GOP candidates prepare for debate; Romney appears to be everyone's target

The Republican presidential hopefuls will face off Tuesday evening in New Hampshire. Even before the event begins, candidates are staking their ground. Texas Gov. Rick Perry went on the offensive, releasing a web video attacking former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney's health care positions. Meanwhile, the debate will be very important to Herman Cain, who has been climbing in the polls, and Michele Bachmann, who has fallen precipitously.

Boston Globe: GOP Candidates Stake Their Ground Before Debate
The Republican presidential candidates descended on New Hampshire yesterday, in advance of tonight's key debate at Dartmouth College, sponsored by Bloomberg, the Washington Post, and WBIN-TV. Texas Governor Rick Perry, businessman Herman Cain, Texas Representative Ron Paul, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will round out the stage. ... Perry released a Web video yesterday attacking Romney's health care reform in Massachusetts. The video compares Romney's Massachusetts reform to Obama's national reform -; which all the Republican candidates, including Romney, want to repeal. The video accuses Romney of flip-flopping on the issue. A Romney spokesman accused Perry of "dishonesty, distortions, and fabrications" (Schoenberg, 10/11).

The Associated Press: Republicans Pile On Romney, Looking To Block Him
Romney's rivals readied criticism on health care policy, cultural issues and environmental positions. Even with a focus on the economy and voters most concerned about 9.1 percent unemployment, there was scant chance Romney would be able to dodge questions about his overall record (Elliott, 10/11).

The Fiscal Times: The 15-Point Cheat Sheet on Mitt Romney
10. Governor Romney. He served one term as governor of Massachusetts, from 2002 to 2006, claiming to have "reversed the decline of a state mired in recession." In 2006, he implemented "RomneyCare," a health care law mandating all residents have health insurance. ... 14. Abortion Flip-flop. In 2005, Romney moved from an "unequivocal" pro-choice position to a pro-life one, a change that rival Rick Perry criticized this past weekend as political pandering (Mackey, 10/10).

MSNBC: White House Used Mitt Romney Health Care Law As Blueprint For Federal Law
Newly obtained White House records provide fresh details on how senior Obama administration officials used Mitt Romney's landmark health care law in Massachusetts as a model for the new federal law, including recruiting some of Romney's own health care advisers and experts to help craft the act now derided by Republicans as "Obamacare."  The records, gleaned from White House visitor logs reviewed by NBC News, show that senior White House officials had a dozen meetings in 2009 with three health-care advisers and experts who helped shape the health care reform law signed by Romney in 2006, when the Republican presidential candidate was governor of Massachusetts. One of those meetings, on July 20, 2009, was in the Oval Office and presided over by President Barack Obama, the records show (Isikoff, 10/11).

Market Watch: Perry Slams Romney on Health Care a Day Before Debate
Rick Perry is mounting a new attack on Mitt Romney's health care record, trying to hit the former Massachusetts governor where it hurts a day ahead of their next debate. Romney's signing of a law in Massachusetts that partly resembles President Barack Obama's health care act has long been a point of disdain among conservatives. A scathing ad put out by Perry's campaign on Monday suggests the Texas governor will use health care as a line of attack again on Tuesday as he tries to regain footing and put in a better performance than in past debates (Schoreder, 10/10).

Reuters: Perry Video Batters Romney with Health Care
In his latest campaign video, Texas Governor Rick Perry takes direct aim at Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney over health care. The video casts the former Massachusetts governor as a mirror image of President Barack Obama when it comes to the federal health care overhaul, which conservatives deride as "Obamacare." Obamacare morphs into "Romneycare" in the video, which links the Republican frontrunner to the Democratic president's plan (10/10).

The Washington Post: The Fact Checker: Rick Perry's New Ad About Mitt Romney And 'RomneyCare'
Texas Gov. Rick Perry launched an ad Monday attacking Mitt Romney on the health care reform law that not so affectionately bears his name among conservatives. The overall theme of the ad -; that Romney's health care law is intellectual father of Obama's law -; is correct. But then it goes even further than that. … We've already scrutinized Perry's attack on the Romney book edits, so we won't spend any more time on that. Suffice it to say we awarded three Pinocchios to the Texas governor for manufacturing a phony issue (Hicks, 10/11).

The Texas Tribune: Video: New Perry Attack Ad Challenges "Romneycare"
Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign has produced an online attack ad aimed at Mitt Romney (Tan, 10/10).

Boston Globe: Down in Polls, Michele Bachmann Seeks N.H. Support
Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann brought to New Hampshire yesterday the same withering critique of government that has made her popular among small-government Tea Party movement activists and has fueled her candidacy. ... She said she would repeal Obama's health care overhaul without waiting for the Supreme Court to rule whether it was constitutional. "I don't trust, necessarily, what the Supreme Court is going to do," she said. She took a swipe at Republican rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who has said he would grant waivers to all 50 states so they do not have to comply with Obama's health care law (Schoenberg, 10/10).

McClatchy/Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Bachmann's Order Of Business Is Change
Her first order of business is well-known: Repeal "Obamacare."  That's the issue that thrust Michele Bachmann into the national spotlight and has provided a rallying cry for her White House campaign. But that's only the tip of a Tea Party-style agenda that has helped frame the GOP presidential race so far, even as Bachmann has fallen precipitously in the polls (Diaz, 10/10).

Boston Globe: Optimism, Candor Boost Cain in Polls
He's more than Mr. Congeniality, popular for his straight-shooting sense of humor and powerful gospel-singing voice. Herman Cain, a pizza magnate, conservative talk-radio host, and the only serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination without prior political chops, has in recent weeks proved to be a candidate who some analysts say should be taken seriously. ... The turning point appeared to occur during the Sept. 22 GOP debate in Orlando, where an energized crowd repeatedly interrupted his statements with applause. He railed against federal health care reform by connecting it to his own battle with colon and liver cancer. Cain, who was given a 30 percent chance of survival, said he would be dead had "Obamacare" been in effect during his treatment because care would have been delayed under bureaucratic oversight. He has now been cancer-free for five years (Jan, 10/10).