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

The presidential race - a Romney vs. Perry contest more than ever - has taken a nasty turn this week. There is nothing to suggest it won't get more negative between now and the next debate. Both camps are in attack mode again this morning.

FIRST IN SCORE - PERRY VIDEO TRASHES "MISLEADING" ROMNEY: Rick Perry's campaign is releasing a dramatic one-minute video that portrays Romney as a deceitful flip-flopper and career politician. It highlights Romney's response in Tuesday's debate to Perry's criticism that he once employed illegal aliens as landscapers through a contractor: "I'm running for office, for Pete's sake, I can't have illegals." The tagline: "You can't lead a nation by misleading the people."
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GIVING AS GOOD AS HE GETS - ROMNEY CAMP CALLS PERRY DISHONEST: Boston has just updated the careerpolitician.com website we told you about earlier in the week to include research hits on Perry over immigration, Social Security and jobs. "Whether deflecting attention from his own record through personal attacks, utter fabrications, or intentional distortions, it's hard to know how much lower Perry will go," says Romney communications director Gail Gitcho.
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EXCLUSIVE - PAUL LAUNCHING ANOTHER $2+ MILLION AD BUY IN EARLY STATES: Ron Paul's campaign will announce a new two-week ad buy this morning, costing at least two million with spots airing in all four early-voting states. The TV buys will be backed up with radio spots and direct mail that focuses on Paul's consistent opposition to bailouts and his plan to cut $1 trillion in spending. The campaign dropped the new anti-TARP ad during Tuesday's debate, and Dan Hirschhorn (who obtained the buy info) notes the tagline of the second:'Ron Paul: A visionary who predicted the financial crisis, a leader with a plan to solve it."
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*** As Perry embraces the flat tax, Cain talks about homosexuality being a choice and Arizona Democrats attack Sheriff Joe, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

THE BOYCOTT COULD WORK - NEVADA REPUBLICANS CONSIDER PUSHING CAUCUSES FROM JAN. 14 TO FEB. 4: Could peace be at hand in this year's calendar fight? This morning's Union Leader has word of a possible GRAND BARGAIN to resolve the impasse over the calendar: "New Hampshire Republican National Committeeman Steve Duprey told [senior political reporter John DiStaso that] the deal being worked on could result in Nevada Republicans agreeing to move their caucus from Jan. 14 all the way back to Feb. 4. At the center of the talks was Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus...Any deal that involves a change in the Nevada GOP caucus date would have to be approved by the Nevada GOP State
Committee, which is scheduled to meet Saturday."
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WHAT WOULD NEVADA GET FOR CAVING? - A LONG-TERM GUARANTEE OF EARLY STATE STATUS + FUNDRAISING HELP: "In return for forfeiting its coveted third-in-the-nation contest this year, Nevada would receive promises of stricter future sanctions to protect its early state status in the long term," the Las Vegas Sun reports. "National party leaders also are promising to send high-level surrogates to Nevada to help the state and county parties raise money."
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MORE ON THE CALENDAR - ROMNEY ALLIES TRYING TO BROKER THE DEAL: The Union Leader reports that Mitt Romney's campaign has "had a role in trying to broker a deal." DiStaso: "While no one would comment on behalf of the Romney campaign, people close to the developing situation confirmed that 'Romney allies' are supporting efforts to achieve a resolution and avoid conflict between the states." Romney has come under heavy fire from his opponents in New Hampshire for public reports that his campaign pressured Nevada to break the rules to give him momentum coming out of the Granite State, and his leading rivals in New Hampshire (led by Jon Huntsman) have faulted him for not joining a boycott of the
Nevada caucuses. That, of course, would be insane for Romney since he is the clear frontrunner in both states.
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TOP TALKER - IS ROMNEY THE NEW JOHN KERRY? The Associated Press has a story on the hot new Democratic meme: comparing Romney to John Kerry. The story outlines all the obvious comparisons and notes that the Obama reelection campaign has leaned heavily on the George W. Bush model to plot their strategy: "Even before Romney has won a single nominating contest, Obama's camp is singling him out as a fickle politician and is preparing to go straight at Romney's perceived strength - his record as a businessman in the face of a flat-line economy. It was a strategy Republicans employed against Kerry, who had to fend off charges of flip-flopping himself and whose strength as a decorated Vietnam
veteran running in the first post-Sept. 11 election was undermined by attack ads."
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FLAT TAX - PERRY EMBRACES IT: "Rick Perry is betting the house on a flat tax," the Houston Chronicle reports. "In a feisty speech to the Western Republican Leadership Conference, Perry...didn't discuss any details of a flat-tax proposal, which for the first time would tax rich and poor Americans at the same income tax rate, but he said he was in favor of 'scraping - excuse me, scrapping the three million words of the current tax code.'...Perry promised to deliver a major speech on taxes, the economy and jobs in six days." Steve Forbes is excited:
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=63982c54820d755752debdf12544488849e75d50984c9a2731050b97069886e4 The Chronicle:
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IT'S PERSONAL - NYT AND WAPO LOOK AT PERRY-ROMNEY ANIMOSITY:

