Michele Bachmann accused CBS News of “media bias” after her campaign was included on an email chain that suggested she would get fewer questions than other candidates in last night’s GOP debate, CNN reports.

“In the email chain, a CBS employee notified CBS News political director John Dickerson that Bachmann’s spokeswoman, Alice Stewart, had volunteered the candidate for an interview on Dickerson’s post-debate webcast. The employee copied Stewart on the email and told Dickerson that she had been cc’d.”

Dickerson replied, apparently unaware that Stewart was on the email chain: “Okay let’s keep it loose though since she’s not going to get many questions and she’s nearly off the charts in the hopes that we can get someone else.”

Saturday Night Live replays last week’s Republican presidential debate.

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“Debates are good, but we’re reaching overload.”

— Political consultant Ed Rollins, in an interview with The Hill, noting that “there are going to be 20-plus debates in this primary process.”

Michael Shear looks at some of the reasons why the Republican presidential primary debates have mattered so much this cycle.

“Maybe
it’s because Democrats don’t have anything else to do in the evening.
Without Democratic debates to fill their time, curious liberals are
tuning in to get their fill of televised political combat…
the Republican candidates are not the typical collection of middle-aged,
somewhat boring governor or senators. Instead, many of them are genuine
media personalities who know how to use the television camera to their
advantage… The proliferation of political commentary on blogs, news
Web sites and even Twitter has made it possible to experience the
political campaigns entirely through the eyes of other people. But that
may make people even more eager to find out for themselves.”

Miss last night’s Republican debate? The Daily Beast has video clips of the top seven moments.

However, even if you tried to watch, Politico notes you may have been confused when the televised portion on CBS ended after an hour when viewers were expected to go to the Internet to see the final 30 minutes.

Herman Cain said that God convinced him to run for president, National Journal reports.

Said Cain: “I prayed and prayed and prayed. I’m a man of faith, I had to do a lot of praying for this one, more praying than I’d ever done before in my life. And when I finally realized that it was God saying that this is what I needed to do, I was like Moses. ‘You’ve got the wrong man, Lord. Are you sure?'”

“I call it flyspecking. Every word I say now is going to be flyspecked by
somebody, and somebody who does not support Herman Cain, they’re going
to try to spin it into a negative.”

— Herman Cain, in an interview with the New York Post.

Gloria Cain is preparing to give her first interview of the campaign season to possibly air on Fox News on Monday, the New York Times reports.

“Mrs. Cain has, to date, not appeared on the campaign trail with her husband, and is said to prefer her home life in Atlanta, far away from the national spotlight. But since allegations of sexual harassment began to engulf the Cain campaign almost two weeks ago, it had been rumored that Mrs. Cain would eventually come to her husband’s defense on television.”

Eight Republican presidential candidates will debate national defense issues in South Carolina tonight at 8 pm ET, the Columbia State reports.

The debate is “expected to focus on defending the nation against terrorism, the growing nuclear threat posed by Iran and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.”

National Journal has a good overview of what each candidate has said about national security issues.

Two new Insider Advantage polls shows Herman Cain leading the GOP presidential field in Iowa and South Carolina.

In Iowa, Cain leads with 23%, followed by Mitt Romney at 19%, Newt Gingrich at 15%, Ron Paul at 12%, Rick Perry at 9% and Michele Bachmann at 5%.

In South Carolina, Cain leads with 26%, followed by Gingrich at 19%, Romney at 16%, Perry at 6%, Bachmann at 5%, Ron Paul at 3% and Rick Santorum at 1%.

The latest Economist/YouGov poll shows Mitt Romney regaining his position atop the GOP presidential field with 24%, followed by Herman Cain at 21% and Newt Gingrich at 16%.

Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul and Rick Perry are all tied for forth at 7%, in front of Jon Huntsman at 5% and Rick Santorum at 2%.

“Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been through hell. Now, here’s the good news: it didn’t kill me or slow us down one bit.”

— Herman Cain, quoted by NBC News, acknowledging that the allegations of inappropriate behavior toward women have taken a personal toll on him.

Jon Stewart takes apart Rick Perry after his debate gaffe. Just brutal.

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“If you want a manager, Mitt is a competent manager. I will bring about change.”

— Newt Gingrich, in an interview with Laura Ingraham.

A new set of GS Strategy polls paid for by the AARP finds Mitt Romney and Herman Cain leading in the early states.

In Iowa, Cain leads Romney, 25% to 22%, with all other candidates in the single digits.

In New Hampshire, Romney is running away with 43% to Cain’s 18%.

In South Carolina, Cain edges Romney, 28% to 27%, with all other candidates in the single digits.

In Florida, Romney leads Cain, 31% to 29%, with Newt Gingrich at 12%.