This 20th debate, moderated by John King, was a mix of questions from audience members, internet offerings, and King himself. There were gimmicky moments, as when an internet questioner asked each candidate to define himself in one word: Paul chose “consistent”; Santorum: “courage”; Romney: “resolute”; Gingrich: “cheerful.”

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney joined forces with libertarian Congressman Ron Paul in questioning Santorum’s conservative credentials. Paul was asked at the CNN-sponsored debate why his campaign had run a television ad calling Santorum a fake.

“Because he’s a fake,” Paul said bluntly.

Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, often complained earlier in the campaign that he was ignored by moderators in debates. He might have missed an opportunity on Thursday to solidify his lead in many polls.

All eyes are now on Santorum’s battle with long-term frontrunner Romney. They are competing fiercely in the February 28 Michigan and Arizona primaries that will set the stage for the crucial March 6 “Super Tuesday” contest, when 10 states vote.

Romney, his candidacy potentially at stake, went after his chief rival repeatedly. He said Santorum voted to raise the debt ceiling and supported “earmarks,” the much-ridiculed pet spending projects that members of Congress often slip into appropriations legislation.

Many Republicans would like to ban earmarks spending to help close the budget deficit.

Romney pointed out Santorum had supported a much-derided $400 million “bridge to nowhere” project in Alaska that was eventually abandoned. Santorum shot back that Romney had sought earmarks to pay for security at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

“When I was fighting for the Olympics, you were fighting for the ‘bridge to nowhere,’” Romney told Santorum.

Santorum insisted earmarks have their place.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snapped back at Romney.

The debate was the 20th of the 2012 election cycle for Republicans and possibly the last, giving the proceedings a dose of tension.

Tempers flared between Santorum and Romney frequently and at one point the two candidates talked over each other, refusing to cede the floor. At times the crowd booed. Debate moderator John King of CNN frequently let the two candidates battle it out.

The two candidates are in a close race in Michigan, with the most recent polls showing Santorum leading by 4 percentage points or fewer. A victory in Michigan is critical for Romney as he needs to prove he can win in the state where he was born.

Romney again was forced to defend his opposition to bailouts that helped the auto industry in Michigan, a key industry in the state, while supporting bank bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis.

“He supported the folks on Wall Street and bailed out Wall Street, was all for it. And then when it came to the auto workers, the folks in Detroit, he said, no. That to me is not a consistent, principled position,” Santorum said.

Santorum is the latest Republican candidate to seriously challenge Romney for the party’s nomination to face Democratic President Barack Obama in a November 6 general election.

Ron Paul called Santorum a “fake” when it comes to “being fiscally conservative,” and came down hard on Santorum having voted for the No Child Left Behind act.

Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, once a front-runner and now struggling for a breakthrough on Super Tuesday, got strong reviews for his debate performance while letting his rivals slug it out.

Gingrich, who has drawn raves from conservatives for attacking the U.S. news media at the debates, replayed the role once again while talking about contraception and abortion.

“I just want to point out, you did not once in the 2008 campaign, not once did anybody in the elite media ask why Barack Obama voted in favour of legalizing infanticide. OK? So let’s be clear here,” Gingrich said. He was referring to a vote by Obama while he was an Illinois state senator on legislation about the status of fetuses that survive abortion.

Santorum is now in a virtual tie Governor Romney, once considered the inevitable nominee, in Arizona and is leading in the polls in Michigan. The two states are the next to vote in the nomination contest, holding primaries next Tuesday.

In another new NBC News/Marist poll shows Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum locked in a statistical tie, while a separate NBC/Marist survey shows Romney comfortably leading in Arizona, which holds its primary the same day.

In Michigan, which has turned into a make-or-break contest for Romney, the former Massachusetts governor gets the support of 37 percent of likely GOP primary voters, including those who are leaning toward a particular candidate.

Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, gets 35 percent, and he’s followed by Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 13 percent and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 8 percent.

Santorum’s standing nationwide will change based on whether the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania can pull off victories next week.

Romney’s future hangs in the balance, as in a week’s time he could either be restored as the frontrunner in the Republican presidential race or be left staring into a political abyss.