- It dates back to their days as Republican governors, the Post reports this morning: "They did not have a productive working relationship, according to Republicans who worked with both men, and each harbored a disdain for the other that was seemingly driven by cultural stereotypes and their perceptions of each other."
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- The New York Times looks at how the animosity between the two has grown: "That sense of Mr. Romney looking down his nose at Mr. Perry has intensified the Texas governor's disregard for his rival, two associates said. Mr. Perry believes that Mr. Romney has been condescending and that he has not taken his candidacy seriously, they said." Romney wouldn't talk about their relationship when a reporter asked yesterday.
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- For what it's worth, Maggie Haberman wrote this story back in August:
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FORECLOSURES - NEVADA REPUBLICANS DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM ROMNEY: Romney told the editorial board of the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Monday that government should not try and stop the foreclosure process. "Let it run its course and hit the bottom," he said. Democrats have used the comment to put Republicans in the country's foreclosure capital on defensive. A follow-up in the Review-Journal notes that newly-appointed Sen. Dean Heller, who is on the ballot next year, distanced himself. "Senator Heller does not agree with Mitt Romney," spokesman Stewart Bybee said. "His plan could take up to six to eight years for recovery, and that is time that Nevada just does not have." More: "Likewise,
Gov. Brian Sandoval 'respectfully disagrees' with Romney, senior adviser Dale Erquiaga said. Sandoval was at the debate with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whom he has endorsed."
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GRASSLEY WON'T ENDORSE - PROOF THAT ANYONE COULD WIN IOWA? Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, whose endorsement could have gone a long way, told reporters on a conference call yesterday that he will sit this race out because Republicans are so divided. Per the Des Moines Register: "He said he thinks the caucus winner would be doing well to get 25 percent of the vote on caucus night... That Grassley is hanging back tends to reinforce the idea that the Republican nomination battle remains a wide-open race. Not to say Grassley would only back a sure thing, but he's savvy enough to calculate the risk-reward ratio of wading into such a volatile situation. Don't be surprised if Gov. Terry Branstad does
the math and comes up with the same answer."
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CAN YOU "WASH OFF" THE GAY? - CAIN ARGUES THAT BEING GAY IS A CHOICE: Here is a highlight from the transcript of his exchange on CNN last night with Piers Morgan, who said his gut tells him gays are naturally that way. "Morgan: It would be like a gay person saying, Herman, you made a choice to be black. Cain: You know that's not the case. You know I was born black. Morgan: Maybe if they say that, they would find that offensive. Cain: Piers, Piers. This doesn't wash off. I hate to burst your bubble. Morgan: I don't think being homosexual washes off."
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CAIN PROMISES TO FLESH OUT 9-9-9 PLAN -WE THOUGHT ITS VIRTUE WAS SIMPLICY? Cain defended his 9-9-9 plan yesterday by saying that there are some details he has yet to release about ways it will be adjusted to help, or at least now hinder, the poor. NBC reports from his speech to the Republican Women of Las Vegas that "he also said no Americans would be excluded from paying taxes."
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DEBATES MATTER, CONT. - 5.5 MILLION WATCHED CNN TUESDAY: Plus 1.7 million in the 25-54 demographic, per Nielsen. That makes it the second most watched debate this year, behind Fox's September 22 debate in Orlando.
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WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO: Romney goes back to Iowa today, with an 8:30 a.m. town hall in Sioux City, a noon roundtable in Treynor and a 3:30 p.m. meet-and-greet in Council Bluffs. He will also attend a fundraiser across the border in Nebraska, to be hosted by Gov. Dave Heineman. Santorum is in New Hampshire: meet-and-greets in Manchester and Hampstead, filing his election paperwork in Concord and a town hall in Manchester. Bachmann speaks to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.

WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS UP TO - QUIET SCHEDULE: "In the afternoon, the President will welcome to the White House the 13 recipients of the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor...Later, the President will host Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway for a meeting in the Oval Office."

WHAT THE VICE PRESIDENT IS UP TO - NEW HAMPSHIRE: "In the morning, the Vice President will travel to Plymouth, New Hampshire. At 11:45 AM, the Vice President will deliver remarks at Plymouth State University on jobs and the economy...At 4:00 PM, the Vice President will file campaign paperwork at the New Hampshire State House [in Concord]...At 5:45 PM, the Vice President will attend a campaign event at a private residence."

BRACKETING BIDEN - SNEAK PEEK OF RNC ATTACK AS BIDEN FILES PAPERWORK TO APPEAR ON THE NEW HAMPSHIRE BALLOT: The Republican National Committee has a three-page research hit as Biden heads to the first-in-the-nation primary state. The key argument: Obama lost the New Hampshire primary to Hillary Clinton in 2008 because voters in the state recognized he wouldn't be a good president. It dredges up criticisms from both Biden and Clinton of Obama from four years ago.
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TIME POLL - COLLEGE-EDUCATED WOMEN SOUR ON OBAMA: "In a TIME survey taken in June, 57% of college-educated women approved of the President's job performance. This month, that number fell to 49% ... a notch above the 47% who disapproved, but a significant slip in a few short months. Obama still trounces his leading Republican rivals in the race for this key group's likely voters, holding a 54% to 38% edge over Romney and a 56% to 34% advantage over Perry among likely voters. But his diminishing support among a demographic squarely in his wheelhouse must be disconcerting for his boosters." You can see top line results here:
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OBAMA FUNDRAISING - STILL TAKING IN MORE MONEY FROM WALL ST. THAN ALL REPUBLICANS COMBINED: The Washington Post's Dan Eggen and T.W. Farnam crunch Q3 FEC filings. "Obama has brought in more money from employees of banks, hedge funds and other financial service companies than all of the GOP candidates combined, according to a Washington Post analysis of contribution data." He's even received more money from Bain employees, though Romney got more donors. Much of this has to do with the fact that Obama can raise money through the DNC, which allows much bigger contributions. Republicans won't be able to do that until they have a nominee.
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SHERIFF JOE - ARIZONA DEMOCRATS ATTACK: Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann have recently visited Joe Arpaio, whose endorsement could be important in Arizona's moved-up GOP primary. Perry has talked with the lawman on the phone. As tries to establish himself as a kingmaker, the state Democratic Party will begin highlighting the controversial elements of his tenure. It starts with a web video. "As more presidential candidates come to Phoenix to kiss the ring, we're going to make sure they pay the price," said Arizona Democratic Party spokesman (and former POLITICO reporter) Andy Barr. "If you want to claim you're tough on border security because you did a photo-op with Joe, we're going to make
sure you're also tied to the ethics investigations and gross mismanagement that has cost our state millions.'
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HOUSE STATE OF PLAY - ONLY 46 TRULY COMPETITIVE RACES? The University of Virginia's Center for Politics just posted ratings of all 435 House seats, taking redistricting into account. Kyle Kondik's takeaway is this: "Instead of looking at the House through the competitive races, consider instead the uncompetitive races - the large number of seats that should be safe for one party or the other for the foreseeable future. Based on the latest Crystal Ball ratings, less than one in four of the 435 House seats will be competitive next year, and if one only considers the seats we rate as 'leaning' to one party or the other or as 'toss-ups,' there are only 46 truly competitive contests, or about
10% of all House seats."
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CHRIS CHRISTIE'S RACKET - TEASING HELPED RAISE LOTS OF EXTRA MONEY FOR NJ GOP: "Campaign finance reports released Wednesday morning show that the New Jersey GOP received $532,900 in donations from out-of-state donors in late September, particularly in Missouri and California, states Christie had visited on a fundraising tour," according to the Huffington Post. "The contributions are part of the almost $1.5 million the party reported raising between July 1 and Sept. 30 of this year."
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CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'My grandfather was gray by the time he was 29.... So I figured it was going to come. It just happened to coincide with the presidency." - Barack Obama, deflecting blame for his prematurely graying hair from job stress to genetics during his interview with Jake Tapper
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