Chris Christie Endorses Mitt Romney

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie officially endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for president at a press conference in Hanover, N.H., earlier on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Christie, who announced last week that he would not seek the presidency in 2012, endorsed Romney hours before Dartmouth College will host the latest Republican presidential debate.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty endorsed Romney last month after he ended his campaign following a disappointing showing in the Iowa Straw Poll in August.

Pawlenty Endorses Romney

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for president on Monday, Sept. 12.

Pawlenty praised Romney as a candidate with "unique qualifications to confront and master our severe economic predicament" in a letter to his supporters. He also lauded Romney's "abiding faith in our country's exceptional historical position as a beacon of freedom." (Pawlenty announced this endorsement a day after the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.)

"Romney is running for president because he is deeply committed to our country, troubled by its current condition, and I believe he can turn it around," said Pawlenty.

Pawlenty ended his own White House bid last month after he finished third in the Iowa straw poll. Republican presidential candidates will participate in their next debate tonight in Tampa, Fla.

Those Gotcha Questions

It was apparently a night for gotcha questions!

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich certainly let his displeasure with his former Fox News colleagues known during last night’s Republican presidential debate in Ames, Iowa. The thrice-married social conservative’s scorn aside, the spectacle that took place at Iowa State University proved somewhat interesting and even entertaining for this native Granite Stater who watched it unfold from his parents’ home in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann arguably proved she does have a titanium spine as she deflected pointed questions about her personal life and defended her record against former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appeared rather presidential as he tried to rise above the intra-GOP fray that unfolded on the Ames stage, although his assertion at the Iowa State Fair earlier in the day that “corporations are people” and his support for a Constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman confirm questions about his convictions. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum should have looked in the mirror before he criticized the Iranian government for trampling the rights of gays and women.

The debate was equally as newsworthy for those who did not participate—most notably former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Perry will make his presidential aspirations official in a speech he is scheduled to deliver in South Carolina on Saturday, Aug. 13. Palin’s national bus tour will roll into the Hawkeye State just in time for the Iowa Straw Poll.

Should we anticipate even more gotcha questions from those annoying journalists in the coming days and weeks?

You betcha!