Former Pennsylvania senator Santorum, who fiercely opposes gay marriage and abortion, has surged from a distant third into first place following his trio of wins earlier this month in the state-by-state contest.

But up for grabs on February 28 are Michigan, where Romney was born and his father was governor, and Arizona, another supposed Romney stronghold where a significant proportion of the electorate shares his Mormon faith.

Both states were considered shoo-ins for Romney until a short time ago, but such has been the extent of Santorum’s popular surge that the rising star now leads in Michigan.

If Romney loses Michigan, the story will be he can’t even win the state where he was born and grew up and where his father was governor. On the other hand, if he wins Michigan, he is the comeback kid.”

On Tuesday, Romney assured the crowd that he was 100 percent pro-life and fought legislation that would have allowed same-sex marriages in Massachusetts.

Tonight’s CNN debate may very well be the final debate of the GOP presidential race or at least, the last debate for a while. There are no other debates scheduled before the real Super Tuesday on March 6, and Romney’s campaign has not committed to a planned March 19 debate in Oregon.

Romney’s campaign appears to be finished with debates altogether, citing the overwhelming number of them in declining to attend a scheduled forum in Georgia next week.

“The stakes are enormous, not just because there’s been no debate for a month, but also because no more are scheduled before Super Tuesday,” CNN’s Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley said. “For Gingrich, Paul, Santorum and Romney, this may be the last chance to make another impression.”

Santorum, once a long shot, currently tops national polling and is neck-and-neck with Romney in the latest surveys in Arizona and Michigan.

“There’s not much room for error at the top of a pyramid,” said Crowley, host of CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This will be Santorum’s first time ever center stage, where the frontrunner stands and gets pummelled.”

Newt Gingrich would not divulge Tuesday whether he’s prepping differently for Wednesday’s CNN debate, but indications from his campaign schedule suggest otherwise.

After a bruising debate performance nearly a month ago in Florida, the former House speaker has a chance to redeem himself this week in Mesa, Arizona.

The stakes are high for Mr. Gingrich, who is low on money and facing eclipse by Mr. Santorum’s surge even in Southern states that were to be his bulwark. He needs to give voters, especially conservatives, a reason to return to him.

“Newt’s got to be Newt.”

On one side of the board, Messina sketched out the amounts of money he expected Republican “Super PACs” and other groups to raise and spend to try to defeat the Democratic president in the Nov. 6 election.

Drawing a line under that cumulative number — roughly $700 million — Messina then highlighted the amount raised by the Republican groups’ Democratic counterparts. It was a measly figure.

“We’ve got to talk about this. This is a problem,” Messina told Axelrod, according to a campaign official.

Roughly a month later, on Feb. 6, the Obama campaign announced it would start supporting Priorities USA Action, the struggling Super PAC formed to help Obama. The move reversed a plan rooted in Obama’s distaste for a Supreme Court decision that allowed such independent groups to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to try to influence elections.

If there were any lingering questions about why Obama’s campaign changed course, they were answered late on Monday.

Priorities USA raised a paltry $59,000 in January, Federal Election Commission filings showed, and that amount came almost entirely from one longtime Obama supporter, John W. Rogers, who donated $50,000.

The disappointing figures were a sharp contrast with the tens of millions of dollars raised by the political action committees, or PACs, that support Republican presidential candidates.

The results reinforced concerns among Obama’s advisers that despite his campaign’s fundraising strength, Republican PACs could help the opposition outspend the president’s re-election efforts.

A campaign spokesman declined to comment about the Priorities USA figures.

ENTHUSIASM RISING?

On Feb. 6, Messina announced that Obama campaign and White House officials would start appearing at Priorities USA events, though they would not directly solicit contributions.

But Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, would not participate in the Super PAC events.

The change has made a difference in donor enthusiasm, said Bill Burton, a former White House official who helped found Priorities USA and is a senior strategist for the group.

“Interest and enthusiasm has increased significantly since the announcement,” he said in an email.

Despite the PAC’s financial weakness, the Obama campaign itself is still a fundraising juggernaut, raising $29.1 million in January along with the Democratic National Committee and other allies. It is expected to raise at least as much for the president’s re-election as the $750 million it collected in the 2008 presidential race.

