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All I'm hearing from those-who-like-to-tell-us-how-to-vote (MSM/GOP establishment/Ann Coulter) this week is how Romney is "feeling confident" while Rick Santorum is soaring  (an unsinspiring politician Romney/Obama would love to face), yet Reaganite warrior Newt Gingrich (of whom they are both terrified) is now 'demoralized', with 'little chance of winning', etc... and all this derived from a vote count representing of just 4% of Iowa's tiny, rural population.  Yes, MSM/Left know perfectly well that this is the flakiest GOP primary electorate in history -and Santorum not even 10% as brutally-vetted/slandered as Bachmann, Cain, and Gingrich have been: might be good to consider at this point why some...

Republican presidential upstart Rick Santorum found himself under increasing scrutiny on Thursday as front-runner Mitt Romney tried to chip away at his credibility ahead of the key New Hampshire primary. Santorum's surge in Iowa, which held its nominating contest on Tuesday, was so quick that his record as a U.S. senator and strong conservative views against abortion and gay marriage escaped close attention from his 2012 presidential rivals and the media.His entry into New Hampshire was rocky. College students booed him at New England College over his position against gay marriage and he was forced to explain a remark he...

DES MOINES, Iowa - With only eight votes separating them, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have proved after last night’s Iowa primary vote that the battle between moderate and conservative forces in the Republican party will continue to both define and divide the GOP 2012 caucuses. Ron Paul landed in a close third place, while U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, one of the strongest social conservatives in the race, announced the end of her candidacy Wednesday after coming in at sixth place. In the final count released this morning, Santorum’s 30,007 (24.54%) votes were defeated by 30,015 (24.55%) cast for the...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Anyway, here's this New York Times story now. It's by Helene Cooper. "Now that Mitt Romney has squeaked through with the narrowest of victories in the Iowa caucuses, President Obama and his campaign aides are facing a conundrum as they decide how to tarnish the man they see as their likely opponent in the battle ahead. Do they go the flip-flopper route? Or do they go the out-of-touch, protector-of-Wall-Street route? The two tactics are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and in fact, the president’s re-election proponents have in recent days been gleefully highlighting both aspects of Mr. Romney’s...

"I'll point at my record, and I the nice thing about New Hampshire for instance we looked at the Tea Party voters. Those who identify themselves as Tea Partiers and said, 'Who's your favorite candidate?' I have a good lead with Tea Partiers and people who consider themselves very conservative. So where I'm known pretty well, where my record is pretty well known, why I have very good support from very conservative Tea Partiers," Mitt Romney said when asked how he will make his closing argument to conservatives.

The Talk Shows January 1st, 2012 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): 2012 GOP presidential candidates Rick Perry, Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): 2012 GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum; Matt Strawn, Iowa GOP chairman.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.THIS WEEK (ABC): 2012 GOP presidential candidates Bachmann and Paul; Gov. Terry Branstad, R-Iowa.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Ron Paul; Branstad; Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.

On the surface, the new (and final) Des Moines Register poll of likely Iowa caucus-goers basically corroborates polling from Rasmussen and NBC/Marist earlier in the week, which showed Mitt Romney slightly edging Ron Paul, while Rick Santorum gained enough ground to move into third place. The numbers are almost identical, at 24/22/15 — but it’s not the topline that is the real news. The four-day poll of 602 likely caucus-goers, which is a larger sample than NBC/Marist but smaller than Rasmussen’s single-day survey, had significant change in the final two days of polling on Thursday and Friday: But the four-day...

When Mitt Romney introduces himself to voters, he has a peculiar habit of guessing their age or nationality, often incorrectly. (A regular query: “Are you French Canadian?”) When making small talk with locals, he peppers the conversation with curious details. (“We stayed in the Courtyard hotel last night,” he told a woman at a diner. “It’s a LEED-certified hotel.”) And when he encounters a question he particularly dislikes, he smiles politely and behaves as if it never happened. (“Will you put Ron Paul in your cabinet?” a man asked. The candidate turned away, inquiry left unanswered.)

(excerpt...see article for more!) There are plenty of blatantly incorrect opinions about the Republican presidential primary floating around and some of them are perched in some rather prominent places... ... But none that I have seen has been more obviously and dangerously flawed than John Hawkins' column entitled "7 Reasons Why Mitt Romney's Electability is a Myth," which was recently posted at Townhall. ...And since Mr. Hawkins gave seven reasons why Romney's electability is a myth, in the spirit of conservative cooperation I offer the seven most underrated reasons that Romney is indeed the most electable Republican presidential candidate....

