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MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney broke with Republican orthodoxy on Friday by saying he believes that humans are responsible, at least to some extent, for climate change. "I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that," he told a crowd of about 200 at a town hall meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire. "It's important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may be significant contributors."

Sarah Palin emerged today from the Marriott Long Wharf hotel and said she planned to walk the Freedom Trail before heading to New Hampshire – where Mitt Romney is to announce his presidential candidacy today. “Coincidental that we’re in the same territory at the same time,’’ said Palin, a likely Republican presidential candidate. “But more power to Mitt… and best of luck to him.’’ Palin said she remains undecided on whether she will challenge Romney and other candidates for the Republican presidential nomination.

Romney to announce in New Hampshire next Thursday.

Alternate headline: “Politico buries lead.” “It’s possible someone may get in later on,” Gillespie said, “but Republican activists, officials and donors are going to begin picking a horse from the current field. We have a field that will produce a nominee capable of beating Obama next November.”…Republicans officials have no idea what [Palin is] planning, although they agree she would have tons to lose by entering a race that would cost her the mystique she has built up. And Romney advisers said her entry would help the former Massachusetts governor dramatically.“The shock value would cause elected officials and party officials...

Once upon a time there was a president, wavering in popularity. He was deemed by some political pundits as “highly beatable.” He had just done his whole thing with health care, which left voters fuming, and two years before the presidential election, Republicans picked up a slew of seats in the House, taking control. But then, the Republican Party did the unthinkable: It gave the nomination to a guy because it was essentially “his turn,” and the candidate got shellacked by the incumbent Democratic president. That president was Bill Clinton; the “It’s His Turn” candidate was Bob Dole; the year,...

The Republican presidential field is starting to look like “ The Hunger Games,” with those who had no fight in them, those who overplayed their hand and those who were undisciplined out of the fight to the finish before the real contest begins. Mitt Romney - a stronger, well-fed combatant - is eager to enter the arena. Alarmed by the alacrity with which at least half a dozen contenders fell by the wayside, some well-heeled spectators are rushing to support him even before they have a chance to size up the other combatants – some of whom are in stealth...

Therefore, my brothers, you whom I LOVE and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends! Exhortations… Phil 4:1 So after one weekend the Republican field is becoming clear as glass to everybody but Bill Crystal. We have one who has beautiful hair, a nice figure, perfectly manicured face and hands against Sarah Palin. With the dropping out of Huckleberry Hound and the Trumpster as well as the self assassination of Gingrich we are really down to Sarah and the Mitt. After a year of hearing how she doesn’t have...

With Mike Huckabee out of the race for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, three known politicians, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, and Newt Gingrich emerge as leaders in Republicans' preferences... Palin's support is more intense. A higher percentage of Republicans have strongly favorable opinions than is the case for the other two, giving her a slightly higher overall Positive Intensity Score despite her higher strongly unfavorable percentage. Gingrich and Romney have similar Positive Intensity Scores. ...There is no clear front-runner in the race for the 2012 Republican nomination. Palin, who has given no indication of whether she will run for the...

The 2012 Republican presidential nominee front-runner, Willard Mitt Romney kicked off his campaign today with a day-long fundraiser in Las Vegas. The day-long event features a large phone bank staffed by around 700 Romney supporters. Via a conference call, Romney informed supporters, "We're activating our campaign today." He will announce how much money was raised later today. With former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee declaring his intention not to pursue the Republican nomination, and Donald Trump bowing out today, Romney is the clear-cut front-runner for the 2012 Republican nomination. The former Massachusetts governor is joined by former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty,...

Unless things change, the man (or woman) elected in 2012 will be the last American president to preside over the world's leading economy. If things get really bad, he will find himself presiding over the early stages of American collapse. Not "decline" but "collapse." "Decline" is what happens when you're Britain in the 1940s and you cede global dominance to a major ally that shares your language, legal system, cultural inheritance and broad geopolitical objectives. That deal isn't on offer this time round. Nor was the United Kingdom circa 1948 in thrall to anything like the same levels of spendaholic...

