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

NEWTMENTUM - AT THE TOP OF THE PACK:Newt Gingrich finished first in Fox News' new national poll of Republican voters, edging out Mitt Romney 23-22. This does not mean he is the frontrunner, but it does mean he will start getting a lot more attention.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52bbd501e76224015ce15ea17017b1998004df0499d6cddaaf
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BACKTRACKING - GINGRICH WON'T RELEASE FREDDIE MAC RECORDS:"Gingrich in Iowa Wednesday defended his role in the troubled federally-backed housing agency that paid him as much as $1.8 million for consulting work," the Des Moines Register reports. "He told reporters that he would release as many documents as possible. But late [Wednesday] afternoon Gingrich's campaign simply released a list of facts they wanted to reiterate. Spokesman R.C. Hammond said: 'This is it' when asked when the public could expect the documents Gingrich had earlier said he would try to provide."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e5262c16c790592a9aca4553074317988e664e16d49b74b04ae
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BACHMANN ATTACKS:'Whether former Speaker Gingrich made $300,000 or whether he made $2 million, the point is that he took money to also influence senior Republicans to be favorable toward Fannie and Freddie,' Bachmann said after a campaign event in Webster City, Iowa. "While he was taking that money, I was fighting against Fannie and Freddie." CNN:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52ba941ebf69af411466ed966d9c75d8c2f5042d81dfacab26
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52ba941ebf69af411466ed966d9c75d8c2f5042d81dfacab26 .

FIRST IN SCORE - AMERICAN BRIDGE ATTACKS GINGRICH ON FREDDIE:Youknow he has arrived when American Bridge 21st Century, the Democratic super PAC which has been focusing its attacks on Romney, starts creating web videos targeting Gingrich. The group pulls old videos of Gingrich demanding that Democrats return money they received from Fannie & Freddie. "So," the group wants to know, "will he return his money?" Watch:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e5292749ef3658568552ee8292f318c748fb211e5e7a945a083
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e5292749ef3658568552ee8292f318c748fb211e5e7a945a083 .

THE BIG PICTURE - DOES NEWT HAVE STAYING POWER?"The new political lease on life brought on by his buoyant poll numbers guarantees a new season of harsh scrutiny of old Gingrich controversies: his finances, his volatile temperament, his erratic management record, his polarizing brand of politics over the course of nearly forty years in the public arena," write Jonathan Martin, who interviewed the candidate in Des Moines yesterday, and John F. Harris, who covered the then-Speaker's showdowns with Bill Clinton through the 1990s. The two raise five questions that will determine whether Gingrich's revival is a fad or if he could emerge as the main conservative alternative to Mitt Romney: (1)Can
he rewrite his personal narrative?(2)What's in the files?(3) Does he have friends when - and where - it counts? (4) Does he want to be a smart politician, or a politician who wants to be known as smart? (5) Can he be a nice guy? The story is leading our site:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52b024e7970ceefb6a910217e1255a67ef9cfb747200b1648d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52b024e7970ceefb6a910217e1255a67ef9cfb747200b1648d .

HE ALSO NEEDS TO SHOW SELF-CONTROL:"The worst in Newt comes out when he is doing well," a Republican former House colleague tells The Washington Post's Karen Tumulty on background.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52522620733c77c0368c7289d4baa6845c85a1f11d65390a72
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52522620733c77c0368c7289d4baa6845c85a1f11d65390a72

** As your Morning Score correspondent spends one more day in New Orleans, the DNC attacks Perry for saying Obama called Americans lazy and Marcus Bachmann calls up gay activists who led a sting operation against him, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

PERRY FUNDRAISING DRIES UP - PERRY ON TRACK TO RAISE $3-5 MILLION IN Q4?A Rick Perry fundraiser tells the Houston Chronicle that he expects the governor to raise between $3 million and $5 million in the final three months of 2012. "Perry's associates and supporters say his campaign has redoubled its money-raising efforts in the past week to ensure that his campaign will have enough money to survive the first three contests of the 2012 election calendar: Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. But Perry's loyal backers are running into resistance from Republican donors. One Perry fundraiser, who asked not to be named, said he received 15 RSVPs for a recent event from potential donors saying
they might attend. But after a gaffe-marred Perry debate performance, none showed up. 'The debates have taken a toll,' the fundraiser said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52617a35a290204781dd733850daa108467ffb0d9091fe8181
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ET TU, GRUBER? - EX-ROMNEY ADVISOR CALLS HIM A LIAR:"The problem is there is no way to say thatbecause they're the same f[******] bill. He just can't have his cake and eat it too. Basically, you know, it's the same bill. He can try to draw distinctions and stuff, but he's just lying." - MIT's Jonathan Gruber, who advised Mitt Romney and the White House on health care, calling Romney disingenuous for the way he's attempting to distinguish Obamacare and Romneycare.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52c86c5af9458efb0b3bf55537cdec7ef5af6deeb836c52d26
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SNEAK PEEK - DNC TO ATTACK ROMNEY FOR AVOIDING VOTERS:Seizing on a Boston Globe story yesterday that noted Romney "takes no chances with TV," the Democratic National Committee will blast out a four-page research document later this morning noting instances where he has avoided scrutiny. The committee says that Romney has only taken questions once from voters this month. "Romney's new strategy it appears is that the less voters get to know him, the better it is for his electoral prospects," is the tagline. The Globe story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52852fc0a38c5cc576d71e95b74aefc99ddb27a3a6d976324c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52852fc0a38c5cc576d71e95b74aefc99ddb27a3a6d976324c . The DNC research hit:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e527a1f0455cbb8b31ae44b421dfecc4ce594f1035a7726211e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e527a1f0455cbb8b31ae44b421dfecc4ce594f1035a7726211e .

