this in an interview, cbs s 60 minutes , the president challenges the political partisanship. he says republican strategy cuts him off at the knees. i think the republicans made a different calculation, which was, you know what, we really screwed up the economy. obama seems popular. our best bet is to stand on the sidelines because we think the economy will get worse and at some point just blame him. so we haven t gotten the kind of engagement from them that i would have liked. all right. a lot of political buzz this morning that s centering on the weekend s gop debate. it was one to watch. at one point mitt romney criticized the frontrunner, newt gingrich, as being a political pro. then he markets himself as an outsider. this is an exchange, have you to see this, gingrich snapping off a comeback. we have differences of viewpoint on some issues, but the real difference, i believe, is our backgrounds. i spent my life in the private sector. i understand how the economy