ROMNEY SAYS "YES" TO DEPORTING OBAMA'S UNCLE: "Romney told a Boston talk radio host on Wednesday that he supports the deportation of President Obama's Kenyan-born uncle who was arrested this fall on drunken driving charges in Massachusetts," per ABC. "When asked by Boston radio personality Howie Carr whether the president's relative, Onyango Obama, should be deported, Romney said... 'Well, if the laws of the United States say he should be deported, and I presume they do, then of course we should follow those laws,' Romney said. 'And the answer is 'yes.'" Tellingly, Romney had to ask for clarification when Carr broached the topic: "Who is 'Uncle Omar,' Howie?"
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Romney told NBC's Chuck Todd in another interview that the U.S. would not have gone to war if we knew Iraq didn't have weapons of mass destruction, it would not have gone to war in the country. "If we knew at the time of our entry into Iraq that there were no weapons of mass destruction, if somehow we had been given that information, why, obviously we would not have gone in," he said.
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DNC ATTACKS - WEB VIDEO HITS ROMNEY ON BIN LADEN RAID:The Democratic National Committee posted a video this morning that highlights Romney's comment to Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday that "any president" would have ordered the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. The DNC highlights praise for President Obama from Republicans like Bob Gates, Colin Powell and Rudy Giuliani. Party officials question whether Romney really would have gone ahead with the operation, noting his comments during the2008 campaign that it wasn't worth moving heaven and earth to get one man.
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THE LATEST ADS -

ANN ROMNEY ON "CHARACTER":'If you really want to know how a person will operate, look at how they've lived their life,' she says, between photographs of her and Mitt from the early days of their relationship.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1fd75864e28acd95adf59c661c98a3ba750b1424986ff8cbabb626ae8f05794
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ANITA PERRY ON HER "AMERICAN STORY":The First Lady of Texas talks about marrying her high school sweetheart after he served in the Air Force in a soft, 30-second bio spot.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=06576853c9814e90810ca6ae65372e13443d25486a6be5b9ebc5ca5e48dd4415
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PRO-ROMNEY "RESTORE OUR FUTURE" RIPS PERRY, GINGRICH:'Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry: Too liberal on immigration, too much baggage on ethics,' the ad's narrator says.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3456ebcbe90031ddd4c5ff2f7ff50d2741bc01afdaae206a5697a4ee1295aca4
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PRO-PERRY "MAKE US GREAT AGAIN" NAILS ROMNEY, GINGRICH:The ad started running yesterday in Iowa and South Carolina, Maggie Haberman reported, with an additional $175,000 behind it in the Hawkeye State for this week. "The spot characterizes Perry as a jobs creator, while highlighting Romney's 'pro-choice' Senate run and MassCare and dinging Gingrich for his global warming ad with Nancy Pelosi, his contract with Freddie Mac and has alleged support for TARP."
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RON PAUL - WALKS OUT OF CNN INTERVIEW WHEN PUSHED ON NEWSLETTERS:"Ron Paul walked out of an interview with CNN's Gloria Borger following a heated exchange over the controversy regarding racist newsletters sent in his name during the 1990s. Borger asked the Congressman if he had ever read the newsletters. 'Did you ever object when you read them?' 'Why don't you go back and look at what I said yesterday on CNN and what I've said for 20 something years. 22 years ago? I didn't write them, I disavow them, That's it.'" Watch the back-and-forth via Mediaite:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0639f5fd363f06e4329eb4baa299c610e2c13441c3b123ccc8a77b1b0837d68
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0639f5fd363f06e4329eb4baa299c610e2c13441c3b123ccc8a77b1b0837d68 . CNN's coverage:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9b03475e994f7a4a4cc9f25e2e8178284b99b9fb240db85c45d674c9d2c16a3f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9b03475e994f7a4a4cc9f25e2e8178284b99b9fb240db85c45d674c9d2c16a3f .

ATTACKING THE DEFENSE BILL - PAUL'S IOWA MESSAGE:"Paul used his time in Iowa [yesterday] to rail against the National Defense Authorization Act, which was recently approved by Congress and would expand the military's power to detain terrorism suspects indefinitely," the Des Moines Register reports. "The Texas congressman preached against the measure at several campaign stops, and the very mention of the act's name drew boos from a crowd of 600 in Bettendorf today. The bill has passed both the House and Senate, and was sent to the president's desk last week. Paul called the bill 'another bad sign on the direction that we're going,' adding, 'this is what the revolution was fought about.'"
Register:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6b604211595269a8b87669c6c07c4a7c0b86b5f52da94d7494d0e0e620e998a6
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6b604211595269a8b87669c6c07c4a7c0b86b5f52da94d7494d0e0e620e998a6 . The Wall Street Journal's Danny Yardon says Paul is playing very well in Iowa:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ed53af5834cdc33d7c802fc8a6d7a0777f33d0227349d76f9e934ac65be6bfff
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ed53af5834cdc33d7c802fc8a6d7a0777f33d0227349d76f9e934ac65be6bfff .