But there are limits to how much the campaign can take in from big donors.

Individual donations to campaigns are limited to $2,500 during the primary season and another $2,500 for the fall general campaign. Because of the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that banned limits on fundraising and spending by independent political groups, Super PACs have no such limit on donations.

Obama opposed that ruling, which erased longstanding limits on corporate and union money in federal elections.

Obama “believes that this is an unhealthy development in our political process, but it is a reality of the rules as they stand,” Axelrod said in an interview.

“This was not a quick decision, but he also feels a responsibility to win this election,” Axelrod added. “There’s a lot hanging on this beyond him.”

Priorities USA had raised just $4.2 million by the end of January, only a fraction of that raised by Restore Our Future, the group supporting Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney, which had raised $36.8 million by the end of last month.

The figures showed Priorities USA had $1.3 million in cash on hand at the end of January and no debt.

The PAC’s incoming contributions in January averaged less than $2,000 a day. Without Rogers’ $50,000 donation on January 17, the group would have pulled in less than $10,000 last month.

For two of the GOP front-runners, their supportive super PACs raised more money and have more cash left in the bank than the candidates’ own campaigns. Helping their efforts are major financial gifts from wealthy business executives, whose contributions can be essential to the groups’ continued operations.

Mitt Romney-leaning Restore Our Future and Newt Gingrich-supportive Winning Our Future raised a combined $17 million last month and spent nearly $24 million during that same period. That financial strength allowed the groups to splash the airwaves in key primary states with millions of dollars in TV ads.

The proliferation of new super PACs continues to underscore how the groups, which can raise and spend unlimited sums, are influencing the race. The groups’ fundraising last month offers a periodic behind-the-scenes glimpse into the identities of the rich supporters who will help elect the next president, along with details on how the millions of dollars they donated have been spent.

Restore Our Future, which had $16 million cash on hand, has been boosted by more than two dozen repeat donors. Winning Our Future, which had $2.4 million in the bank, is largely supported by casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife.

Meanwhile, Romney raised $6.5 million last month and had $7.7 million left over for his presidential bid, while Gingrich’s presidential campaign raised $5.5 million during the same period and had about $1.8 million in cash remaining.

The super PACs, as well as other groups supporting other candidates and the individual campaigns, were required to disclose how much they raised and the identities of their donors in reports filed with the Federal Election Commission by midnight Monday. Those reports provided a snapshot of fundraising for President Barack Obama’s early campaign and for Republican candidates as they battled during important primary elections in January.

During the month, GOP candidates Gingrich and Rick Santorum had briefly surged ahead of Romney but trailed the former Massachusetts governor in fundraising. Since then, Santorum has climbed remarkably in polls while Gingrich’s support has eroded just as stunningly following the former House speaker’s disappointing showing in Florida’s primary.

Restore Our Future has been a boon for Romney, who has benefited greatly from the group’s TV ads attacking Gingrich in particular. Such ads were purchased thanks to the financial help of repeat donors, including Marriott International Chairman J.W. Marriott Jr., who has given the super PAC $750,000 to date.

The super PAC also reported new donors, including Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman. Romney mentored Whitman, recently an unsuccessful candidate for California governor, during the 1980s at Boston-based Bain & Co., the private equity firm Romney headed. Whitman’s $100,000 check to Restore Our Future came days after she joined Romney at a celebration of his victory in the New Hampshire primary.

Restore Our Future counted on continued support from at least 30 repeat donors who, along with new contributors, gave a combined $6.6 million in January, according to a review of the reports by The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Winning Our Future’s $11 million in contributions during the same period came almost exclusively from Adelson, a friend of Gingrich’s and a staunch supporter of Israel. Adelson and his wife, Miriam, each gave $5 million to the super PAC in January — a move that helped keep Gingrich’s struggling campaign alive.

Other GOP-leaning super PACs reported major contributions.

