Our favorite line about Newt Gingrich is that he’s a stupid guy’s idea of what a smart guy sounds like. And sure enough, his Towering Intellect is a major factor in Newt’s Not-Mitt Surge: Finally, somebody who can take on that empty-suit teleprompter jockey!

Never mind that the Teleprompter Jockey handily faced down a room of dimwit Republican congresscritters a couple years back. If you’ve forgotten how joyous that was, don’t worry, you’ll remember next fall.

But for now, join us in our GOP Debate Open Thread/Newtapalooza. In Newt’s America, we’ll all be cleaning toilets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRWatw_ZEQI

Ice Cube Is in the House! [NYT, via Kottke]

Rick Perry fails Schoolhouse Rock: “For Washington to tell a local school district that you cannot have a prayer and a time of prayer in that school is, I think, offensive to most Americans. I trust the people of the states to make those decisions. I trust those independent school districts to make those decisions better than eight unelected, and frankly, unaccountable judges.” [ABC, via TPM]

“Discussing controversial classroom subjects such as evolution and global warming, Santorum said he has suggested that ‘science should get out of politics’”. [Des Moines Register, via TPM]

The Donald considers canceling debate, lashes out at Crazy Eyes: “She came up to see me four times. She would call me and ask me for advice. She said if she wins, she would like to think about me for the vice presidency. Most importantly, I did a two-hour phone call for her with her people… And after all that, she announced she was not going to do the debate. It’s called loyalty. How do you do that? It’s amazing to me.” [AP, via Political Wire]

“Devastating!” shrieks the Center for Public Integrity. “Both barrels!” crows TPM. “Absolutely brutal!” raves WaPo’s Greg Sargent.

What is it? Why, it’s the new Mittens SuperPAC ad they didn’t want you to see, at least not minutes after it was posted and quickly taken down. As you can tell from the samizdat version somebody else uploaded, It unleashes the Dogs of Hell upon Newt Gingrich and mercilessly shits him out the other end.

Unless, of course, it just recites a few commonly known facts.

Look, folks: We’re as invested as the next Lefty blogger in wanton Eleventh Commandment violations, but have some restraint. “Team Romney attacks Gingrich in new campaign ad” is about all this one merits. Save the hyperbole for the good stuff.

President Obama whips it out: “Ask Osama bin Laden and the 22 out of 30 top Al-Qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether I engage in appeasement… or whoever’s left out there.” [TPM]