With Eyes on Tampa, Who Won Tonight’s NBC GOP Debate?

Tonight, we’re all eyes… locked on the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL.

Full Debate Video:

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When tweeting tonight use hashtage #FLdebate.

From the Tampa Bay Times:

Hosted at the University of South Florida in Tampa, we’ll be recapping tonight’s political event with a roundup of the best live tweets, insights, comments and questions from around social media. We’re planning to update the thread below live throughout the night. If you would like to be part of the conversation, tweet your debate feedback to @PoliticsTBTimes or leave a comment on the Times Facebook page.

I’m looking forward to hearing The Gov punch through Gingrich’s glib gobbledygook.

As usual, Romney supporters are invited to join us on our chat box throughout the evening.

Let the gloves fly, Mitt!

► Jayde Wyatt

The chat box has been moved back to the sidebar.

Looks like the onslaught has already begun:

NOT THE HEADLINES NEWT WAS LOBBYING FOR…
Politico Headline: “Republican Debate: Mitt Romney Mauls Newt Gingrich In Florida”

· Politico: “Romney kept at it throughout the first half of the debate, criticizing Gingrich for having been rebuked by his GOP colleagues in the House, earning money as an advocate for Freddie Mac and teaming up with Nancy Pelosi to talk about global warming.” (Alexander Burns, “Republican Debate: Mitt Romney Mauls Newt Gingrich In Florida,” Politico, 1/23/12)

The New York Times: “In Shift, Romney Pounds Directly And Relentlessly On Gingrich At Debate” (Michael D. Shear, “In Shift, Romney Pounds Directly And Relentlessly On Gingrich At Debate,” The New York Times, 1/23/12)

· The New York Times: “During an answer from Newt Gingrich about his time as a consultant, Mr. Romney pounced. It was the first time that the former Massachusetts governor went after Mr. Gingrich — directly — with fervor. And he wouldn’t let go. The back and forth exchange, with Mr. Romney unloading one after another accusation, went on for several minutes. Mr. Romney accused Mr. Gingrich of being an influence peddler. He accused him of being paid by Freddie Mac. He said Mr. Gingrich had lobbied Republican lawmakers on health issues while getting paid by health care companies. He accused him of falsely claiming that he was paid to be a historian. And he did them all to Mr. Gingrich’s face.” (Michael D. Shear, “In Shift, Romney Pounds Directly And Relentlessly On Gingrich At Debate,” The New York Times, 1/23/12)

Associated Press Headline: “Romney: Gingrich Didn’t Earn Millions As Historian” (“Romney: Gingrich Didn’t Earn Millions As Historian,” Associated Press, 1/23/12)

· Associated Press: “Romney says that companies don’t spend that much money for history lessons and that Gingrich’s time since leaving office has been spent trading on his connections.” (“Romney: Gingrich Didn’t Earn Millions As Historian,” Associated Press, 1/23/12)

Associated Press: “FACT CHECK: Gingrich Flubs History In GOP Debate” (Calvin Woodward, “FACT CHECK: Gingrich Flubs History In GOP Debate,” Associated Press, 1/23/12)

· Associated Press: “Newt Gingrich…flubbed his own history in Congress on Monday night when he claimed the nation ran four consecutive budget surpluses during his time as House speaker.” (Calvin Woodward, “FACT CHECK: Gingrich Flubs History In GOP Debate,” Associated Press, 1/23/12)

Los Angeles Times: “GOP Debate: Aggressive Romney Calls Gingrich An ‘Influence Peddler’” (Michael Memoli, “GOP Debate: Aggressive Romney Calls Gingrich An ‘Influence Peddler’,” Los Angeles Times, 1/23/12)

· Los Angeles Times: “When Gingrich first won a seat in Congress, Romney said he had begun his own career in the private sector. As Gingrich left the House to become ‘an influence peddler,’ Romney said he was running the Olympic Games and beginning ‘a very successful turnaround’ in Massachusetts. And, as Romney said he was ‘fighting cap and trade’ and supporting Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to overhaul Medicare, Gingrich was ‘sitting down with Nancy Pelosi on a sofa’ and accusing Ryan of ‘right-wing social engineering.’” (Michael Memoli, “GOP Debate: Aggressive Romney Calls Gingrich An ‘Influence Peddler’,” Los Angeles Times, 1/23/12)