Endorse Liberty, the group supporting Texas Rep. Ron Paul, reported roughly $2.4 million in donations, including $1.7 from the billionaire founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel of San Francisco. Thiel, who runs a hedge fund, is a libertarian who has supported Republican causes and candidates and also has donated to California’s marijuana legalization ballot measure.

Obama’s campaign on Friday reported raising a combined $29.1 million in January among the campaign, the Democratic National Committee and other joint fundraising committees. The major super PAC backing Obama, Priorities USA Action, raised only $58,000 last month — mostly from a $50,000 contribution by Chicago businessman John Rogers — underscoring why Obama encouraged his supporters recently to give to the super PAC.

The reports likely will rekindle criticism of the groups, which were made possible under a 2010 Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case. The super PACs must legally remain independent from the candidates they support, but many are staffed with former campaign aides who have intimate knowledge of the campaigns’ strategies.

Late Friday, the Supreme Court put on hold a Montana case that bore striking similarities. Two justices said the newest case provides an opportunity for the court to reconsider whether millionaires and billionaires should be allowed to continue pouring millions of dollars into the presidential election.

Rush Limbaugh predicted Monday that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich could make what would be his third comeback in the GOP presidential contest.

Telling his listeners that the polls indicated Mitt Romney would likely lose the Michigan primary, the conservative icon said he wouldn’t be surprised if Romney’s demise gives Gingrich yet another opportunity to be frontrunner. Another great performance by Gingrich in a debate could turn the race around once again, Limbaugh said.

“I think there’s a possibility of something happening nobody’s talking about — and that’s the reemergence of Newt. Keep a sharp eye. Anything’s still possible,” Limbaugh said.

“If Romney has trouble in Michigan… Now, Public Policy Polling is a very liberal polling group out of North Carolina. They say that Romney’s gaining ground, and he could well be. A slew of negative ads are being run against Santorum, and they work. Negative ads have always been shown to work, and Romney’s gaining ground back in Michigan. Of course, the Republican establishment would be turned upside down if he loses in Michigan, because that’s his what, second or third home state? And his dad was governor there. …

Limbaugh pointed out that a number of news accounts have pointed out that GOP candidates, to be successful in Michigan, would have to say they supported the auto bailout of Chrysler and General Motors. One reason Romney is doing so bad in the polls is that he, the son of former auto industry chief and Michigan governor, has consistently said that the Obama administration should have let the automakers go bankrupt.

“If Romney falters in Michigan, the guy to look at as perhaps having a chance to get back in this big time is Newt Gingrich,” Limbaugh said. “Do you realize there hasn’t been a debate in a month? There has not been a debate, and look at what impact that could be having on the polls, ’cause there haven’t been any primaries, either. But look at the impact no debates are having. So if Romney doesn’t do as expected, then of course the Republican Party establishment’s gonna panic and think, ‘Oh, my gosh, we need somebody new now,’ because none of the others are suitable to them. Including Newt. Newt’s not suitable to them, either. But the debates are gonna kick back in again once we get close to Michigan and then we’ve got Super Tuesday.

“The debates will kick back up and if Newt has stellar performance. Given the roller-coaster nature of the results of these primaries, anything can still happen.”

Mitt Romney’s presidential bid enters a real make or break phase this week ahead of the Michigan primary. The GOP campaign has had no less than seven frontrunners in this campaign, and the worrying aspect for the largely organised and heavily financed Romney campaign is his struggle to break through the field.

Rick Santorum’s surge is consistent Texas Governor Rick Perry’s at his peak. A little higher than Herman Cain’s surge and slightly than Newt Gingrich’s lofty pre-Christmas heights, and nobody can rule out another Gingrich surge either.

The current debate involving the Catholic Church and Obama Administration has in no doubt aided the Santorum surge, with his values based appeal to the conservative support base. One has to wonder whether the much publicised spat was a strategically placed controversy by the Obama Administration to kill off Romney’s bid, or a calculated risk on their part however; Santorum’s rise is potentially the most serious yet. The previous negative advertising used by the Romney campaign against in particular, Gingrich may not be as effective in this instance. I asked the question some weeks ago, what does Romney stand for?

