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

CHARLESTON, S.C.-Good morning from the historic district of The Holy City.

BREAKING - OBAMA + DNC RAISED $68 MILLION IN Q4:"President Barack Obama raked in more than $68 million combined for his re-election campaign and the Democratic Party during the final three months of 2011," the Associated Press reports. "Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said Thursday in a video to supporters that the campaign collected more than $42 million for the quarter, with the DNC bringing in more than $24 million, along with $1 million for a joint fund to help state parties in key states."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd6558739afe5f73ada0cfe7142a4a7af76f38b237c880e865109ba
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd6558739afe5f73ada0cfe7142a4a7af76f38b237c880e865109ba .

EXCLUSIVE - CROSSROADS HITS BOB KERREY WITH NEW AD:American Crossroads is putting $30,000 behind a radio ad aimed at dissuading former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey from getting into the race to succeed the retiring Ben Nelson. Kerrey has returned to Nebraska from New York City to consider a run. Crossroads portrays him as a far-left carpetbagger who supported Obamacare, voted for the largest tax hike in history and led a university that the New York Times called a "liberal haven." The spot should also telegraph to Washington Democrats that they'll still face an uphill battle even if they successfully recruit Kerrey. Listen to the ad, which runs through Sunday:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd655876a90ea0a8d11ec3b11bd8cf43c15aa09a8edab5990a46393
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd655876a90ea0a8d11ec3b11bd8cf43c15aa09a8edab5990a46393 .

SNEAK PEEK - CHAMBER CHIEF WILL COMMIT TO BIGGEST VOTER EDUCATION EFFORT EVER:In his annual State of American Business address later this morning, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue will pledge that the business group will run its most aggressive voter education effort in the institution's 100 year history. "In overwhelming numbers, Americans believe that the country is on the wrong track," he plans to say. "They want their leaders to lead, to find solutions to our problems and to stop playing political games with people's jobs, livelihoods and life savings." The Chamber has already been up with ads in half a dozen races, notably Ohio and Montana Senate.

THE FACEBOOK PRIMARY - ROMNEY, PAUL ARE WINNING:POLITICO has joined forces with Facebook to offer readers an exclusive look at the conversation taking place on the social networking site about the Republican presidential candidates ahead of South Carolina's Jan. 21 primary. This awesome trove of data allows us to kick off the collaboration with these two infographics: one charts all mentions by candidate on Facebook from Dec. 12 through Jan. 10 and the other charts all negative mentions. See the graphs and read an accompanying story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd65587caa293665614beb016ed99ac6a6df3020b4628afed63214e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd65587caa293665614beb016ed99ac6a6df3020b4628afed63214e

** As Bain continues to drive the conversation, Santorum gets air cover and Huntsman looks to stay relevant, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

THE BATTLE FOR SOUTH CAROLINA - WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO:Romney hosts a rally in Greer before heading to Palm Beach. Santorum treks along the coast: Sun City, Hilton Head, Beaufort, and Charleston. Huntsman has a breakfast meet-and-greet on Daniel Island before flying to New York for a fundraiser. Perry's bus tour goes to Blythewood, Orangeburg, Summerville and Walterboro. Both of Gingrich's events are in Columbia.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd6558751890f69606c64c497039293276ccef4d1fb104bb6d8cf02
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DEMINT PREDICTS ROMNEY WILL WIN HERE:The State newspaper reports this morning that the highly-popular Jim DeMint will continue to stay on the sidelines (he backed Romney in 2008), but the tea party icon had kind words for Romney's victory speech - saying it touched on "a lot of hot buttons" like balancing the budget.More from the paper's interview:DeMint also suggested he was turned off by other Republican candidates' criticism of Romney's past work as a venture capitalist at Bain Capital. 'Frankly, I'm a little concerned about the few Republicans who have criticized some of what I consider free market principles here,' DeMint said.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd6558791f0a352a71d433865eee07605e756cfd581e23becacd1ef
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd6558791f0a352a71d433865eee07605e756cfd581e23becacd1ef

