Politically Punchy in the USA; Who's Fighting Whom This Week
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The air war is underway in South Carolina, where super PACs are spending millions of dollars in negative advertising. But the shadowy groups supporting Republican presidential candidates aren't the only ones on the attack. Here's our rundown of which hot heads are blowing their lids and who's getting burned this week:
| Throwing the Punches | Taking the Hits | What's Being Attacked |
| Newt Gingrich | Mitt Romney | At Monday's debate Gingrich blasted Romney for having "no influence" over pro-Romney Super PAC ads that attack Gingrich with what he calls "falsehoods." Gingrich called on Romney to "exercise leadership" over the PAC so they would take the ads down. |
| Rick Santorum | Mitt Romney | Romney's statement that a pro-Romney Super PAC ad attacking Santorum for allowing felons to vote "sounded accurate." In response, Santorum said Romney "supports lies and promotes lies" to get elected. |
| Mitt Romney | All Super PACs | Obviously fed up with the constant Super PAC attack ads and subsequent criticism, Romney said at Monday night's debate that he "would like to have Super PACs disappear." |
| Cyndi Lauper | Anti-Romney ads | An unnamed ad-maker who used Lauper's song "True Colors" in an ad attacking Romney. An unhappy Lauper tweeted "Romney can discredit himself without the use of my work." |
| Newt Gingrich | Mitt Romney | Among other things, his ability to speak French. Gingrich's latest web ad hits Mitt for his connections to Democratic Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. |
| Obama Campaign | Mitt Romney | Obama Campaign Deputy Manager Stephanie Cutter wrote a four-page memo vilifying the Republican front-runner. The memo , "Romney's Economic Record: Profit at Any Cost," says Romney "made money hand over fist while working families lost their grip on the middle-class lifestyle they earned." |
| Gingrich super PAC | Mitt Romney | The super PAC that supports Newt Gingrich, Winning Our Future, is spending $3.4 million to air an ad for its anti-Romney movie in South Carolina. "Think you know Mitt? Think again," the trailer says. The Romney campaign accused Winning Our Future of containing inaccuracies. |
| Mitt Romney | Gingrich Super PAC | The Romney campaign accused Winning Our Future's video, "King of Bain," of containing inaccuracies, and the Washington Post gave it four Pinocchios. |
| Newt Gingrich | Gingrich Super PAC | In light of those alleged inaccuracies, Newt 2012, the Gingrich campaign, sent out a news release urging Winning Our Future to edit or retract the film. |
| Romney's Super PAC | Rick Santorum | The super PAC that supports Mitt Romney, Restore Our Future, released a web ad that lashes out at Santorum for his record in Pennsylvania. |
| Vice President Joe Biden | George Will | While not aiming fire at Republican candidates, Biden took issue with Will's suggestion that college graduates would not need help with loans while speaking at a high school in Ohio . Biden argued in favor of reducing or forgiving students' debts and said of Will, "I guess he came from a different neighborhood." |
| Rudy Giuliani | Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry | Giuliani called Gingrich's and Perry's attacks on Romney's business record "ignorant, dumb," saying they hurt the Republican party. Gingrich and Perry have since backed off . |
| Government Watchdog Groups | President Obama | A coalition of watchdog groups has put together a petition demanding Obama work to change the line up of the Federal Election Commission, which they say is currently toothless. |
| Rick Perry | Herman Cain | It's not clear why Perry tried to pull the former presidential candidate back in the ring, but in a radio interview Thursday, the Texas governor shot a definite zing at Cain. "I hope Herman doesn't think running a Godfather's Pizza is the same as running the state of Texas," Perry said on Laura Ingraham's Radio Show, reports ABC News' Arlette Saenz. |
| Less Political Punches | ||
| Madonna | Lady Gaga | The Material Girl took a swipe at Lady Gaga on "Good Morning America" today, calling her hit "Born This Way" "reductive" because of its similarities to Madonna's "Express Yourself." |
| Somali Pirates | Spanish Warship | In a show of bad judgment, a band of Somali pirates attempted to attack a Spanish warship Thursday. The uneven match resulted in injuries to five of the six pirates, with two having to be brought aboard the Spanish ship for medical treatment, ABC News' Luis Martinez reports. |
| Mother Nature | Alaska | The town of Cardova, Alaska, is worried about structural damage after winter storms buried residents under 18 feet of snow. |