The New York Times Headline: “Gingrich Releases a Freddie Mac Contract With Few Details” (Trip Gabriel And Mike McIntire, “Gingrich Releases a Freddie Mac Contract With Few Details,” The New York Times, 1/23/12)

· The New York Times: “Newt Gingrich Released A Contract That Is Mostly Legal Boilerplate, And Contains No Details About The Advice He Gave…” (Trip Gabriel And Mike McIntire, “Gingrich Releases a Freddie Mac Contract With Few Details,” The New York Times, 1/23/12)

The New York Times Headline: “Romney’s Relentless Assault” (Michael Shear, “Romney’s Relentless Assault,” The New York Times, 1/23/12)

· The New York Times: “Mr. Romney Accused Mr. Gingrich Of Being An Influence Peddler. He Accused Him Of Being Paid By Freddie Mac. He Said Mr. Gingrich Had Lobbied Republican Lawmakers On Health Issues While Getting Paid By Health Care Companies. He Accused Him Of Falsely Claiming That He Was Paid To Be A Historian.” (Michael Shear, “Romney’s Relentless Assault,” The New York Times, 1/23/12)

Politico Headline: “Newt’s Unforced Error” (Maggie Haberman, “Newt’s Unforced Error,” Politico, 1/23/12)

· Politico: “Gingrich – adamant that he wasn’t a lobbyist as he explained why he only released one year of his Freddie Mac contract, which dated back to 1999 (he uttered something about going through a confidentiality process) – volunteered that at his firm they’d brought in a ‘lobbying expert’ to explain to his team what qualified as lobbying and what didn’t. … But why one would hire a ‘lobbying expert’ other than to explain to staff how to walk up to the ‘bright line’ Gingrich described, but not legally cross it, was not clear.” (Maggie Haberman, “Newt’s Unforced Error,” Politico, 1/23/12)

Politico Headline: “No Debate Applause Hinders Newt” (Maggie Haberman, “No Debate Applause Hinders Newt,” Politico, 1/23/12)

Ron Paul Press Release Headline: “Newt: Lobbyist? Sure Looks Like It. Liar? Yes.” (Press Release, “Newt: Lobbyist? Sure Looks Like It. Liar? Yes.,” Ron Paul For President, 1/23/12)

Politico Headline: “Mitt Bombards Newt With ‘Disgrace,’ ‘Influence Peddler’” (Alexander Burns, “Mitt Bombards Newt With ‘Disgrace,’ ‘Influence Peddler’,” Politico, 1/23/12)

· Politico: “Mitt Romney came ready to fight. The former Massachusetts governor assailed Newt Gingrich from his very first comments in Monday’s debate in Tampa, saying that the presidential election is ‘about leadership’ and reminding voters that Gingrich ‘had to resign in disgrace’ from the House of representatives. … Gingrich’s response: benign neglect.” (Alexander Burns, “Mitt Bombards Newt With ‘Disgrace,’ ‘Influence Peddler’,” Politico, 1/23/12)

The Associated Press Headline: “Heated Charges, Counter-Charges In Florida Debate” (Steve Peoples, “Heated Charges, Counter-Charges In Florida Debate,” The Associated Press, 1/23/12)

· The Associated Press: “Republican presidential contenders Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich clashed repeatedly in heated, personal terms Monday night in a crackling campaign debate, the former Massachusetts governor tagging his rival as an “influence peddler” in Washington…” (Steve Peoples, “Heated Charges, Counter-Charges In Florida Debate,” The Associated Press, 1/23/12)

PolitiFact: “Newt Gingrich Repeats Claim That He Balanced The Federal Budget Four Times As Speaker” (Louis Jacobsen, “Newt Gingrich Repeats Claim That He Balanced The Federal Budget Four Times As Speaker,” PolitiFact, 1/23/12)

· PolitiFact: “PolitiFact.com Rating: False” (Louis Jacobsen, “Newt Gingrich Repeats Claim That He Balanced The Federal Budget Four Times As Speaker,” PolitiFact, 1/23/12)

Exit question: Will Newt’s long pause after one of Gov. Romney’s assertions hurt him?