by Art Kelly

1.  Newt Gingrich's powerful performance in the January 16 televised debate may boost his chances in the South Carolina primary and beyond.

In answer to a question from liberal moderator Juan Williams, Gingrich's effective reply so moved the audience that he received a standing ovation.  This is first time in the history of presidential candidate debates that any candidate has ever received a standing ovation.

A video of Gingrich's full encounter with Williams is available on the Fox News Channel website at http://tinyurl.com/895wdmr

The same effect may have been felt by the national television audience.  A nationwide Rasmussen poll taken the day after the debate found Gingrich had moved to within three percentage points of Mitt Romney.  The full results were:

30% Mitt Romney
27% Newt Gingrich
15% Rick Santorum
13% Ron Paul
  4% Rick Perry
  4% Others
  7% Undecided

Gingrich gained 11% from the previous poll.  At the same time, Romney's support remained constant, neither increasing nor decreasing.

"This suggests that many voters are still looking for an alternative to Romney and currently see Gingrich as that candidate," Rasmussen Reports explains.

As this is written, there have been no South Carolina polls released since the debate.  But a previous poll, which showed a 14-percentage point Romney lead over Gingrich, may be fragile.  33% of the voters said they could change their minds prior to the primary on Saturday, January 21.

ConservativeHQ.com's Jeffrey Rendall's extensive review of the debate is at http://tinyurl.com/7ohlv4c

David Franke, an author and one of the pioneers of the modern conservative movement, thought "the two big winners" were Santorum and Gingrich, with Perry vastly improved and "also a winner."  But Paul and Romney were seen as "losers."

"One bad debate performance is not enough to deflect either campaign but certainly did not help them," Franke said.

Writing from Georgia, political observer Jimmy Murphy agreed that Romney "got rattled" and had a "tough night."  Paul had the "worst performance he's had" in any of the debates.  "Whining is not a winning strategy, even when he was right." Murphy also agreed with Franke that Perry's performance was "solid."

Gingrich had a "mega huge night" that was a "possible game changer."  Murphy added, "Even though I disagreed with what he had to say, he was such a commanding presence on the stage, I was amazed."

Santorum appears to have scored heavily on the portion of the debate that dealt with Social Security.  The current What's Happening with Seniors Benefits contains a transcript of the portion of the debate on Social Security in which Santorum demonstrates a superior understanding of that issue.

2.  Following a meeting in Texas of prominent social conservatives, Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, endorsed Rick Santorum for President.

In a statement, Viguerie said:

"We are long past trying to find the perfect candidate who achieves 100% on every conservative scorecard…The group consensus was based on Rick Santorum's character, his principled stands on the issues of life, family, and the conservative agenda in general--and most importantly on his judgment.

"I urge you to join me in supporting Rick Santorum as the most electable conservative in the race for the Republican nomination for President."

Click to learn What's Happening with Seniors Benefits.

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