the nomie, it winnows out, takes out, some of the wacker candidates, so they ve got to really be dernd but look, mitt romney is the punitive frontrunner. he s going to try and stay above the fray and he has a big problem and it isn t on that stage. his big problem is named rick perry who is apparently jumping in on saturday, is going to step on the story of the debate and the ames poll. i think romney needs to be very worried about perry. will romney or some of the other candidates take jabs at perry. jon, perry s theme song is taken from that sultry singer peggy lee, is that all there is. he s referring to the other candidate, is that all there is. they have to respond. jon: it s going to be interesting to watch. i know our chatters are already on there, advocating their favorites. larry sabato from the university of virginia, thanks. thanks jon. jon: the candidates take the stage to make their case in iowa tonight.