PERRY PRAYS - HE'S SPEAKING ABOUT FAITH MORE ON THE STUMP:"Asked by a woman at the Button Factory Restaurant [in Muscatine, Iowa] about the role prayer plays in his life, Perry responded, 'Well, I prayed right before I walked over here that I wouldn't make any mistakes that my friends in the media would be able to put on television,'" NBC's Carrie Dann writes. "The Texas governor grinned and looked out at the assembled media on the press riser -- the traveling press pool currently includes eight reporters -- before turning back to the questioner. 'I pray a lot,' he continued, 'because I'm prone to make a lot of mistakes.'Perry was warmly received by the crowd of about 150 in the
riverfront town, and he won particularly strong applause for his discussion of his faith."
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SANTORUM SUPER PAC - ADDING $150K TO $200K IOWA BUY:"The Super PAC, the Red White and Blue Fund, is adding $150,000 to its initial $200,000 buy," The Daily's Dan Hirschhorn reports. "Gingrich has spent less than $200,000, a media buying source said, and Michele Bachmann hasn't bought any TV time since she aired ads shortly before her Ames Straw Poll win in August."
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DARK HORSE - SANTORUM "MAY NOT WIN, BUT HE COULD SURPRISE":That's the National Review's take. Santorum claims in an interview that his organization may rival Paul's. "He's got a lot of college kids working for him," Santorum says. "We have some college kids working for us, but we're not as big on the college campuses. The people on the college campuses, let's put it this way, are not your typical Republicans." Robert Costa: "Santorum bets that on a cold January evening, western, conservative farmers, small-business owners, and pastors and their flocks will influence the outcome more than campus fervor will."
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WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS UP TO - NO PUBLIC EVENTS: "In the morning, the President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office...In the afternoon, the President will meet with senior advisors."

NRCC FINANCE CHAIRMAN - VERN "BUCHANAN'S CREDIBILITY TAKES HIT" IN FEC REPORT:"Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan claimed the Federal Election Commission had 'completely exonerated'' him of accusations that employees of his car dealerships were illegally reimbursed for campaign contributions. In a just-released report, however, FEC attorneys said evidence suggests'it is more likely than not'that the millionaire Sarasota Republican and his campaign committee broke federal election laws," the St. Petersburg Times reports. "The report also said that there were 'legitimate questions'' about Buchanan's credibility and that an affidavit in which he and former business partner
Sam Kazran said they knew nothing about reimbursements could indicate Buchanan was trying to hide his involvement.But the FEC's Office of General Counsel had 'significant concerns' about Kazran's credibility, too. Faced with conflicting testimony and a shaky witness in Kazran, the commission closed its case against Buchanan last winter." Buchanan's lawyer call the report "a marvel of one-sided advocacy."
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CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING - HOW DEMOCRATS MANIPULATED INDEPENDENT COMMISSION:ProPublica rocked Golden State politics with a story on how Democrats gamed the new reapportionment process to their advantage. "The citizens' commission had pledged to create districts based on testimony from the communities themselves, not from parties or statewide political players. To get around that, Democrats surreptitiously enlisted local voters, elected officials, labor unions and community groups to testify in support of configurations that coincided with the party's interests. When they appeared before the commission, those groups identified themselves as ordinary Californians and did not disclose their
ties to the party. One woman who purported to represent the Asian community of the San Gabriel Valley was actually a lobbyist who grew up in rural Idaho, and lives in Sacramento. In one instance, party operatives invented a local group to advocate for the Democrats' map." Here is the story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af0e442e412e781699b3f062b5b77f57bd5126e4bd604f384655ea2382ab681e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=af0e442e412e781699b3f062b5b77f57bd5126e4bd604f384655ea2382ab681e . The state Democratic chair called the story B.S., via the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297f8ec5f8bc5009b7de0d17279c56226202f76a0e0a5c2829e9ff058d49bfda
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=297f8ec5f8bc5009b7de0d17279c56226202f76a0e0a5c2829e9ff058d49bfda . Alex Isenstadt wrote last night on the GOP push to scrap the map:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e6866192ec3cfcb3b17ef331b913b189982eb83555345b1d63b91fa1ce7fb60
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e6866192ec3cfcb3b17ef331b913b189982eb83555345b1d63b91fa1ce7fb60 .

HAWAII SENATE - NYT A1 STORY SAYS LINGLE HAS A SHOT:Adam Nagourney goes to Honolulu for an A1 story on Democratic challenges in Obama's home state. "The Republicans have in [Linda] Lingle what party officials on both sides say may be the one Republican who could be elected senator from Hawaii. She is well known and is an experienced campaigner with access to huge sums of money," he writes, noting the nasty primary playing out on the other side. Plus, Gov. Neil Abercrombie "is ending his first year under a storm of criticism; he referred to himself the other evening as 'the most unpopular governor in America.'
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FUNDRAISING - NRSC OUTRAISED DSCC AGAIN IN NOVEMBER:The National Republican Senatorial Committee took in $2.9 million last month, compared to $2.5 million for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The NRSC has $9.1 million cash on hand and no debt.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY:"You're all fed? Watered?" - Mitt Romney checking in on reporters in the press bus, where he brought sub sandwiches yesterday
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