Three clips for you of RS on the defensive at the debate in lieu of a Quote of the Day. First, the obligatory earmark colloquy with Romney, then the attack on his support for Arlen Specter (via BuzzFeed), and finally his cringeworthy admission that he took one for the team in voting for No Child Left Behind (via Breitbart TV). Reaction on Twitter and on righty blogs that I read was that he lost some traction tonight from having to explain himself so often. Per Nate Silver, InTrade apparently agrees: Santorum started the day with 13 percent odds of winning the nomination, but as I write this, he’s down to just 6.2 percent — a 53.7 percent drop. The consensus is that Newt had a good night too, albeit without any spectacular moments, which magnifies Santorum’s problem by threatening to pull away some of the conservative votes he desperately needs to inch past Romney in Michigan.

Second look at SMOD?