DEMINT ADVISERS TO ENDORSE ROMNEY:"A group of loyalists to South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint - including a top fundraiser for Rick Perry - will publicly endorse Mitt Romney's presidential bid on Thursday, a source confirmed to CNN," per Peter Hamby. "[Former South Carolina GOP Chairman Barry Wynn, Columbia businessman and fundraiser Peter Brown, and Columbia attorney Kevin Hall] are part of an informal group of South Carolina GOP power brokers that dubbed itself the 'keep your powder dry caucus' this summer to express their discontent with the current GOP field. But their endorsement signals that Romney, the GOP frontrunner in South Carolina, has made significant inroads with the Columbia
political class after his wins in Iowa and New Hampshire. DeMint backed Romney in 2008 but has remained neutral in this presidential race."http://bit.ly/yalays

SANTORUM WILL GET AIR COVER:"The super PAC supporting him is adding another $600,000 to its South Carolina advertising blitz on Saturday, according to a political operative familiar with the buy. That's on top of the $200,000 the Red White and Blue Fund has already dropped. And Santorum's campaign bought $400,000 worth of airtime today, while signaling it's prepared to spend about $1.5 million in the state," reports The Daily's Dan Hirschhorn. "Taken together, it amounts to the first sustained air cover the former Pennsylvania senator has enjoyed...He has raised well over $2 million since the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, according to campaign insiders."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd6558702e791fe1d906024fb430fa555f0a338563d8ee857a75026
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd6558702e791fe1d906024fb430fa555f0a338563d8ee857a75026

PAUL WILL SPEND NEXT WEEK HERE:Though Ron Paul joined the other GOP candidates in rushing to South Carolina following the New Hampshire primary, his noontime stop in Columbia yesterday was essentially a layover on the way to Texas, where he is taking a respite until Sunday. Once he returns, he plans to stay through the primary on Jan. 21. Unlike its operations in Iowa and New Hampshire, the Paul campaign does not have a deep organization here. But Paul said after his speech Wednesday that he will finish "in the top tier." He's currently fourth in the most recent polling, trailing Romney, Gingrich and Santorum.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd65587fe910cff2476312dca0f05180af754327462c79d31393808
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd65587fe910cff2476312dca0f05180af754327462c79d31393808

HUNTSMAN'S GOAL IS TO STAY RELEVANT:Jon Huntsman said Wednesday that expectations for his performance in the Jan. 21 primary here are "very low." And he tried to keep them that way. In a state where he's far behind in the polls and in a ground operation, Huntsman suggested that staying in the conversation - rather than winning - is the goal. "It's just like the stock market, and as we get closer to election day you all are going to say Huntsman has got to clear a certain hurdle to stay relevant, to stay alive," he said.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd65587eb1907651d47aa45dc1da2073c83001aa7a8469a36c0ae93
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae1a7ef7cbd65587eb1907651d47aa45dc1da2073c83001aa7a8469a36c0ae93

ROMNEY - HE RAISED $24 MILLION:"Romney's presidential campaign said on Wednesday it raised $24 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, leaping up from $14 million in the third quarter," per Reuters. "The campaign has raised more than $56 million so far in the primary election season and has $19 million in cash on hand...[Romney] did not make a personal loan or contribution to his own campaign."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=273910803812314490d733fe944f3e6c50b6fa0e681db6094adebdd8976444bf
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His finance team has turned their focus to winning over a few dozen key bundlers for George W. Bush and John McCain who have either stayed on the sidelines or went with Perry and Gingrich earlier. Anna Palmer reports on a fundraising briefing that targeted these donors:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=273910803812314423bdc4e7a19e135446a0ae5d43571940d0aea999b2a3dd1b
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=273910803812314423bdc4e7a19e135446a0ae5d43571940d0aea999b2a3dd1b .

EXCERPTS OF NEW BOOK - "THE REAL ROMNEY": Vanity Fair's February issue includes a 9,000-word adaptation from the forthcoming book by Boston Globe investigative reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman. It posted last night:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=273910803812314469e1c7aba76df0dcde7bb034c4f0229602118ecde777efda
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=273910803812314469e1c7aba76df0dcde7bb034c4f0229602118ecde777efda .

