With spirited rhetoric about protecting the middle class and enforcing fairness in taxation, president Obama abandoned his normally conciliatory tone about non-partisan politics during last night's State of the Union address and instead highlighted the differences between right and left. Although both parties have had the chance for rebuttal, The Takeaway has assembled their own partisan players to comment on the president's remarks.

Rick Perry is out, Rick Santorum actually won Iowa, and Newt Gingrich's second wife says he asked for an open marriage before he filed for divorce. The four remaining candidates debated in Charleston one last time before this weekend's South Carolina primary. We take a look back at what was arguably the wildest day of the 2012 Presidential campaign thus far.

CNN is reporting this morning that Texas governor and GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry will drop his bid for the nomination just days ahead of the South Carolina primary. Perry drops his bid amid tepid poll numbers as candidates will scramble to pick up what little support he had. Mitt Romney faces his biggest test as the Iowa GOP also announced today that he may not have won their caucus. Republican political consultant Ron Christie joins the program to let us know how this will impact the race.

Only four days left until the South Carolina Republican presidential primary. That means only four days for the candidates to derail front-runner Mitt Romney off the path to the GOP nomination. At last night's debate in Myrtle Beach Romney fended off attacks on his business record, his personal wealth, and his moral character.

And then there were five. Jon Huntsman is expected to announce today that he is ending his bid for the White House and will endorse Mitt Romney. Huntsman pinned his hopes on a strong showing in the New Hampshire primary where he finished a soft third last week. What does this mean for the rest of the campaign? Joining the show is Jim Rutenberg, reporter for our partner The New York Times and Ron Christie, Republican political strategist, CEO of Christie Strategies, and former special assistant to President George W. Bush.

Mitt Romney's win in the New Hampshire primary, Newt Gingrich's ad campaign attacking Romney's past in private equity, a new book about Michelle Obama's role as first lady were — for better or worse — the stories that dominated the headlines for the last week. The Takeaway has assembled a panel of analysts to rundown, dissect, and wrap-up all the major stories of the week.

A decisive, but not surprising, victory last night for Mitt Romney. He won the New Hampshire primary last night with almost 40 percent of the vote. But he doesn't emerge for the state as the presumptive nominee yet, and the devil is in the details. Ron Christie, Republican political strategist, political contributor for the Takeaway and It’s a Free Country, and John Zogby, president of the polling firm Zogby International, discuss Tuesday night's outcome.

Every Friday, The Takeaway convenes a panel to look back at the week's big stories. Among the headlines, after Mitt Romney squeezed out Rick Santorum by just eight votes in the Iowa caucuses, his hometown newspaper, The Boston Globe, endorsed rival Jon Huntsman. Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann dropped out of the race after placing last in Tuesday's caucuses. President Obama and Congressional Republicans are doing battle again, this time over his recess appointment of Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney edged out former Senator Rick Santorum by just eight votes in Tuesday night's Iowa caucuses. After spending most of the night locked in a dead heat with Santorum and Rep. Ron Paul, Romney was declared the winner early Wednesday morning with 24.6 percent of the vote. Paul finished in third place, followed by Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and Michele Bachmann. Perry announced he would suspend his campaign to return to Texas.

While many focus on who the winner of the Iowa Caucus will be later this evening, the true question to be answered is whether certain candidates ranking near the bottom in the minds of voters will get the message that their best course of action is to drop out.

Ron Paul’s comments on race should disqualify him from holding the most powerful job in the world.

Every Friday, The Takeaway convenes a panel to look back at the week's big stories. This week North Korea held a funeral for deceased dictator Kim Jong-il, Arab League monitors arrived in Syria, Sears announced they were closing more than 100 stores after poor holiday sales figures, Republican presidential candidates campaigned heavily in Iowa, and Americans around the country crafted new year's resolutions.

This week North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il died, a Pentagon investigation into airstrikes that killed 26 Pakistani soldiers heightened tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan, Countrywide was ordered to pay $355 million for discriminating against black and Latino borrowers, and a terrorism scandal in Iraq's second-highest office broke. 

Republican presidential candidates held their final debate last night in Sioux City just weeks before the Iowa caucus takes place on January 3. In the Fox News debate candidates attempted to draw distinctions from one another and defend their record to conservative voters. The latest New York Times/CBS News poll shows Newt Gingrich gaining ground on consistent front runner Mitt Romney. But some voters are still undecided.

Late last week I took to Twitter and the airwaves to urge Donald Trump to fire himself from moderating his own Republican debate. Judging from the press accounts yesterday, he followed my advice.

With unemployment near 10 percent, housing prices depressed all across the country and a sense ...

In Iowa the final sprint for the 2012 Republican presidential candidates has begun, with the state's all-important January 3 caucuses drawing near. On Saturday, all of the major Republican contenders, minus former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, took center stage at Drake University for a Des Moines debate. Surging frontrunner Newt Gingrich found himself fending off attacks from all sides throughout the night, while Mitt Romney may have left the lasting impression by offering Rick Perry a $10,000 bet, mid-debate.

This week, the euro zone nations agreed to a pact to deal with the ongoing debt crisis, but the U.K. will not be taking part. Newt Gingrich's comments about child labor continued to dominate the headlines. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of instigating protests over alleged voter fraud there. And Donald Trump once again became the focus of the Republican primary field as candidates slowly dropped out of a Newmax-sponsored debate he was to moderate.

Over the weekend a new poll conducted by The Des Moines Register found Newt Gingrich in the lead, with the support of 25 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers. The poll was conducted before Herman Cain suspended his candidacy on Saturday, and it gave stark evidence of the former Godfather CEO's fall from favor: Cain was tied with Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann for last place. With Cain’s campaign on hold, and the Iowa Caucus just a month away, Republican presidential candidates are competing for the backing of his former supporters.  

As a proud conservative, I am a firm believer in President Ronald Reagan’s famous 11 Commandment not to speak ill of a fellow Republican. At the same time, I’ve been mulling over a statement made by Texas Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) during a recent presidential debate that has ...

This week, we've seen Newt Gingrich continue to climb in the Republican polls as Herman Cain has continued to falter. Also out of Washington, Rep. Barney Frank announced his intention to not seek re-election after his fiery 32-year career. And, a new study rejuvenates the perennial debate about legalizing marijuana.