Today Mitt Romney will give a speech in attempts to shed the label that Romneycare is no different than Obamacare. But in his last run for President, he didn't back away from it at all. Below is a video of him in 2007 on the campaign trail in New Hampshire. His comments are pretty telling. I genuinely have some major concerns about Mitt Romney. However, in this political climate if he says he would work to undo Obamacare I believe he would have no choice but to do so as president. I also believe that he is the type of...

ABC News' Amy Walter reports: A new ABC News/Wash. Post poll finds that in a head to head match-up against President Barack Obama, 70% of those who say they are Tea Party supporters say they'll vote for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for president--compared to 69% for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Seeming Tea Party favorites like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, meanwhile, draw 61% and 60%, respectively....

Last August, I wrote the following about Mitt Romney’s odds of winning the Republican nomination: In a sense, the stronger President Obama looks next year, the better Romney’s chances of being nominated. He needs the prospect of an uphill general-election battle to keep his potential rivals for establishment support safely on the sidelines. And then he needs that same establishment to rally around him once the primary voting starts — not out of love or admiration, but out of fear of the populist alternative. Six months later, this is almost exactly how things are playing out. In many ways, Romney...

<p>WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's approval ratings have sunk to the lowest level of his presidency, so low that he'd lose the White House to Republican Mitt Romney if the election were held today, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.</p>

Here is video of Tea Party Express President – Amy Kremer – telling CBN’s David Brody that Gov. Mitt Romney is “absolutely not” acceptable as a Presidential candidate in 2012. She made the statement after Brody asked her if the Tea Party Movement could accept Romney in spite of his role in signing “RomneyCare” into law in the state of Massachusetts. Kremer’s response: “Absolutely not. . . . The days of people being able to do one thing in their state – in front of a microphone and then going to Washington and doing something else – I mean the...

Washington (CNN) – His party got its clock cleaned in Tuesday's midterm elections, but according to a new national poll President Obama remains competitive in hypothetical 2012 presidential election matchups, especially against Sarah Palin. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Thursday also indicates that at the unofficial start of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, the field of possible contenders appears wide open with no front-runner. According to the poll, 21 percent of Republicans say they would most likely support former Arkansas Gov. and 2008 GOP White House candidate Mike Huckabee for their party's 2012 presidential nomination, with 20...

It's two weeks before the 2010 elections. Which means now's a fine time to start obsessing about the 2012 campaign. The next presidential race will unofficially begin on No. 3 -- the day after the midterm elections. It's possible we may not know the outcome of all the critical House and Senate races by then, and these races could determine which party controls the House and Senate. But once most of the 2010 votes are counted, the politerati will quickly pivot toward the next big thing. So let me get an early jump and tell you this: watch out for...

Mitt Romney boosted sales of his book this spring by asking institutions to buy thousands of copies in exchange for his speeches, according to a document obtained by POLITICO. Romney's book tour ran from early March to late May of this year, and took him to book stores, universities, conferences, and private groups around the country. Their giant purchases helped his book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, debut on top of the New York Times bestseller list, though with an asterisk indicating bulk purchases.

It’s time honored tradition to attempt to gauge the political landscape and prognosticate who our next elected leaders will. But now, you can gamble money on it. According to data provided to TFoP by bodog.com released its 2012 odds for the Republican presidential nominees. Coming out on top, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is an early favorite at 3/1 (+300), along with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at 4/1 (+400). However, one of the bigger eye-catching surprises seems to be how high Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., is on the list, giving him the third best odds at 6/1 (+600). Rounding...

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney, having met last weekend in New Hampshire with the staff of his 2008 presidential campaign, is preparing to embark on an aggressive schedule that will take him to more than 25 states in what is seen as a prelude to another possible White House bid. The two-month itinerary will launch a cycle of politicking for Republican midterm election candidates that will make Romney one of the nation’s most visible politicians in a year when he is not on the ballot.