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Can Mitt Romney turn things around tonight when the four remaining Republican presidential candidates gather at 9 p.m. in Tampa, Fla., for their 18th debate?  After Newt Gingrich rode two strong debate performances to a decisive win in Saturday’s South Carolina primary, Mr. Romney will have to step up his game and deliver better answers to questions about his tax returns, the Massachusetts health-care law he helped enact when he was governor, and his views on abortion.

Howard Kurtz at the Daily Beast says Mr. Romney “needs a forceful performance.” But if the former governor “gets too histrionic or too harsh, he will seem inauthentic, forfeiting the one quality—that of a steady, self-assured businessman—that has served him well.”



Jonathan Martin and John F. Harris at Politico write that Romney’s supporters will be “looking for a performance … vastly improved over his painful recent outings.”

People will be watching the candidate closely to see how he handles new adversity on what until a few days ago looked like a swift and implacable march to the nomination. For now, some of his supporters are disoriented by the turn of events. What were supposed to be his greatest assets have been turned upside down. His wealth is evidence of greed and self-involvement rather than executive acumen. His careful demeanor is evidence of phoniness rather than maturity and discipline. …

[The] persistent problem is that Romney tries too hard. That was the issue in New Hampshire when the wealthy former CEO recalled the dread he once had of facing the prospect of a pink slip. And it was the same a week ago in South Carolina when he took the stage at a tented evangelical conference and noted that he was wearing jeans for what he said felt like a revival meeting (the connection between fundamentalist Christianity and denim somewhat less than self-evident).

Romney the candidate seems to be constantly tugged between competing impulses. At a time of economic distress, the privileged son of a CEO-turned-governor is ever conscious of the need to appear in touch with the sort of financial strain he’s never known. That’s why his speeches center around his determination to improve the quality of life for the middle class, he dresses more casually and ostentatiously posts pictures eating fast food and flying budget airlines.

And it’s why he’s so pained in discussing his fortune.

At MSNBC’s “First Read,” Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Brooke Brower say the stakes are high for Mr. Romney at tonight’s debate.


At NPR, John Nichols says tonight’s debate “will provide the first measure of a suddenly redefined race.” And instead of a “rehash of old talking points or new gossip,” Mr. Nichols suggests that the moderator should use the South Carolina results to pose fresh and meaningful questions.

  1. What are this year’s Republican presidential candidates doing wrong, when it comes to attracting African-American voters? Are there candidates, in particularly Newt Gingrich, who have made matters worse?
  2. What can [the GOP candidates] say to the substantial portion of Republicans who seem to object to having a Mormon as their party’s presidential nominee?
  3. How consequential for the party is it that more primary voters appear to concerned about Mitt Romney’s “vulture capitalism” that about issues such as abortion and immigration or the ideology, character and experience of the contenders?
  4. What is it about Ron Paul that so appeals to the rising generation of Americans? And, do you worry that, if Romney is nominated, the party will have little or no appeal to young voters?



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