FIRST LOOK - NEW HAMPSHIRE DEMS TO ATTACK ROMNEY ECONOMIC PROPOSALS:TheNew Hampshire Democrats will send a three-page memo to interested parties later that rips Romney's new 'spending' proposals as especially bad for the Granite State. Two sections that jump out for offering fresh messaging are 'Romney's proposals would cut programs vital to middle-class families' and 'Romney's policies would hurt women." See the three-page memo here first:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e521776b329f29954222153e04b2b2c4b53f6787d39dc1e7dd8
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e521776b329f29954222153e04b2b2c4b53f6787d39dc1e7dd8 .

OCCUPY POLITICS - ROMNEY SUPPORTS CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTORS:The former Massachusetts governor took a hard line in a radio interview with Sean Hannity. "The members of Occupy Wall Street have to abide by the law like everybody else," he said. "I salute the fact that the mayors have finally waken up to this, and I wish they'd had done it earlier, and said you know what we're going to enforce the law." He said Obama's rhetoric has helped fuel the protests: "I think the president should have to a pay a price for his divisiveness." 16-mintue radio interview:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52c0a6aece8c54e71c1e0c27dbd6a5dee22f1ba4315ebb4324
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52c0a6aece8c54e71c1e0c27dbd6a5dee22f1ba4315ebb4324 .

CAIN'S CRASH, CONT. -

TRIPPED UP ON CUBA:The Miami Herald reports that "Cain seemed stumped" when questioned about the Cuban Adjustment Act and the so-called wet-foot, dry-foot policy, which allows Cuban immigrants who have made it to US soil to stay. "'Wet foot, dry foot policy?' Cain asked. His press handlers interrupted as Cain diverted his course and ducked back into the building. Later, when he emerged, he was asked again by another reporter. Cain wouldn't answer. 'Gotta run, gentlemen,' Cain said. His staff promised he'd answer questions later at the Versailles Restaurant...Cain, though, wouldn't talk to reporters there, either. A FOX reporter asked Cain what he thought of President Obama's easing of
travel restrictions to Cuba. Cain said that was a 'gotcha question.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52bac7a35447034b27a84c18b8fbc9a0322cacb7e8d90d1c00
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CORAL SPRINGS COP MANHANDLES FEMALE REPORTER AT CAIN EVENT:"Three members of Herman Cain's campaign team apologized Wednesday after a man who said he was there to protect the Republican presidential candidate manhandled a reporter. The incident happened when several journalists who have been covering Cain regularly tried to film the candidate as he was returning to his campaign bus after an event here. As the journalists trailed Cain, a man in plain clothes blindsided National Journal/CBS News reporter Lindsey Boerma into the side of the campaign bus. Moments later, as journalists circled around the bus toward Cain, the same man stuck his arm out and clothes-lined Boerma...Lt. Joe McHugh of
the Coral Springs Police Department identified the man as one of his officers and defended his actions."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e5279a2f1619f12ae92d522588fdd17097d1b2708b696a8e751
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GINGRICH/CAIN 2012 = "A REAL POSSIBILITY":Gingrichtold the conservative website Newsmax that a Gingrich/ Cain ticket, with him in the first or second spot, is a "real possibility." He also floated Marco Rubio as his number two.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52806d0da3cbf49fed4d1a5bb29fadd48101a5fb34b200fddd
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52806d0da3cbf49fed4d1a5bb29fadd48101a5fb34b200fddd

IS "LAZY" THIS YEAR'S "MALAISE"?Rick Perry put out a new campaign commercial yesterday attacking Obama for calling Americans "lazy." "Obama was talking about America's pursuit of foreign investment, but the context may not matter as much as the punch line," write Jon Allen and Alex Isenstadt, who quote a bunch of Republican consultants saying to expect the line to be uses in commercials and stump speeches up and down the ballot:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52d4b91eaa33a8dc3d9d70b0ce12eac9c9500e7f14ae3efaa4
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52d4b91eaa33a8dc3d9d70b0ce12eac9c9500e7f14ae3efaa4 . The Perry ad:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52906429ce99bd6324bdba9bd6bd2a0f25301d46e5866662b8
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52906429ce99bd6324bdba9bd6bd2a0f25301d46e5866662b8 .