Herein, lays Romney’s biggest flaw in his campaign to date. He has been effective in ripping apart previous challenger’s surges without people asking what does Mitt Romney stand for? In this instance Santorum, unlike previous challengers has demonstrated an ability to learn, identify himself clearly and definitively as the social values candidate, while at the same time, slowly but steadily attacking Romney on his record in public office. Santorum is oozing confidence at present and appears sincere, natural and passionate on whatever issue he is speaking about.

Santorum combines a deeply held social conservatism with a genuine blue-collar appeal. Romney has appeared out of sorts at CPAC constantly using the phrase “Conservative values” and at one point referring to himself as “Severely Conservative”, he has also seemed uneasy and unnatural when trying to appear passionate on describing his love for his native birth state Michigan, appearing almost desperate, when citing his love of the trees and lakes in one speech, ouch! Romney has also found it troublesome to shake the label of being out of touch and being a member of social elite attributed to him by the Obama team.

The Romney campaign has already made large ad purchases, which are not likely to feature positive Romney bio slots. The problem the Romney Campaign has is their inability to frame a negative attack label on Santorum to date. Turning negative has contributed to the surge in unfavourable feelings voters have about Romney, and independents like other voters favour a politician who plays dirty. This presents the risky proposition that any such negative attack ads may not work and actually be used against Romney himself. Romney has been unable to manipulate Santorum’s electoral weakness on cultural issues, as Santorum has gone to great lengths and efforts to question the role of women in the workplace and in the military, and emphasise his opposition to contraception.

Santorum on the other hand has a strong record on supporting global health programs and earned a reputation for being a champion of faith-based anti-poverty efforts. Santorum also appears to be a more acceptable candidate to the GOP establishment who raced to attack former speaker Gingrich when he assumed the front runner status, the language and commentary used in their description of Santorum is subtlety complimentary, yet composed.

Another major factor working against Romney in Michigan is his well-publicised opposition to the federal bailout of General Motors who only last week announced its largest ever profits in history, which undermines Romney’s argument that bankruptcy would have been a better way to go for the auto companies. This makes Santorum’s appeal to ordinary blue collar worker all the more prominent in the state’s primary battle.

Romney has failed to win over supporters and the conservative base despite six years of campaigning largely due to a fundamental lack of enthusiasm. He has to win Michigan it is as simple as that, it is a battleground state in the general election and a failure to a secure victory here, will raise new doubts ahead of the critical Super Tuesday contest and Romney’s fragile front-runner status once and for all.

Romney’s best chance of victory is message, he needs to give voters and supporters a clear vision on where he will take the country and present a break-out policy initiative to seize the upper hand. He can no longer depend on his tried and tired tactics of highlighting his business credentials, attacking President Obama’s record and tearing down fellow GOP rivals.

Romney needs to inspire American’s and give them a reason to vote for him. One good policy initiative, which he can take to the country, may enable him to display a dynamism, passion and level of enthusiasm that will make him the all-appealing stand-out candidate. Failure to change step and stick with the old tried and tested tactics will only lead to his challenge for the highest office in the land falling apart slowly but surely.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator known for his socially conservative views, said Obama’s agenda is based on “some phony theology. Not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology.” He later suggested that the president practices a different kind of Christianity.

“In the Christian church there are a lot of different stripes of Christianity,” he said. “If the president says he’s a Christian, he’s a Christian.”

The Obama campaign said the comments represented “the latest low in a Republican primary campaign that has been fuelled by distortions, ugliness, and searing pessimism and negativity.”

Santorum was forced on his heels in recent days after a top supporter suggested that women use aspirin to prevent pregnancy. Foster Friess, the main donor behind Santorum’s “super PAC,” apologized Friday in a blog post.

In Ohio, a Super Tuesday prize, Santorum shifted decidedly to offense before friendly crowds. Trailing Romney in money and campaign resources, he is depending on the tea party movement and religious groups to deliver a victory March 6 in the Midwestern state’s primary.

More delegates will be awarded in Ohio than in any other state except Georgia in the opening months of GOP primaries and caucuses. Ohio and Georgia are two of the 10 votes scheduled for March 6, a benchmark for the primary campaign that often decides who can continue to the next level.

