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11.13.2011 — 11:12 AM

Happy Anniversary!

Today is TPM's 11th anniversary online.

(You can see the first page of posts here and the very first post here -- of course, updated into the new format.) How long have you been reading TPM? Let us know about your best memories or favorite posts over the years.

For myself, as I wrote on our 10th anniversary last year, simply, thank you. You -- especially our most dedicated readers -- have made it possible for us to build this organization over more than a decade, with much more to come.

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 10:39 PM

SCGOP Torpedoes the SS Bachmann

SC GOP Executive Director Matt Moore just told our Evan McMorris-Santoro: "The SCGOP had no input on how questions were developed or to whom they were addressed. Congresswoman Bachmann seemed to receive a fair number questions, and had ample opportunities to answer."

And the SCGOP was the official debate cosponsor.

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 10:11 PM

Okay, Buckle Up

The Bachmann campaign has just sent out a press blast that will surely get everybody in an uproar. CBS's just hired political director, John Dickerson, wrote an email -- apparently to CBS colleagues -- noting that Bachmann probably wouldn't get many questions tonight since she's basically tanked in the polls. That's not terribly surprising -- also-ran candidates typically get less mic time in a multi-candidate debate. Except Dickerson inadvertently CC'd Bachmann's communications director. Big mistake. The Bachmann campaign has now released the email to the press. More shortly.

Late Update: Bachmann Headline: CBS guy just focusing on our flat-lining in the polls.

Latter Update: For some context, the TPM Poll Average puts Bachmann currently at 3.2% support nationwide among Republicans. So she's creeping up on Gary Johnson territory. And well into Santorum-ville.

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 09:29 PM

Debate Wrap

A lot less excitement came out of this debate than many of the recent ones. It's a bit hard for me to say what of great consequence came out of it. With one exception: Rick Perry avoided any major stumble or embarrassment (yep, a pretty low bar but that's where we are) and even managed, oddly enough, to get the rest of the candidate's following him on the foreign aid/start at zero idea.

Read More →

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 09:25 PM

'You Don't Cowboy This One'

Yet another discomfiting moment in which Rick Santorum is far and away the most lucid and knowledgable person on foreign policy.

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 09:22 PM

Bachmann: We Need to Be Capitalist Like China

Bachmann notes that in China they don't have foodstamps.

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 08:58 PM

Final Round Debate Live Blogging

8:58 PM: I think we have to face the reality that with Rick Perry remaining lucid and not forgetting where he is, the entertainment value of these debates really goes off a cliff.

9:03 PM: Curious what others are seeing. But the online-only portion of this debate (online only in most of the country) is almost unwatchable. I would have thought CBS would have been more up to the challenge. For what it's worth, I'm getting a somewhat better feed on National Journal than at CBS. Big fail for CBS. Our reporter Evan McMorris-Santoro is down on the ground in South Carolina. So if CBS can't manage the webcast technology, he'll give us the gist when this is over.

9:14 PM: Pretty predictable exchange over constitutionality of targeted assassinations of US citizens abroad -- and Michele Bachmann didn't realize there was an issue tied to US citizenship.

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 08:48 PM

Latest Updates on the Debate

For rapid, running updates from the debate, go right to TPMLivewire.

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 08:22 PM

Perry Watch Blogging

8:23 PM: It's so funny how everyone up on that stage -- and everybody watching -- is waiting in pained silence, waiting for Perry to forget where he is. There was this moment when the camera focused on Mitt and he had this look of pity combined with latent joy and just 'I can't watch this.' And yet, Perry did it. It's like everyone wants to run up and give him a high-five. Or maybe that's just me.

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8:26 PM: Bachmann: "World wide nuclear war against Israel." Not sure why it would need to be world wide. Seems like a pretty regional thing regardless.

8:27 PM: I think Newt just directly accused the Pakistani government of hiding bin Laden.

8:28 PM: I don't agree with much that Rick Santorum believes in foreign policy, though his answer on Pakistan was pretty reasonable. Yet it's clear that he's one of the few guys up there who thought about any of these issues before he realized that he'd have to answer questions about them in a foreign policy debate.

