A Tipping Point?

By all accounts, last night was Mitt Romney's strongest debate.  It is too early to tell if it will be his most influential.  The race in Florida has been in a dead heat all week.  Many have been anxious to see how the rise of Newt Gingrich in South Carolina would play out in Florida.

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Last night things took a major swing in Romney's favor. Today the Romney camp is celebrating the favorable press coverage and the revelation that he is experiencing a much-needed bump in the polls.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released today, Romney has opened a nine-point lead over Newt Gingrich--38% to 29%.  This is important because as of yesterday, Romney and Gingrich were in a virtual tie at 36% to 34%.

What was it about the debates this week that made a difference?  Deeper question, was it enough?

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Powerful Moments From Last Night

From the beginning of the debate, Romney responded strongly to charges made this week by Newt Gingrich that Romney is the most "anti-immigrant candidate."

Romney said,  "That's simply inexcusable. And, actually, Senator Marco Rubio came to my defense and said that ad was inexcusable and inflammatory and inappropriate.  Mr. Speaker, I'm not anti-immigrant. My father was born in Mexico. My wife's father was born in Wales. They came to this country. The idea that I'm anti-immigrant is repulsive.

"Don't use a term like that. You can say we disagree on certain policies, but to say that enforcing the U.S. law to protect our borders, to welcome people here legally, to expand legal immigration, as I have proved, that that's somehow anti anti-immigrant is simply the kind of over-the-top rhetoric that has characterized American politics too long.

"And I'm glad that Marco Rubio called you out on it. I'm glad you withdrew it. I think you should apologize for it, and I think you should recognize that having differences of opinions on issues does not justify labeling people with highly charged epithets."

Huge applause...for Romney.  Gingrich was like a deer in headlights.

He tried to silence the cheering crowd by switching the focus to Romney's belief that illegal immigrants will "self-deport" if employers will no longer hire them.

Gingrich said,  "Tell me what language you would use to describe somebody who thinks that deporting a grandmother or a grandfather from their family?   The idea that you are going to push them out in some form by simply saying they can't go get a job -- I think the grandmother is still going to be here. All I want to do is to allow the grandmother to be here legally with some rights to have residency but not citizenship, so that he or she can finish their life with dignity within the law."

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This argument by Gingrich has been quite effective and has resonated with a lot of voters.  Romney however, quickly turned the tables on Gingrich with his powerful response.

Romney said,  "You know, our problem is not 11 million grandmothers. Our problem is 11 million people getting jobs that many Americans, legal immigrants, would like to have. It's school kids in schools that districts are having a hard time paying for. It's people getting free health care because we are required under the law to provide that health care.  

"And the real concern is the people who want to come here legally. Let's let legal immigrants come here. Let's stop illegal immigration."

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From that point on, it was pretty much downhill for Gingrich.  The crowd was cheering for his rival and he could never find his voice again.  Even his best trick of attacking the liberal moderator's question completely backfired and turned out to be a shining moment for Romney when Romney said, "Wouldn't it be nice if people didn't make accusations somewhere else that they weren't willing to defend here?"

Ouch.

The last powerful moment of the night for Romney came during an exchange regarding Newt's involvement with the mortgage giant Freddie Mac.  Romney questioned why Gingrich did not do more to stop the devastation of the housing crisis.  He said that Gingrich's role was that of "Horn Tooter" rather than a "Whistle Blower."

But it was clear that Gingrich was waiting to pounce.

He said,  "The governor has cheerfully attacked me inaccurately and he knows it. The contracts we released from Freddie Mac said I would do no lobbying, none. But this is a more interesting story. We began digging in after Monday night because frankly I'd had about enough of this. We discovered to our shock, Governor Romney owns shares of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Governor Romney made a million dollars off of selling some of that. Governor Romney owns share -- has an investment in Goldman Sachs, which is today foreclosing on Floridians.

"So maybe Governor Romney in the spirit of openness should tell us how much money he's made off of how many households that have been foreclosed by his investments? And let's be clear about that."

This was an interesting moment, because it appeared that Romney might lose the edge on the issue.  But Romney's quick and thoughtful response was the final blow to his closest rival.

Romney brilliantly responded, "First of all, my investments are not made by me. My investments for the last 10 years have been in a blind trust, managed by a trustee. Secondly, the investments that they've made, we've learned about this as we made our financial disclosure, have been in mutual funds and bonds. I don't own stock in either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. There are bonds that the investor has held through mutual funds. And Mr. Speaker, I know that sounds like an enormous revelation, but have you checked your own investments? You also have investments through mutual funds that also invest in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

"But what the speaker did, was to work as a spokesman to promote Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. To protect them from those people that wanted to take them down.  

"He got paid $1.6 million to do that. He said his first contract indicated there would be no lobbying. But his second contract didn't have that prescription taken out of it. And so you have to ask yourself why is that? What he was doing was clearly promoting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in this case Freddie Mac to the tune of $1.6 million. That is one of the reasons we're in the trouble we're in."

Kaboom!

Gingrich could never recover.  Romney owned it and was able to walk away with the coveted praise for a stellar debate performance.

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A tipping point?  Maybe.

The most important revelation from this week's debates are two crucial factors which may very well prove to be the tipping point for Romney securing the Republican nomination.

First of all, Romney was able show--for the second time in one week--that Newt Gingrich is beatable in a debate.

Secondly, and perhaps most imperatively, Romney is articulately trying to silence attacks from his critics on his financial success and exemplary career.  Romney said, "I'm proud of the the taxes I pay.  My taxes, plus my charitable contributions, this year, 2011, will be about 40 percent.  So, let's put behind this idea of attacking me because of my investments or my money and let's get Republicans to say, you know what?  What you've accomplished in your life shouldn't be seen as a detriment, it should be seen as an asset to help America."

This was a pivotal moment.  Pivotal because it demonstrates that Romney is not about to be "Swift Boated."  He is not going to sit by and let people attack his greatest strengths--his greatest asset.  He is proudly owning his successes and he is demonstrating to his rivals, the democrats and voters across this country that his long and successful career is exactly what this country needs to guide us out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

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Tuesday's Florida Primary will help define a crucial moment in this election.  I believe that Romney's performance last night was the tipping point he needed.

Romney has found his feet. He has found his voice.  He is demonstrating the type of authority and influence that must have been felt all those years in the Board Room at Bain Capital.  He is showing his ability to lead.

It is too early to tell how it will play out, but today's polls show that voters are beginning to like what they see.