Santorum has surged in recent opinion polls after capturing Republican caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado and a nonbinding primary in Missouri on Feb. 7. Several polls have shown him ahead in Romney’s native state of Michigan, where primary voters cast ballots Feb. 28.

Obama’s campaign team has responded by starting to consider the possibility that Santorum rather than Romney could be the Republican nominee. The Chicago-based organization has begun scrutinizing Santorum’s record and asked its Pennsylvania allies to look for information that might be used against Santorum in ads and speeches.

Even as he criticized Obama, Santorum also went after one of Romney’s most promoted achievements – his leadership at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

“One of Mitt Romney’s greatest accomplishments, one of the things he talks about most is how he heroically showed up on the scene and bailed out and resolved the problems of the Salt Lake City Olympic Games,” Santorum said. “He heroically bailed out the Salt Lake City Olympic Games by heroically going to Congress and asking them for tens of millions of dollars to bail out the Salt Lake Games – in an earmark, in an earmark for the Salt Lake Olympic Games.”

Newt Gingrich, recognising that  his campaign “all hinges on Georgia,” was on the campaign trail on Saturday with a very familiar face in the state, fellow Georgian Herman Cain.

“I think Georgia is a very, very important state,” Gingrich said. “We actually have a very good chance of doing well here and that gives us a springboard then to go across the whole country.”

But the former House speaker cautioned “there are no slam dunk states anywhere in America.”

Gingrich got a much-needed lift on Saturday from another Georgian in his home state: Former rival Herman Cain.

The Atlanta businessman, who bowed out of the race in early December and later endorsed Gingrich, said the former House Speaker’s economic plan comes the closest to his trademark “9-9-9″ plan for a nine percent corporate business flat tax, income flat tax and national sales tax.

“I’m still working on him,” Cain told an audience of about 300 at a meeting of the Forsyth County Republicans.

Georgia, with its 76 delegates, will be the largest prize up for grabs during the critical Super Tuesday primaries on March 6. Recent polls have shown Gingrich in first place ahead of Mitt Romney.

Gingrich had said earlier this week there was a possibility he could lose here, but on Saturday amended that prediction to say, “We actually have a very good chance of doing well here, and that gives us a springboard then to go across the whole country. I think that’s part of what we are counting on.”

Gingrich and Cain, a former presidential candidate himself, appeared at three separate events.

The two men, who say they have been friends for years, not only cracked jokes with one another as they passed each other on stage, but also were full of compliments for each other during their speeches.

“Newt is not afraid to engage in a little smackdown when necessary,” a smiling Cain told the crowd in Cumming, Ga. “That’s bold leadership.”

Asked by reporters in Suwanee, Ga., what cabinet position Cain would hold in a Gingrich administration, the former speaker shied away from naming a specific job.

Cain, however, took control of the answer himself.

“My ideal job with a Speaker Newt Gingrich as president of the United States is to be a senior adviser not in charge of anything,” Cain said. “That’s what I would want to do in a Gingrich administration.”

Cain, who dropped out of the race back in November, was one of many presidential candidates who made their way to the top of the pack at some point during the primary season.

Rick Santorum is currently in that front-runner role now, Gingrich said, but told supporters in Atlanta that he “will survive Santorum.”

Ron Paul began his three day visit to the Pacific Northwest with a stop in Twin Falls. Campaign officials estimate more than 1300 supporters and interested parties attended the town hall meeting.  The Idaho republican presidential caucus is just over two and a half weeks away and Ron Paul is determined to make another good caucus showing.

The 12-term Texas congressman is hoping to continue his support across the region and gain some new supporters along the way. Congressman Ron Paul entered Roper auditorium to a warm–welcome.

Dr. Ron Paul, (R) Texas says, “It’s a freedom–loving state. I’ve always had good receptions here. I figured it would be good, but I was impressed.” “I want to be president, but I don’t want to be president to run your life,” Paul said.

“What’s happening in Washington is in many ways irrelevant because they’re not doing the right things. They’re doing the wrong things, but the really great things are happening outside of Washington. The people are waking up and they’re sick and tired of what we’re getting,” Paul said.