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is a conservative. At least, that is the point the former Massachusetts governor is trying to make with a new TV ad airing in Iowa. The new ad, titled “Conservative Agenda,” shows Romney speaking on the stump and meeting with voters, as he makes a series of commitments. “I am going to do something to government. I’m going to make it ‘Simpler, and Smaller, and Smarter,’” Romney says. “Getting rid of programs, turning programs back to states, and finally making government itself more efficient.” Romney pledges to repeal President Obama’s health care overhaul and balance...

There’s nothing new about politicians making promises they are in no position to keep. Herbert Hoover’s 1928 campaign promised a “chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard, to boot.” Michele Bachmann is promising $2 a gallon gasoline. President Obama promised “hope and change.” But when it comes to political pandering, it’s hard to beat a promise Mitt Romney made on Thursday in New Hampshire to a 21-year-old college student named Kallie Durkit, who wanted to know why college students should support Romney instead of Obama. “What I can promise you is this – when you get out...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: If you'll recall, I and I alone, I believe, El Rushbo long ago predicted to you, or opined that the Occupy Wall Street movement was a creation of the regime's, because Romney is perceived as Wall Street. They want Romney, and they assume they're going to be running against Romney, and who could blame them. I mean, if you're the Obama regime and you take a look conservative media today, you would have to assume that the Republican Party also wants Romney. Okay, it's inevitable. So you gear up for Romney.

Meghan McCain, MSNBC's newly hired contributor, conducted her first interview for the cable news network on Wednesday with Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann. McCain--who in January called Bachmann "a poor man's Sarah Palin" on MSNBC--said that the interview will air "soon" on "Now With Alex Wagner," the network's lunch hour show. On Lawrence O'Donnell's "Last Word" in January, McCain took vigorous issue with Bachmann's tea-party rebuttal to President Obama's State of the Union. "I think it's important to note that Michele Bachmann is not a leader, and she's not the leader of the Repbulican Party," McCain said. "Michele Bachmann is no...

DES MOINES -- On Saturday afternoon at a megachurch in Des Moines, the Republican presidential candidates will gather -- with a notable exception. ....To add insult to injury, he [Mitt Romney] will be spending the day in New Hampshire. [SNIP] "Governor Branstad has enormous respect for Governor Romney, but he has decided it's time to hold his feet to the fire," Albrecht said. Steve Scheffler, head of another Iowa social conservative group, the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, also hosted six candidates -- but no Romney -- at a forum last month. "I think he's arrogant," Scheffler said bluntly in...

But it's a little deeper than that. Take a step back, understand why Republican voters are responding to Newt now, as opposed to a month ago, six weeks, two months ago. I mean Newt's been in the race since it began. Why now? Why now is Newt Gingrich at the top of the heap in Iowa and in some national polls as well? Why? We are three years into Barack Obama's war on prosperity and I think Americans are coming to grips with the upside, if not the necessity, of limited government. And now that people understand or are beginning...

For Mitt Romney this is like the good old days at Bain Capital, except this time his takeover involves not another company but the Republican Party. In fact, Romney is seeking a hostile takeover of the conservative movement, methodically moving to take over Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and finally Newt Gingrich. Conservatives might remember what Romney did after he took over companies. You did not want to be a worker in a firm Romney took over. He liked layoffs. I now expect Romney to move fast to the right for a few weeks while...

You don't need a poll to tell you who's hot on the Republican primary side. Whoever is hot is hit. It's a full-fledged take-'em-out media approach, and the only guy who is immune to this is Mitt Romney. Mitt is not hit. They're saving that up for later. It was Herman Cain, it was Sarah Palin before Herman Cain, and it was Michele Bachmann when she won the Iowa straw poll. They think they've taken Herman Cain out. They're still hitting Herman Cain, and now they've moved on to Newt -- and if somebody comes along and replaces Newt at...

With all the chaos surrounding the Republican nomination race, one thing is very clear: somewhere along the way, Mitt Romney made a Damn Yankees-like pact with Satan to score this group of individuals to run against. It is certain that a vast majority of Republican primary voters do not like Mitt Romney. In fact, we can go further – they can’t stand him. That’s why he’s never broken 30 percent in any national poll of Republican primary voters. That’s why Tea Party support has shuffled from Michele Bachmann to Rick Perry to Herman Cain. Sadly, though, none of those candidates...

Link only, per FR posting rules

First Thoughts: Romney's Clear Path By NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Brooke Brower *** Romney’s clear path: After Herman Cain’s defiant news conference on Tuesday and after Rick Perry’s brain freeze at Wednesday night’s CNBC debate, Mitt Romney’s path to the GOP presidential nomination is now WIDE open. In fact, not since Bob Dole in 1996 has a candidate been such a clear front-runner right before the primaries and caucuses begin. The ’96 comparison is also instructive: Dole still lost New Hampshire to Pat Buchanan. What this all means: While Romney looks to be on his way...