JON STEWARTcriticizedMSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell for dismissing Ron Paul's strong showing and made fun of Jon Huntsman for having confetti dropped on him after finishing third.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=27391080381231443ccf0e96ed618f1fd1e2a54409b5f2857dbe44f841d64ca9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=27391080381231443ccf0e96ed618f1fd1e2a54409b5f2857dbe44f841d64ca9

STEPHEN COLBERThad a skit on last night's show about Republicans settling on Romney. He jokes about everyone in the media calling the former governor inevitable when he narrowly won Iowa's caucus and easily won a primary in one of the state's smallest states.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=273910803812314493072d8a162a8d52f5c0355b408ebabd6f5dcd35b18e44f6
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=273910803812314493072d8a162a8d52f5c0355b408ebabd6f5dcd35b18e44f6

THE BATTLE OVER BAIN -

THE 28-MINUTE ATTACK AD IS UP:"And it's everything it's cracked up to be," Ken Vogel and Emily Schultheis write. "Released by the pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC Winning Our Future on Wednesday, 'When Mitt Romney Came to Town' is a systematic takedown of Mitt Romney as economic savior and corporate genius." Story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2739108038123144a125dee588cbaaf57d6e705612171adc46a8eaf7ae22f468
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2739108038123144a125dee588cbaaf57d6e705612171adc46a8eaf7ae22f468 . Watch the whole thing:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2739108038123144e473d0132494c75ccae81cd87a8a7ae4191b480956a60477
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2739108038123144e473d0132494c75ccae81cd87a8a7ae4191b480956a60477 .

NEWT WEB VIDEO - ROMNEY'S BIGGEST GAFFES EVER: A video released directly by the former Speaker's campaign - not the independent super PAC - highlights the most memorable Romney "gaffes" from the last five years. It's two minutes, and the most recent clip is the "pink slip" line:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=273910803812314445dff3b2cfa63b2b2200f5be4139e1c772306f4ec167e69f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=273910803812314445dff3b2cfa63b2b2200f5be4139e1c772306f4ec167e69f .

RUPERT MURDOCH tweets: "Can't blame Newt G too much. He was carpet bombed with negatives by Romney. Brilliant, visionary but just too much baggage! And erratic."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2739108038123144910dcc85726428dc98a5e4cd9484f3e083a2a176884967d5
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2739108038123144910dcc85726428dc98a5e4cd9484f3e083a2a176884967d5

NEW DNC WEB VIDEO - HIGHLIGHT REEL OF GOP ATTACKS ON BAIN:The Democratic National Committee just posted a 2.5-minute video with clips of Romney's Republican rivals attacking him on Bain over the last few days.Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2739108038123144ba20f2589b6feb82d841e44316a3ddd17ff16bf7cfcf1272
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2739108038123144ba20f2589b6feb82d841e44316a3ddd17ff16bf7cfcf1272 .

A SENIOR DEMOCRATIC PARTY STRATEGIST emails Score:"This isn't a primary attack in the first place -it's why we haven't put any resources behind Romney as a corporate buyout specialist at this stage - it's a general election issues for independent and swing voters. We were shocked that his rivals went there but nonetheless pleased because now the charges about his status as a corporate raider enjoy the luster of bipartisan ship. If Mitt Romney thinks swing voters won't recoil at what he did to AMPAD or GS Technologies - raiding pensions, firing workers, bankrupting companies while reaping millions in profits - he's more out of touch than anyone could have imagined."

ROMNEY IS NOW ON THE OFFENSIVE:"Campaign advisers are polishing new messaging, tailored to rebut Republican and Democratic attacks separately. They'll start with advertisements featuring employees of companies started and rescued by Bain telling their stories..."For every scare story that they try to present related to the governor's experience in the private sector and free enterprise," [adviser Kevin] Madden said, "we can point to a whole host of successful enterprises that have resulted in job creation and wealth and prosperity." It's part of a shift for the Romney operation from painting his rivals as desperate for slamming him to instead casting their candidate as the standard bearer
of traditional Republican economic values." Reid Epstein:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee6bf9e71f7dcb9afa973831be6e4746c633b507037a0fe24ba
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee6bf9e71f7dcb9afa973831be6e4746c633b507037a0fe24ba

