The Circus Comes to Disneyworldland

Apparently "The Word" of the circus debate in Florida Monday was Romney's: "self-deportation."  Several live bloggers excused themselves saying they were self-deporting.  At Kos there were other tweeted glosses: solution to economic problems: self-employment.  Solution to the GOP debates: self-immolation.  Self-deportation is what Romney does with his money, to the Caymans.

Otherwise most of the bloggers and pundits scored a modest win for Romney, though Josh Marshall thought Gingles held his own and so the dynamic hasn't changed, and he will continue to lead in Florida polls.  But there's another circus act on Thursday!  If Romney stopped the bleeding, that's when he'll have to turn things around.  Otherwise, our circus critics graded the entertainment value as poor, perhaps because the audience was so sedate that the Economist guys in the UK thought there wasn't one.

But momentum is with Gingles, even though he continues to take credit for the Clinton administration's accomplishments, including the first balanced budget that Gingles directed House Republicans to oppose.   Fred Thompson (R-Law & Order) endorsed him, and more importantly, most importantly, his Vegas sugar daddy ponied up another five million bucks for Florida!  Casino Newt rides again!

Meanwhile, Romney's tax return shows he paid a 13.9% tax rate on income of $42 million, and in a factoid sure to please the Tevangelist base, he gave more in "charity" donations than he paid in taxes--most of it to the Mormon Church (he tithes, as Mormons are supposed to.) 

But the line of the night belongs to Lawrence O'Donnell: "Tonight the Republican Party is on its way to nominating a presidential candidate who cannot beat President Obama.  The only thing we do not yet know is that candidate's name."