As Ron Paul tries to win the republican nomination, he looks to the younger generation to a successful future. “They’re realizing they’re getting the bad rap, the debt,” says Paul.

Congressman Paul addressed Iran’s nuclear weapons… “Iran you know is supposed to attack us soon if we are not ready and that is what they said to us about Iraq…” adds Paul. As far as military support in the Middle East, Congressman Paul says we need to pull the troops. According to Paul supporters, he’s the only republican presidential candidate who voted against the Iraq War. “We have over 8,000 Americans that have died. We have spent trillions of dollars, our debt is up four trillion dollars in that region and it’s not ending,” states Paul. The amount of support came from near and far.

Paul’s message consisted of many things, a $1.3 trillion dollar budget cut as well as strategies on how he would tackle other budget problems.

“And it was guaranteed that if you have an income tax they’re going to collect a lot of taxes and what will happen, government will grow, and that’s why the founders didn’t give us an income tax, so when the republic comes back, we won’t have an income tax” said Ron Paul.

” So far, Paul hasn’t gotten the overwhelming number of results he would like, but many believe he’s got a chance.

Paul’s “No One But Paul” money bomb has also raised more than $1 million since launching on February 14th. Mr. Paul’s “No One But Paul” money bomb is the Texas congressman’s latest effort to fill his campaign coffers as the Super Tuesday elections approach.

“I think it’s the liberty message, total freedom. I think generally, people in the West are more like that, than say, some of the very large cities in the East. But, I think Idaho’s always been that way, I think there’s a very independent spirit here, and self-reliance. I think it’s cultural, as well as political,” said Paul. Paul hopes to carry the energy found in Idaho throughout the rest of his campaign and he performed well in the primary four years ago, and decisively won the straw poll that the Idaho Republican Party held last month. Paul also planned to travel to Washington State before returning to Idaho on Friday for further campaigning.

A planned March 1 debate of Republican presidential candidates in Atlanta was cancelled on Thursday after Mitt Romney and Ron Paul dropped out of it and the campaign for Rick Santorum expressed doubt he would attend.

The CNN-sponsored debate was scheduled to take place in Newt Gingrich’s home state of Georgia. Of the four remaining candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, only Gingrich, who has generally done well in the debates, had definitely been scheduled to attend.

“Without full participation of all four candidates, CNN will not move forward with the Super Tuesday debate. However, next week, CNN and the Arizona Republican Party will host all four leading contenders for the GOP nomination. That debate will be held in Mesa, Arizona on February 22 and will be moderated by CNN’s John King.”

The Republican state-by-state campaign to seek a challenger to Democratic President Barack Obama in November’s election has been heavily reliant on debates.

Romney was the first candidate to cancel, citing scheduling conflicts. Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul gave the official explanation in a statement.

“Governor Romney will be spending a lot of time campaigning in Georgia and Ohio ahead of Super Tuesday. With eight other states voting on March 6th, we will be campaigning in other parts of the country and unable to schedule the CNN Georgia debate. We have participated in 20 debates, including 8 from CNN.”

Paul and Santorum quickly followed suit. Paul spokesman said that Paul would be skipping the debate to “focus on a bunch of western caucuses.” The decision by Paul doesn’t surprise anyone and Paul aim is to build a movement in this race, not win the presidential nomination however, a source also said that Santorum would “likely skip,” a decision he confirmed later last night in an interview with Greta Van Susteren.

That left Newt Gingrich all alone and apparently ticked off. The debate, which was set to take place in Atlanta just a few days before Super Tuesday, could have given a much-needed bump to the floundering Gingrich campaign.

After Romney’s announcement, Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond tweeted, “Romney spits in Georgia’s face and cancels Atlanta debate appearance.”

Later, he tweeted, “If (Romney) won’t stand up and debate his GOP competitors how will he face President Obama?” Speaker Gingrich definitely has a point and it is clear that Romney and Santorum are now trying to prevent a Newt resurgence. At least when speaker Gingrich was leading in the polls he wasn’t afraid to debate, it is yet another signal of how the current two poll leading candidates, don’t have the confidence or courage to step up to the plate.