RIVALS SPENT YESTERDAY ON DEFENSE:"South Carolina may be the best and last chance for Mitt Romney's rivals to halt his momentum toward the Republican presidential nomination, but they went on the defensive Wednesday for attacking Romney's record as a venture capitalist," Alex Leary and Adam Smith write in the St. Petersburg Times. "Perry shied from the subject entirely during a stop in Columbia, while earlier he said, 'the idea we can't criticize someone for these get-rich-quick schemes is inappropriate from my perspective.'" Gingrich walked back his attacks a little bit, but then he doubled down in the afternoon.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee6ba01e83baa1e774535ae0f3e40f7bf25de016736632ca5cd
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee6ba01e83baa1e774535ae0f3e40f7bf25de016736632ca5cd

HUNTSMAN said yes when asked yesterday if it's time for the candidates to cool it with attacks on Bain: "Well, if you have creative destruction in capitalism - which has always been a part of capitalism - it becomes a little disingenuous to take on Bain Capital," he said after a town hall in Columbia. "I think it's more instructive to look at Gov. Romney's record as governor."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee6efe35a0de74120e1a92d981be5c3cc84f4de9822daa670b7
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee6efe35a0de74120e1a92d981be5c3cc84f4de9822daa670b7

PALIN SUGGESTS ROMNEY SHOULD RELEASE HIS TAX RETURNS:"Don't be surprised that that's all coming out today, because it would come out as an October surprise had these GOP candidates not brought those out today,' she told Sean Hannity on Fox News, per CNN's write-up. 'Barack Obama and his machine and the billion dollars that he's got behind him will bring all of this stuff out anyway...You've got to be prepared for this." She also defended Perry's attack on Romney for the claim that he created more than 100,000 jobs - saying he just wants to see proof.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee628a6f447700dd8b10af681a4e4b7a7e3e26bd31879627166
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee628a6f447700dd8b10af681a4e4b7a7e3e26bd31879627166

BUSINESS-FRIENDLY S.C. MAY FORGIVE ROMNEY FOR BAIN LAYOFFS:"The state's unemployment rate hasn't been below 9 percent in three years and a third of its manufacturing jobs have disappeared in the last decade. But from South Carolina's urban centers to its old mill villages, many workers still view their employers paternalistically, even when their bosses' decisions hurt them. And that may blunt the criticism that Romney is a greedy fat cat who squashes employees while lining his own pockets," according to the Associated Press . "In South Carolina, people have little sympathy for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Low wages and lack of unions are the norm."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee62f8309e81cdfbf267de4b199431d3ad40b4ad70a23a15d9f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee62f8309e81cdfbf267de4b199431d3ad40b4ad70a23a15d9f

ROVE THINKS ROMNEY NEEDS TO CALIBRATE HIS BAIN MESSAGE FOR THE GENERAL:"Most Republicans will likely ignore much of the criticism over Bain because they generally approve of successful businessmen," Karl Rove writes in his Wall Street Journal column today. "That's not going to be the case in the general election. Mr. Romney can help himself enormously if he uses the weeks ahead to forcefully confront this issue. His words in South Carolina and Florida will be heard by tens of millions of Americans."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee68677c5227221d400888e4acd2a4f18b3116a02473c50dc47
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee68677c5227221d400888e4acd2a4f18b3116a02473c50dc47

PARTY REALIGNMENTS BLURRING CAPITALIST VS POPULIST DEBATE:"Democrats have made inroads in recent elections among affluent, well-educated voters. Mr. Obama's 2008 campaign captured the majority of voters earning more than $200,000 and raised more than $90 million from the securities, finance, hedge fund and banking industries. Republicans have bolstered their support among the sorts of middle and working-class voters who call themselves conservative Christians and identify with the Tea Party. And in 2008 Senator John McCain got more votes among whites earning less than $50,000 than Mr. Obama," John Harwood writes in his New York Times column. "That's why Mr. Romney's approach might pose a
risk. A Pew Research Center survey identified financially-squeezed 'disaffected' voters as a Republican-leaning constituency; just 21 percent of them agreed that 'most corporations make a fair and reasonable profit.' Those are precisely the sorts of voters that Mr. Romney's rivals are appealing to in South Carolina's Jan. 21 primary by attacking his career at Bain Capital."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee61f81a2da45712983630cc7d9ceb613ad4c10524b763879a9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee61f81a2da45712983630cc7d9ceb613ad4c10524b763879a9

