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December 22nd, 2011 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda What we learned from the Romney interview… It’s getting hot in here: Romney vs. Gingrich… And how does the standoff over the payroll tax cut end?… And Happy Holidays!
*** What we learned from the Romney interview: Yesterday, one of us had the opportunity to interview GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the on-again/off-again front-runner. And we learned several things from the interview. For starters, he embraced the individual health-care mandate he helped establish in Massachusetts, calling it the “conservative” option. Also, he responded to the flip-flop charge by noting that he’s become more conservative over the years. “Well, I’m going to say to you that obviously the place that my change was most significant in people’s minds was in regard to the issue of abortion… Have I become more conservative over the last few years? Absolutely. My experience as Governor and my experience in the private sector made me more conservative.”
*** On Iraq and Wall Street: On Iraq, he said the country would have not gone to war there if it knew Iraq didn’t have WMD. (Yet that contrasts with what he said at a Jan. 2008 NBC debate in Florida: “It was the right decision to go into Iraq, he said. “I supported it at the time; I support it now.”) He said he blamed Congress more than Wall Street for the financial crisis. “I think in this country there are a lot of people who were just simply wrong. They just didn’t understand what they were doing… I particularly point the finger at Congress.” Yet Romney also added that he’s for some regulation of Wall Street. “The challenge we have in party sometimes is we talk about deregulation and people assume we mean getting rid of all regulation, and well that’s not the case. You have to have regulation for markets to work, but the regulation has to be up to date, modern, encouraging free enterprise.”
*** On his tax returns and his father: In addition, Romney said he didn’t intend to release his tax returns. “I doubt it. I will provide all the financial info, which is an extraordinary pile of documents which show investments and so forth.” (Is he concerned that releasing his tax returns would show he pays less than the top income bracket?) And he said that his father, who ran for president in 1968, was a huge presence in his life. “My dad was a huge presence in my life. I respect him enormously. I wish he were able to see what I was up to right now.” But Romney disagreed with the characterization that he was trying to finish his father’s failed ’68 campaign.
The GOP presidential race is getting nastier with just over a week to go until the Iowa caucuses. NBC’s Chuck Todd reports.
*** It’s getting hot in here… : Yesterday, we also saw one of the most heated exchanges between Romney and Newt Gingrich. It began when one of us asked Romney about the negative Super PAC ads – by a group supporting Romney – that were aimed at Gingrich. “If you can’t handle the heat in this little kitchen, the heat that’s going to come from Obama’s Hell’s Kitchen is going to be a heck of a lot hotter.” That comment produced this response from Gingrich, per NBC’s Jo Ling Kent and Andrew Rafferty. “I’ll tell you what. If he wants to test the heat, I’ll meet him anywhere in Iowa next week, one-on-one, 90 minutes no moderator, just a timekeeper. He wants to try out the kitchen? I’ll be happy to debate him anywhere. We’ll bring his ads, and he can defend [them].” The problem that Gingrich has is this: He’s complaining about negative ads because he doesn’t have the money to air his own. That said, despite the pounding he’s received, he hasn’t collapsed the way we saw Herman Cain collapse in November and December, and we saw Rick Perry collapse in October. That’s why Romney and his allies haven’t taken their foot off the gas…
*** How does the standoff over the payroll tax cut end? No one knows the answer to that question. The White House and Democrats believe they have the political and PR advantage — just see yesterday’s Wall Street Journal editorial page, as well as Mitch McConnell’s silence — but they’re not sure that will force House Republicans to agree to pass the Senate legislation. But we know this: Democrats have absolutely no intention of throwing House Republicans a lifeline here. By the way, President Obama will deliver a statement on the payroll tax cut at 12:15 pm ET. And House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor are holding a press conference at 10:00 am ET.
*** On the 2012 trail: Romney is on the second day of his bus tour through New Hampshire… Bachmann, Paul, and Perry make multiple stops in Iowa… And Gingrich remains in Virginia, holding an event in Richmond.
*** Happy Holidays! The morning First Read note will return on Tuesday, Dec. 27, as we begin the mad dash to the Iowa caucuses. Of course, as always, we’ll update our blog as news warrants between now and then. Happy Holidays!
Countdown to Iowa caucuses: 12 days
Countdown to New Hampshire primary: 19 days
Countdown to South Carolina primary: 30 days
Countdown to Florida primary: 40 days
Countdown to Nevada caucuses: 44 days
Countdown to Super Tuesday: 75 days
Countdown to Election Day: 322 days
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