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Seamus the Irish setter may have died years ago, but the now-infamous story of his rooftop ride has been more firmly cemented into the narrative of the 2012 campaign than his retaliatory excrement was plastered to the back window of the Romney family station wagon during that fateful trip 20 years ago. The Santorum campaign has referenced Mitt Romney’s treatment of his dog Seamus four times over the past week as an anecdote that purportedly calls into question the former governor’s character. -snip- “If you can’t be nice to your dog, who are you going to be nice to?”

-snip- Romney’s enduring lack of appeal is again making headlines anew, as politicos ponder new favourability ratings that suggest Romney may well be the most unpopular likely presidential nominee ever. -snip- That enthusiasm gap extends even to Romney’s own supporters in Illinois, where one prominent backer, former GOP congressman Bob Michel, openly lamented the absence of breakaway momentum for Romney. “He’s not overwhelming, that’s the problem through this whole damn primary,” Michel told Politico. “What’s the spark? What’s the thing that gets him off and running? No one knows.”

Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) defended Mitt Romney on Sunday, amid concerns the GOP frontrunner is failing to rally the party’s conservative base and may fall short of the delegates needed to win the nomination outright. McCain, on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said Romney was aware that he needed to change his approach in order to close out the GOP presidential race.

Mitt Romney sounded an optimistic note Saturday as he wrapped up a quick but colorful campaign swing through Puerto Rico. -snip- "What a beautiful island. What a beautiful place," exclaimed Romney, who did not dance but clapped to the beat as he sat on stage for almost two hours. "What a wonderful culture you enjoy. What a wonderful people you are. Citizens of this great land. Citizens of America!"

Alabama's Republican governor has some advice for Mitt Romney the next time the former Massachusetts governor campaigns in the Deep South: Cut out the y'alls and references to "cheesy grits'' and be himself.

A candidate’s personal aide is normally told to remain quietly in the background. The so-called body man is supposed to be a constant, yet invisible, presence who is ready with a felt tip pen for autographs, prepared to operate any number of cameras, and knows what their boss wants to eat, and when. Garrett Jackson, who serves the role for Romney, can be seen in the background of numerous news photographs, usually with an earpiece surveying a crowd or guiding Romney to his next event (a rare exception was last week when Romney, in Jackson’s native Mississippi, told a crowd...

The long and increasingly messy Republican presidential contest is starting to hit Mitt Romney where it hurts most: his wallet. New signs of financial stress are emerging in Romney's campaign, which has built a wide lead in delegates thanks in part to the might of his bank account and multistate operation. As rival Rick Santorum's surprising strength keeps extending the nomination battle, Romney has scaled back expenses, trimmed field staff in some cases and begun to count more on free media coverage to reach voters. -snip- But it's less encouraging for the campaign that the money is badly needed to...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Friday defended GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney from critics who mocked him for calling himself an "unofficial Southerner" at a campaign stop the previous day. "Now they’re attacking Romney for joking about learning to say “y’all”? According to the left, no one can have a sense of humor - lighten up!" In Mississippi, Romney told the crowd that his bodyguard, a Mississippi native, was turning him into an "unofficial Southerner." "I'm learning to say 'y'all' and I like grits, and strange things are happening to me!" the former Massachusetts governor added. Critics were quick to...

Saturday 5:51 p.m. With 78% reporting, Romney is holding on to his strong lead in Wyoming Caucus with 49% of the vote.

Santorum Strong in Kansas Rick Santorum looks set for a comfortable lead in the state of Kansas, which holds its caucuses Saturday with 40 delegates up for grabs. "We chased all the candidates out of Kansas!" Santorum said Friday. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have skipped the state to focus on Alabama and Mississippi, with their primaries on Tuesday. Santorum is expected to win the state even though Bob Dole, the former GOP presidential candidate from Kansas, endorsed Romney earlier this week.

-snip- Romney delivers every emotion – anger, humour, sadness, elation – in the same giddy voice of a carpet salesman who’s only got ten seconds before you close the door in his face. On Friday, he swung down South and affected love for the region. He called himself an “unofficial Southerner” because he's eaten grits and learned out to say “y’all.” Then there was a truly bizarre moment when, in the middle of admitting that he knows nothing about agriculture, he broke away mid-sentence to crush a bug beneath his foot. He said, “Oh look at that, look at that...

1. Karl Christian Rove was born on Christmas Day 1950 in Denver. His family moved a lot until settling in Salt Lake City. Rove's parents divorced when his stepfather, whom he considered his father, came out as gay. Rove would meet his biological father 20 years later.

Rick Santorum is just ahead of Mitt Romney in the Ohio Republican presidential primary with 25% of the vote counted. All eyes were on Ohio, a traditional bellwether state that could play an important role in deciding the Republican nominee to challenge Democratic President Barack Obama on November 6. Santorum is leading Romney at 39% to 36%.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) endorsed Mitt Romney's presidential bid on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday morning.

Mitt Romney was at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday to attend the Daytona 500. Rain postponed the race, so he didn’t get to see NASCAR racers charging around the famous Daytona oval, turning only to the left. (No Massachusetts Moderate jokes, please.) But here’s our question: What was he doing in Florida, when there’s a make-or-break primary in two days at the other end of I-75, in Michigan? Shouldn’t he have been campaigning in, say, Marquette? -snip- OK, his Daytona walk-around itself was yet another example of Mr. Romney’s inimitable stiff bonhomie. When he mixes with regular voters, he reminds...

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum leads former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney by 7 points in Ohio, a crucial state that will vote a week from Tuesday, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll . The poll found Santorum would receive support from 36 percent of likely Republican primary voters, followed by Romney with 29 percent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 17 percent, and Texas Representative Ron Paul with 11 percent.

COLONIA JUAREZ - In the craggy desert of northern Mexico, U.S. presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's relatives turned an arid valley into lush agricultural land and prospered after being chased from the United States for their Mormon beliefs. They suffered years of hardship, living in dirt dugouts and overturned wagons, but then went on to build sturdy homes and a thriving school, develop irrigation canals and dams, raise herds of cattle, and plant vast peach and apple orchards from the punishing landscape. The story of the early Mormon settlers in Mexico, who fled the threat of arrest in the United States...

The Republican presidential aspirant was at it again on Friday, praising the greenery of his birth state in advance of next week's primary. "This feels good, being back in Michigan,” Romney said during a speech in Detroit. “The trees are the right height. The streets are just right.” The latest bout of rhapsodizing almost perfectly echoes Romney’s earlier comments about the size of the Great Lake state’s timber earlier this week.

Friday was supposed to be the moment for Mitt Romney's triumphant return to his birthplace, when he would use the cavernous green of Ford Field to deliver a policy address that established him as the lone Republican capable of both fixing the economy and beating President Barack Obama. But the event served up fresh evidence for Romney critics who say he can't rise to the occasion and rally important elements of the GOP around his candidacy.

White House hopeful Mitt Romney styled himself as a Michigan-bred "car guy" whose wife drives "a couple of Cadillacs" as he tried to woo Motor City voters ahead of a key primary. Giving what was billed as a major economic policy speech days before state Republicans choose their presidential nominee, Romney presented a plan to lower taxes and cut spending -- and insisted that he was the only candidate capable of beating Democrat Barack Obama in the November 6 presidential election. But the speech may be remembered more for its setting and Romney's off-hand remarks rather than its substance. Before...