“The dramatic collapse of Romney’s six-year quest for the presidency is revealed in a new documentary, MITT, a rare, intimate look into how a family endures the 24-7 psycho-drama that is a modern U.S. presidential campaign,” the Washington Post reports.

“The film, which premiered here Friday night as part of the Sundance Film Festival and will be available on Netflix starting Jan. 24, provides a stark contrast to the stilted, robotic caricature of Romney the politician. It shows him as a three-dimensional figure — devoted to the Mormon faith that he played down on the campaign trail, capable of flashes of raw emotion and often harboring doubts about his political abilities.”

The Week: “He is both self-aware and clueless, caring and indifferent, likable but hardly magnetic. His slippery reputation made him, in his own words, a ‘flawed candidate’ — and yet in a modest way, he also represents an antidote to the cynicism that has poisoned American politics.”

“News that Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn will retire at the end of 2014, triggering a special election for his deep-red Senate seat in November, creates an unexpected opportunity for the deep bench of Oklahoma GOP pols to seek a higher office,” Politico reports.

“That means the Republican primary to replace Coburn could be a free-for-all.”

The Oklahoman has local reaction to Coburn’s decision.

Ken Vogel: “Rom-denfreude (noun) — The pleasure Mitt Romney loyalists are
taking in the struggles of Chris Christie. The condition
is prevalent, stemming from a range of perceived Christie slights
towards Romney during the 2012 campaign, which several Romney loyalists
ticked off quickly — and with still-evident bitterness.”

“The first real test of the damage to Chris Christie’s chances of being the Republican nominee for president in 2016 from the “Bridgegate” scandal could come during the next few days,” Reuters reports.

“Christie is scheduled to attend a $1,000-per-ticket reception for New Jersey Republican House candidate Steve Lonegan on Thursday. He then will head to Florida for a series of weekend events aimed at raising money for Republican Governor Rick Scott’s re-election campaign, plus a meeting with wealthy Republican donors from all over the United States.”

USA Today: “More critical to Christie’s own political career is likely to be a gathering Sunday at the North Palm Beach home of Ken Langone, the Home Depot founder and major GOP donor who wants Christie to run for president in 2016. Langone says he has invited about 150 potential donors to “meet and greet” Christie in hopes that if he runs they will support him. Though the event has been planned for months, Langone says the guests will likely ask Christie about the politically motivated traffic jam at the George Washington Bridge.”