Analysis: GOP debates are "presents" for Obama
Just weeks away from the Iowa caucuses, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich continues to see his popularity rising - in part, perhaps, due to his confident performances in Republican debates.
Some observers see that as good news for the White House.
"I think these debates are like presents under the Christmas tree for President Obama," said CBS chief White House correspondent Norah O'Donnell, in a political roundtable on Sunday's "Face the Nation." "They want more and more Americans to watch these debates where Mitt Romney managed to make a mistake."
Until recently, the Obama administration has chiefly targeted former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as the likely Republican nominee (and Mr. Obama's competition) in 2012.
But as CBS' Bob Schieffer said Sunday, "It's no secret they really want to run against Newt" in the general election.
A number of Democratic lawmakers have hailed Gingrich's ascendance as the possible nominee, particularly given the candidate's long history in Washington - during which time he has undergone a lengthy ethical investigation, owned up to marital infidelity, and made any number of controversial statements.
"I did not think I had lived a good enough life to be rewarded by having Newt Gingrich be the Republican nominee," quipped longtime Democratic congressman Barney Frank, when asked about the possibility.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi echoed that sentiment, telling Talking Points Memo in an interview that Frank's comment "spoke for a lot of us" Democrats.
According to O'Donnell, the debates potentially provide increased opportunities for Gingrich to shine, and for Romney - who is viewed by many observers as a much more serious threat to Mr. Obama - to falter.
"They want more and more Americans to watch these debates where Mitt Romney managed to make a mistake, where he said he would bet $10,000 with Rick Perry," O'Donnell told Schieffer. "The Democratic National Committee was delighted by that remark. They got it trending worldwide on Twitter. #What10kWouldBuy, essentially, was the hashtag. And then, of course, they had Newt Gingrich delivering their best line of attack on Mitt Romney, when Newt Gingrich said to Mitt Romney, 'The only reason you're not a career politician is because you lost to Teddy Kennedy.'"
According to O'Donnell, Gingrich is making one of the DNC's main arguments for them.
"That has been one of the central focuses of the Democratic National Committee, is to paint not only Mitt Romney as a flip-flopper, but as a career politician, someone who has been running for office for 20 years," she said.
O'Donnell noted that Democrats aren't "giving up" on Gingrich, but that regardless of who ends up the nominee, they were hoping for a long Republican primary.
"They want this to drag on, so it saps Mitt Romney's strength and drains his coffers," O'Donnell said of the Democrats.
Still, Dickerson argues that Gingrich does have a certain advantage over Romney: As a charismatic speaker, he's potentially able to deliver more stinging attacks against the president.
"One of the things Newt Gingrich may do... is talk about the president and his failures in an articulate way that a lot of people can watch, and so it's essentially a long string of attacks on the president," Dickerson told Schieffer. "And the president's approval rating in our latest poll is at 44 percent, 33 percent on the economy. That's his lowest number ever. People think the country is going in the wrong direction. That number 44 on approval, usually the strategists say that the president's approval rating has to be at about 50 to get re-elected. So he has got a lot of work to do there."