The Midday Brief: Oct. 11, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "A week after turning down the chance to seek the Republican presidential nomination, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is poised to endorse the candidacy of Mitt Romney on Tuesday afternoon here, just hours before the party’s candidates gather for another debate." — Christie to Endorse Romney Ahead of Debate, The New York Times

• "Rick Perry campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan, on Fox News a bit ago, responded this way to the announcement of Chris Christie endorsing Mitt Romney: 'Northeast Republicans are sticking together in this case.'" — Rick Perry spokesman on Chris Christie: Northeasterners unite, Politico

• "The New Jersey Republican, who delighted the party’s base by initiating a series of confrontations with local unions, was the subject of an aggressive courtship by influential conservatives, who implored him to shake up what many viewed as a lackluster GOP presidential field. Christie’s decision to pass on 2012 dovetails with Romney’s surge, signaling that conservatives who held out hope for a white knight to charge into the race may be coalescing around the former Massachusetts governor. And the endorsement could help dispel lingering doubts among Tea Party activists about Romney’s anti-spending bona fides." — Chris Christie to Endorse Mitt Romney, Time

• "In a radio interview just now, Herman Cain previewed his Tuesday night debate plan: 'I’m going after Romney. … I’m not going after Perry. I don’t need to go after Perry," Cain said." — Cain: 'I'm going after Romney,' Politico
  

• "While his father hunkered down in preparation for Tuesday night’s debate, 28-year-old Griffin Perry said his father will be “well-rested” and better prepared for the Republican face-off at Dartmouth College." — Rick Perry’s Son Says Dad ‘Well-Rested’ for Debate, ABC News

• "Texas Gov. Rick Perry has become known in a few short weeks as a bad debater. As we get ready for tonight’s Washington Post/Bloomberg News debate, he has a chance to set things right — or to reinforce a narrative that he cannot hold his own on stage. Here are some of the lowlights of Perry’s debate performances so far." — Rick Perry’s greatest Republican debate misses, The Washington Post
  

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Between the year-long drought and Gov. Rick Perry campaigning for the presidency, global warming has become a big topic in Texas these days — and the head of the UT's Energy Institute, Raymond Orbach, is wading into the debate with a new paper aiming to debunk eight "myths" about climate change." — UT Professor Debunks Climate Change "Myths"

• "UT's newest supercomputer, named Stampede, is expected to support more than 1,000 projects in computational and data-driven science and engineering from across the country, putting Texas on the cutting edge of scientific discovery." — UT "Stampedes" Ahead With New Supercomputer