Your afternoon reading:

• “Where’s Ron Paul today? Not in South Carolina — where most of his competitors for the GOP presidential nomination are vying for votes in next Saturday’s primary — but at home in Texas. … But his time off from the trail raises questions about how much better he might have performed in these contests, and whether his campaign is really waging a serious bid for the GOP nomination.” — Where’s Ron Paul? The candidate and his ‘relaxed’ schedule, NBC News
  

• “Conservative Christian leaders have scaled back their goals for a meeting to be held in Texas on Friday and Saturday, acknowledging that they are unlikely to agree on a single alternative candidate to Mitt Romney until after the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21, if then.” — Evangelicals Hope South Carolina or Florida Winnows Republican Field, The New York Times

• “A new volley of South Carolina television advertising costs a pro-Ron Paul super PAC more than $317,500, new independent expenditure filings with the Federal Election Commission indicate.” — Pro-Paul super PAC spends over $300k in South Carolina, Politico

• “Fresh off a visit to a local shooting range, Rick Perry stopped by a packed restaurant in South Carolina emphasizing his credentials as governor of Texas and as a member of the U.S. Air Force, staying away from the criticism of front-runner Mitt Romney that has swirled in the news in the past few days.” — Perry pivots away from Romney, focuses on defense, Los Angeles Times

• “Instead of chasing the other Republican contenders to Florida following the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21, Ron Paul is going west, gambling on a strong showing in the Silver State. His campaign manager, Jesse Benton, says they don’t have the estimated $9 million they would need to vie for sprawling, expensive Florida. ‘We’re not gonna compete in a state where we can’t fully compete,’ Benton says.” — Why Ron Paul Is Gambling on Nevada, Time

New in The Texas Tribune:

• “In a radio interview Friday morning, Rick Perry was asked again which federal departments he planned to shut down if elected president. This time he remembered to name three — but not the same three as before.” — Did Perry Mean to Add Interior to His Target List?

• “As the economy begins to show signs of life, efforts are under way at two-year colleges across Texas to make the state’s higher ed offerings more responsive to the labor market.” — Texas Colleges Aim to Get in Sync With Labor Market

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