Analyses: Pummeling Gingrich, Romney Wins Debate   Last night in Jacksonville, Florida, Mitt Romney took the fight to Newt Gingrich during a GOP presidential debate, hammering the former Speaker on --- among other things -- immigration-related issues.

        McClatchy  reports that Romney "pummeled...Gingrich repeatedly in a fierce war of words Thursday, striving to capitalize on a turn in the polls in the final debate before Florida's presidential primary on Tuesday. Romney slammed a Gingrich ad on immigration as 'repulsive,' criticized him as a hired cheerleader for troubled housing agency Freddie Mac, and ridiculed his proposal to colonize the moon."

        The Los Angeles Times  reports that in the debate, Gingrich and Romney "resumed" their battle "over personal integrity and the tenor of their respective campaigns, each accusing the other of unfair character attacks." The Times adds, "The debate...was the second this week in Florida, after Monday night's session in Tampa. There a pugnacious Romney faced a comparatively subdued Gingrich. This time, Gingrich gave as good as he got."

        Offering a different perspective, Politico  says that Gingrich "abandoned his role as...Romney's chief antagonist" last night, "going easy on the national GOP front-runner as a third candidate joined the fray in force. It was Rick Santorum... who challenged Romney aggressively over his record on healthcare as Gingrich repeatedly pulled his punches -- a surprising strategy that he may regret if his momentum cools before next Tuesday's primary."

        USA Today  reports that Gingrich and Romney "came out swinging" in last night's debate, which "was the most contentious of the long primary season." Keeping "on the offensive through the two-hour forum, Romney accused Gingrich of 'repulsive' and 'over-the-top rhetoric' in a campaign ad that had labeled him 'anti-immigrant.' He demanded an apology for what he called 'highly charged epithets.'"

        The New York Times  reports that Gingrich and Romney "angrily traded charges on Thursday over their immigration policies and financial holdings after one of the hardest-fought days of the Republican nominating contest so far." While Romney asked Gingrich to apologize for the ad, the former Speaker "did nothing of the sort, but reacted with satisfaction when Mr. Romney said he did not know about one of his own advertisements that accused Mr. Gingrich of calling Spanish 'the language of the ghetto.'"

        Analyses, commentaries, and reports this morning are largely classifying Romney as the clear winner of the debate, and casting Gingrich as the loser. While Ron Paul and Rick Santorum weren't in the spotlight, Santorum's debate performance did draw some praise.

        Speaking after the debate with Greta Van Susteren on Fox News, Dick Morris said that in a debate that was Gingrich's chance to "take away Romney's lead...he failed to do it tonight. I think, actually, Romney probably widened his lead."

        Brit Hume said later on Fox News that "this was a night where Newt Gingrich needed to change the trajectory of things, and to have the kind of night he had in South Carolina. I don't think he did."

        Appearing with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC, Tom Brokaw, said Romney, whose ability to "throw a punch" and "take a punch" has been in question, "threw a punch pretty effectively against Newt Gingrich at the beginning. The Speaker did not look happy on that stage." Both MSNBC's Chris Hayes and New York Magazine's John Heilemann were unequivocal in saying later on MSNBC that Gingrich had lost the debate he needed to win.

        The post-debate analysis panel on CNN also portrayed Gingrich as having come out flat in the debate and failing to connect on any big swings at Romney.

        In an "analysis" in "The Note" blog on the website of ABC News , Amy Walter and Michael Falcone write, "On Thursday night Mitt Romney finally looked like a candidate who wants to win this election. On the debate stage Romney was confident and focused. More important, he was aggressive and disciplined, and never allowed his chief rival, Newt Gingrich, to get the upper hand."

        The Washington Post  reports that Romney "went on the offensive, as he had in" Monday's debate. On Thursday night, Gingrich "held his own but he did not have the kind of dominating performance that marked his appearances in two South Carolina debates. In contrast, Romney, who was less impressive in those forums, stepped up at a critical moment in the Florida campaign."

        At the Daily Beast , Rich Galen writes, "For the second time this week," Gingrich "was unable to repeat the two A+ performances we saw in South Carolina." For Romney, Galen says it was his "best" performance so far.

        In his "The Dish" blog at the Daily Beast , Andrew Sullivan wrote, "Given Mitt's big financial advantage in advertizing in Florida, and the two debates, I think Gingrich lost this campaign in the past week. It wasn't just the Drudge-Fox-Coulter establishment that will have done it. It was his [Romney's] much improved debate performance tonight."

        In a post at The Atlantic , Molly Ball writes, "There was only one question going into Thursday night's Republican debate in Jacksonville, Fla.: Would Newt Gingrich win, or would he lose? He lost. And even worse for Gingrich, Mitt Romney won."

        In the "Plum Line" blog on the website of the Washington Post , Jonathan Bernstein writes that "for the second time this week, Newt showed that his debate skills are massively overrated, particularly his ability to attack an opponent with clear vulnerabilities." Romney, meantime, "demonstrated exactly how to go about carving up an overmatched opponent."

        In a post titled "Newt's Worst Night," Rich Lowry writes in "The Corner" blog at National Review Online , "If you believe the polls, Newt needed a big night to turn around the momentum and he didn't get it. ... For the first time perhaps ever, Romney effectively showed righteous indignation (unfortunately for me, since I have a column tomorrow saying he isn't quite capable of it)." Lowry adds that Santorum "was simply terrific."

        In the "Right Turn" blog on the website of the Washington Post , Jennifer Rubin writes that Gingrich "got slammed in the debate by a remarkably invigorated Mitt Romney, an impressive Rick Santorum and CNN's Wolf Blitzer, who really wouldn't let him get away with much. Romney was clearly on his game."

        However, not all agree with the idea that Romney won. In a "News Analysis," for the Miami Herald , Marc Caputo writes, "Thursday night's debate was supposed to be the debate that would prove critical in Tuesday's Republican primary. Yet, there was no clear winner or loser." Caputo adds that Santorum's "picking apart of Romney's healthcare plan was a pitch-perfect echo of conservative worries about Romney's candidacy. In that respect, Obama won this part of the debate without saying a word."

        In the "Opinion L.A." blog on the website of the Los Angeles Times , Doyle McManus notes that sparring between Gingrich and Romney during the debate, then adds, "The winner? There wasn't one -- not onstage, at least. ... If anyone won Thursday evening, it may have been Barack Obama."

Two Polls Show Romney With Solid Lead In Florida   A Rasmussen Reports  survey of 750 likely Florida GOP primary voters taken January 25 shows Mitt Romney leading with 39%, followed by Newt Gingrich with 31%, Rick Santorum with 12%, and Ron Paul with 9%. In a similar survey four days ago, Gingrich led Romney 41%-32%.

        A Monmouth University  poll of 540 likely Florida GOP primary voters taken January 24-25 shows Romney leading with 39%, followed by Gingrich with 32%, Santorum with 11%, and Paul with 8%. Gingrich leads Romney 38%-33% among men, while Romney tops Gingrich 45%-26% among women.

        Kimberley Strassel writes in her Wall Street Journal  column that Romney is leading in Florida as Gingrich's post-South Carolina bump fades, and says a Romney win in Florida could effectively end the contest.