DNC PUSHES BACK:The Democratic National Committee is blasting Romney and Perry for distorting the president's words. A new web video suggests that they are attacking the president because they don't want to defend their own records. A Democratic official emails: "This video - oops - highlights their dishonest efforts to claim the President called Americans lazy - a claim that has been roundly criticized and debunked by the media. If Romney or Perry had any plans of their own to help the middle class or create jobs - they wouldn't have to spend all their time being dishonest about the President's record and words."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e5230d8037f31fb5146b56815a79f63219a3357e42ba018f4b2
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e5230d8037f31fb5146b56815a79f63219a3357e42ba018f4b2

POLLING -

BLOOMBERG - VOTERS DOUBT ROMNEY'S CHARACTER:"Republican primary voters are torn between their confidence in Mitt Romney's professional competence and doubts about his political character," Julie Hirschfeld Davis writes for Bloomberg in a wrap-up of their polling: "In Iowa, 48 percent of likely Republican caucus participants say Romney will do or say anything to win, 47 percent say he's a flip-flopper, and 46 percent say he's not really a social conservative. Those voters see his strengths, as well. Three-quarters or more say Romney is qualified to be president, has the business experience to create jobs, or is very smart...More than 80 percent of New Hampshire respondents say, as Iowans do,
that Romney is qualified to sit in the Oval Office, has the business experience necessary to create jobs, or is very smart.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52fbefcf7e6132e439b8ee9e94e4e64ea3d82b11cc9cbf7ab9
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MAJORITY OF IOWANS DON'T SEE MORMONISM AS PART OF THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION:"When asked whether they consider 'Mormonism to be part of the Christian tradition' or something else... In Iowa, 51 percent of likely caucus attendees say it is 'something else,' while 34 percent in New Hampshire say that," according to the same Bloomberg polling. "Romney wins the backing of 28 percent of likely Iowa caucus goers who say his religion is part of the Christian tradition -- putting him in first place by 9 percentage points in the field of eight candidates. He draws 11 percent backing from those who view it as something else -- moving him into fourth place in Iowa."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52fbefcf7e6132e439b8ee9e94e4e64ea3d82b11cc9cbf7ab9
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INDEPENDENTS SOUR ON OCCUPY:Romney's comments to Hannity last night come as voters are turning on the Occupy movement. A Public Policy Polling survey out yesterday finds that only 33% now say that they support its goals, with 45% opposing. A month ago, 35% supported it and 36% were opposed. From director Tom Jensen's write-up: "Most notably independents have gone from supporting Occupy Wall Street's goals 39/34, to opposing them 34/42."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52151f7bfbcc0bef3fe380316eacec821ce0e7d0c06cac95df
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WOULD YOU GIVE NEWT THE LAUNCH CODES? One nugget from the Fox poll that struck me: "When asked who they would trust most with nuclear weapons, nearly twice as many primary voters say Gingrich than Romney" [30-17%].

ROMNEY LEADS IN CALIFORNIA:A poll of California Republicans is even less useful than a national poll at this stage, since the primary won't be held until June, but the LA Times and USC numbers out last night beat out national trends and speak to Romney's growing poll strength. He leads with 27%, followed by Cain at 20%, Gingrich at 14% and Paul at 6%. "Perry, who in August was tied with Romney in first place, plummeted to 3% in the poll."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e520a38bf4660d2b6460ace43bbb17b3656e30da790aaff8d3b
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e520a38bf4660d2b6460ace43bbb17b3656e30da790aaff8d3b

WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE UP TO:Cain speaks at the Radisson in Nashua. Gingrich speaks at a tea party town hall in Jacksonville. Huntsman tours a gun factory in Newport, N.H. Santorum speaks in Iowa City, Coralville, Des Moines, Davenport and Cedar Rapids. Bachmann hosts town halls at Drake in Des Moines and at a hybrid business in Johnston. Paul speaks at Cato in DC.