MORE ON ROMNEY -

FLORIDA AD TARGETS LATINOS:"Stressing the theme of the American Dream, Romney's advertisement, titled 'Nosotros' ('Us'), says the United States is a nation 'donde todo es posible' ('where everything is possible').It is narrated by...son Craig Romney, who speaks flawless Spanish in the advertisement. Fox News Latino story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee62cc91cd9ce55d2f2f286f54e504b34b150ac52bec78a0694
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee62cc91cd9ce55d2f2f286f54e504b34b150ac52bec78a0694 .Watch the 30-second spot:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee6bd1f5e84b4cfba9b1ff4f0c09101894447cad938049b2edb
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee6bd1f5e84b4cfba9b1ff4f0c09101894447cad938049b2edb .

JOHN BOLTON ENDORSED MITT LAST NIGHT."I think our country would be in dire straits domestically and internationally if he gets another four years. And I think Governor Romney is...most likely to beat Barack Obama," the former ambassador to the United Nations told Greta Van Susteren on Fox News.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee652a5f6b8f1e015204c57f933aa22f0952ecc7d74c0f27c99
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=edae4bce9a874ee652a5f6b8f1e015204c57f933aa22f0952ecc7d74c0f27c99

WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS UP TO:"On Thursday, the President will attend closed press meetings at the White House."

MASSACHUSETTS SENATE - WARREN RAISES $5.7 MILLION TO BROWN'S $3.2 MILLION:"Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law School professor and consumer advocate whose US Senate candidacy has fired up Democrats across the nation, raised $5.7 million in the last three months of 2011, an unusually large amount for a first-time candidate and a reflection of what many observers say is her potent appeal to party leaders and activists eager to recapture the seat once held by Edward M. Kennedy," the Boston Globe reports. "Her overall fund-raising for the three final months of 2011 far outpaced Senator Scott Brown's $3.2-million total for the same period...Still, Brown holds a strong advantage, with $12.8
million in his campaign account, a record amount for any Massachusetts candidate this early in a regular election cycle. Warren, by comparison, has just over $6 million on hand in her account, according to her campaign."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c00db11d16eb1561ae2e07a6d39e94ee9811cda73f62c01d39bd9c162d1707e6
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NEVADA SENATE - BERKLEY GETS A PRIMARY:"Barry Ellsworth gave Rep. Shelley Berkley $1,000 last cycle and likes her 'as a person.' But -- you knew a 'but' was coming - he's running against her in a Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate - he just filed the paperwork with the Federal Election Commission - and claims he will spend 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' to try to defeat her," Jon Ralston writes in the Las Vegas Sun. "This is a quixotic bid at best for the political newcomer, who said he decided to run 'for my children' (he has two young boys) and because 'of what they' (DC incumbents) have done... He founded a renewable energy company about seven years ago and has since
cashed out ... I can think of much worse profiles for a Democratic candidate in Nevada than a Mormon renewable energy entrepreneur spouting Occupy Wall Street populism."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c00db11d16eb15619deee1f6e18861dfec98fccfaebeae7993d811df26ad0561
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c00db11d16eb15619deee1f6e18861dfec98fccfaebeae7993d811df26ad0561

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY:"I've watched it so many times, I just can't get enough of it. I like documentaries and it's just so well done. It's so compelling." - Rick Tyler, spokesman for Winning the Future Super PAC and former Gingrich spokesman, on the 28-minute movie attacking Romney.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2739108038123144a125dee588cbaaf57d6e705612171adc46a8eaf7ae22f468
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2739108038123144a125dee588cbaaf57d6e705612171adc46a8eaf7ae22f468 .

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