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 07:59 PM

SC Debate Live Bloggin'

7:59 PM: South Carolina politics is a richly interesting combination of fierce injunctions to biblical fundamentalism and coverage of which elected official is copulating with what other big wig or potentate in the back seat of what car. And then there's which politician is gay. There's also the episodic embrace of treason and efforts to break up the union. Together, it's a lot.

8:05 PM: Feel like the pressures of multiple simultaneous sex scandals has gotten Herman Cain to expand his policy agenda beyond 999. Also, he seems to have ruled out military action.

8:07 PM: Meta-win. Mitt stands down Scott Pelley as a meta-signal that he can stand down Iran.

8:10 PM: Newt is insisting that Obama should be doing all the things he's already doing against Iran -- covert disruption, offing scientists, working in concert with Israel, etc.

8:12 PM: He did it! Perry gets through a completely coherent, non-stuttering answer. I can hear his consultants cheering up here in New York ... Actually Eric Kleefeld points out that Perry only really crashes in the second half.

8:18 PM: Quite apart from his policy prescription, Jon Huntsman just sounds so much more rational and forward-looking, serious about thinking about the country's real challenges in the coming decades than anyone else up there.

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 07:49 PM

Fo Po Debate, at 8 PM ET

We're gearing up for tonight's GOP foreign policy debate, sponsored by CBSNews and National Journal. This will be a particular interesting encounter since foreign policy has played a surprisingly smal role in this year's GOP primary fight. Unlike on domestic policy where they all have slightly different flavors of the same policies, on foreign policy they have some genuinely differing positions. And in some cases candidates have no foreign policy at all.

Join us in 10.

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 03:41 PM

On-Fire Newt Ready For Tonight's Debate

Meet Newt Gingrich, the only presidential candidate who really, really, really wants more debates. And tonight he gets his wish.

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 01:06 PM

Can You Do Me a Favor?

We're gearing up for the final switchover to the redesigned TPM front page. A lot of you are already using it and even more have seen it. But before we do the final switch, we really want to get everyone's input and, in particular, we want to root out any glitches with particular browsers, operating systems or configurations people may be viewing the site with.

So we'd like your comments on overall user experience, whether you like the look, etc. But at this point in the process we're especially eager to find out if anything looks broken on your end. Tens of thousand of people have already viewed it. But there are an almost infinite number of possible computer configurations. So the more the better.

To take a look up at the top of the site and you'll see a link that reads "Try the New TPM Design." (This is if you're still on the old site.) Click that and it should pop you right over.

If you do find a problem, you can shoot us an email at siteissues (at) talkingpointsmemo.com or even better fill out this form at our status blog, which asks you information about your operating system, browser, etc. which can help us narrow down the problem. If you just want to give general comments (which we're very interested in hearing) you can just ping us at our normal comment line linked up there at the upper right of the site.

Thanks in advance. We've put a huge emphasis in the new design and in the staffers we have supporting it to focus on your user experience, to create a site that is a seamless platform for putting the news we cover in front of you in the most accessible way possible. And this will help us do that.

— Josh Marshall

11.12.2011 — 10:04 AM

Deja Vu

Don't forget. Tonight there's yet another GOP debate. And we'll be covering it live.

— Josh Marshall

11.11.2011 — 06:31 PM

It Had to Happen!!!

Here it is ... the ultimate Rick Perry mash up reel, a thing of staggering and stammering beauty. Watch.

— Josh Marshall

11.11.2011 — 05:20 PM

Restoring Balance!

Utah mayor admits he posed as a reporter, using a fake name, to write positive stories about himself. All in an effort to "try to restore some balance."

— Josh Marshall

11.11.2011 — 04:44 PM

Bring It On

Why Obama is making a move in the polls. Watch.

— David Kurtz

11.11.2011 — 03:45 PM

It's No Accident

A good reminder from Kevin Drum on why government regulations are often so dense and complex.

— David Kurtz

11.11.2011 — 03:24 PM

On The Road

TPM's Evan McMorris-Santoro sends in his latest dispatch from the campaign trail, with Mitt Romney in South Carolina.

— David Kurtz

11.11.2011 — 01:17 PM

Sectarian Violence

Another Amish hair-cutting attack, this time an elderly man was ambushed by his own son, daughter-in-law and their children.

— David Kurtz