PAY UP - MARCUS BACHMANN WANTS GAY ACTIVISTS TO PAY HIM:"Marcus Bachmann has a problem with gay rights activist John Becker, and not just because the activist surreptitiously videotaped a therapy session at Mr. Bachmann's clinic that promised to cure his homosexuality. No, Mr. Becker hasn't paid his bill," Jonathan Weisman reports in the Wall Street Journal. "According to Mr. Becker's group, Truth Wins Out, Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann's husband personally called the group to demand $150 for two sessions Mr. Becker scheduled as part of his sting, then canceled. If the group does not pay up by Friday, Mr. Bachmann said he'd turn the bill over to a collection agency."
Story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e5254c7904e2f1bad23318dd1261a55ce95ad8e23187985fe90
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e5254c7904e2f1bad23318dd1261a55ce95ad8e23187985fe90 . The group posted his voicemail:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e525e00cc88c10bf3507ebe0e41a1bc6423c8e592eaa4e9c7b1
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e525e00cc88c10bf3507ebe0e41a1bc6423c8e592eaa4e9c7b1 .

WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS UP TO:Obama just arrived in Indonesia, the final stop on his nine-day trip across the Asia-Pacific region.

CAMPAIGN SEASON - REELECTION CONCERNS DROVE OBAMA'S SHIFT ON THE ENVIRONMENT:The New York Times fronts a story about President Obama's decision to reject stiffening the national standard for smog as a lens into his administration's increasing focus on getting reelected. "An examination of that decision, based on interviews with lobbyists on both sides, former officials and policy makers at the upper reaches of the White House and the E.P.A., illustrates the new calculus on political and policy shifts as the White House sharpens its focus on the president's re-election," John Broder writes. "The ozone decision pitted Ms. Jackson, a Princeton-trained chemical engineer and self-described 'New
Orleans girl,' against the White House chief of staff, William M. Daley, a son and brother of bare-knuckled Chicago mayors who was brought in to help repair relations with business and Congress."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e527040e7f78f9ba15028cf364bcab6ac7478c073826b1f43a1
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e527040e7f78f9ba15028cf364bcab6ac7478c073826b1f43a1

LIBERAL MONEY MEN MEET - SECRET CONFAB PONDERS HOW TO COMPETE WITH CONSERVATIVE OUTSIDE GROUPS:"The Democratic Party's wealthiest donors, mindful of the overwhelming cash advantage conservative groups have in next year's elections, gather behind closed doors in Washington this week to make plans for dealing with the coming 'tsunami' of right-leaning money and electoral enthusiasm," the Los Angeles Times' Melanie Mason scoops. "The donors - including an advisor to investor George Soros and San Francisco-based philanthropist Rob McKay - will hear from Vice President Joe Biden and from one of the movement's most influential strategists, Rob Stein, who urges a strategy of state-based
organizing. The donors will even get a lesson in building a movement from one of the most influential organizers on the right, Grover Norquist, the founder of Americans for Tax Reform. About 150 of these donors will convene for the invitation-only conference. The multiday event is organized by the Democracy Alliance, a group of influential liberals founded by Stein in 2005."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52576f8ba8910eb91577911a84335369c0c16dce8f06c29e22
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52576f8ba8910eb91577911a84335369c0c16dce8f06c29e22

WHAT THE DSCC IS READING - NYT: "FEUDING HURTS G.O.P.'S HOPES TO WIN SENATE":That's the headline of a Jennifer Steinhauer state-of-play Senate story in today's paper. "Winning the Senate is tantalizingly within reach for Republicans...But on a state by state basis, there are factors that give the Democrats hope and the Republicans pause...Of 33 Senate races next year, an analysis by The New York Times finds that 15 of them are currently competitive. The analysis, which is based on an evaluation of the candidates, polling and fund-raising results and the political and economic trends in the states, rates eight of them - Hawaii, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Virginia, Wisconsin, Massachusetts
and Nevada - as tossups. Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Mexico are rated as lean Democratic, while Arizona and North Dakota are rated lean Republican. On balance, Republicans enter the 2012 Senate races with a solid chance of reversing the 53-47 advantage held by Democrats."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e5234903ca898a5cbca661539424dfe86e7ae383d3c47262e14
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e5234903ca898a5cbca661539424dfe86e7ae383d3c47262e14

NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR -- KEVIN SMITH WILL CHALLENGE OVIDE:Former Cornerstone Action executive director Kevin Smith will run for governor. "Smith, who said he'll wait on a formal announcement until after the presidential primary, joins Republican Ovide Lamontagne and Democrat Maggie Hassan in officially bidding to succeed outgoing Gov. John Lynch," the Union Leader reports. "The 34-year-old husband and father of three... noted that during his three years in the post, he broadened Cornerstone's scope from a social issues group into a 'full spectrum conservative organization that got involved in a lot of the fiscal issues.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e523d29a0b14d90153b7dfa0cde2e45e7acf5e8779288133974
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e523d29a0b14d90153b7dfa0cde2e45e7acf5e8779288133974

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY:"How do you say 'delicious' in Cuban?" - Herman Cain
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52bac7a35447034b27a84c18b8fbc9a0322cacb7e8d90d1c00
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=077e826afd322e52bac7a35447034b27a84c18b8fbc9a0322cacb7e8d90d1c00

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