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Just earlier this month, the midterm elections ended in a major drubbing. Republicans gained ground in the Senate, House and in Governor’s offices all over the nation. Now, just three weeks later, the first election polls are out, not for next year, but the year after. 2016. That, of course, the year voters select the next President of the United States. The poll might seem premature to some, but the two year mark is right around the time candidates start making their official announcements to run for office. It turns out, the top vote getter in the first Quinnipiac poll...

Part 2 in a developing series of in-depth analysis by Dr. Jeff Fuller (See part 1 here) It’s often revealing to turn conventional wisdom on its head and see what’s really hidden underneath. You’ve all heard it, I’m sure, that RomneyCare is Mitt’s doom, an albatross around his neck, his biggest weakness as a potential candidate. In Part 1 of this series I detailed not only how grave some people feel this issue is for Romney’s chances, but also pointed out that Obama and his team of key operatives (Axelrod, Gibbs, and Daley) are all praising RomneyCare as ObamaCare’s predecessor...

A highlight: Shortly after unlovable Mitt finished speaking, he was upstaged by Sarah Palin, who isn't even attending the conference. A Palin look-alike (a pretty good one, actually) entered the ballroom and immediately attracted a massive crowd. For a moment, everyone thought it was a surprise appearance by the one candidate all the (non-Ron Paul supporting) attendees are actually excited by.

Part 1 & 2 Jay asks Mitt Romney about running for President in 2012, The Bushes and Sarah Palin. Mitt Romney talks about what Republicans should be focused on.

The Massachusetts treasurer said Tuesday that Congress will “threaten to wipe out the American economy within four years” if it adopts a health-care overhaul modeled after the Bay State’s. Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill – a former Democrat running as an independent for governor – said the local plan enacted in 2006 has succeeded only because of huge subsidies and favorable regulatory changes from the federal government. ..................................................... He also gave reporters a copy of a recent state ledger sheet, showing the state’s Medicaid program ballooning from $7.5 billion to a projected $9.2 billion since the plan was adopted. Meanwhile, of...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) on Tuesday defended his decision to change his mind on abortion when he was governor. Romney campaigned as a pro-abortion rights candidate and maintained that position throughout much of his governorship. But the 2008 GOP presidential candidate said that he had a change of heart because of a bill that was considered that would have allowed human embryo research. Republican and Democratic opponents of Romney used his switch on the campaign trail to paint him as a flip-flopper who has no core principles. But Romney, who is presumed to be a 2012 presidential hopeful,...

BOSTON -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is stepping back into the public spotlight after spending two years behind the scenes laying the groundwork for a second presidential campaign. (snip) Romney has shifted from social issues that brought accusations of flip-flopping and undermined his 2008 White House bid. With unemployment hovering around 10 percent, his new focus is on economic themes and fix-it skills he claims as a former businessman. That plays to what some observers believe would be his strength in a second race. They could also distinguish him from potential rivals such as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin,...

As The Wall Street Journal points out in an opinion this morning, this is a good day not only for Scott Brown, the new senator from Massachusetts, but for Mitt Romney as well. Glenn Beck doesn’t trust Brown, he says. But with Brown toting friends like the popular former governor of Massachusetts, William Weld, John McCain and Romney around on his bus, it might not be such a good day for Glenn Beck. The WSJ’s Kim Strassel pointed out that Romney’s closest aides flooded to Mr. Brown, bringing with them the savvy of his national operation. “From a perch atop...

GOP U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown has been all but abandoned by the same national Republican committees that pumped hundreds of thousands in campaign cash to former governors Mitt Romney and William Weld

SALT LAKE CITY -- Mitt Romney is preparing for a more prominent presence on the national scene with a new book coming out next spring. Tickets go on sale next week for a major book event in downtown Salt Lake City in March. One year since the presidential election ended, Romney is stepping up his profile with national TV appearances, newspaper Op-Eds, fundraising for fellow Republicans and a new book called "No Apology: The Case for America's Greatness." The book comes out March 2. One of the first events in a national book tour will be at the Salt Palace...

THE day after her autobiography was published, the cover of Newsweek magazine asked the musical question, "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Sarah?" It's a play on the first line of the chorus of "Maria" in the musical, "The Sound Of Music."The nuns sing of their bewildering young charge, who not only marches to the beat of her own drummer, but sings, dances and strums guitar to it. Their solution is to ship her off to a household in need of a nanny, and thus one of the most extraordinary adventures of the 20th century begins. There is a...

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney defended Mike Huckabee's clemency decision that allegedly led to the shooting death of four police officers in Washington state.. During an interview Thursday night with CNN's Larry King Live, Romney, who in his four years as governor says he did not pardon or commute a single sentence, empathized with his former political rival in the last battle for the Republican presidential nomination, saying the focus is on the tragedy that struck the lives of Washington state residents. Huckabee has come under fire because, as governor of Arkansas in 2000, he signed a clemency order for...

Here is a list of 2012 candidates. Generally, I am dwelling on the negatives as this is what is going to limit them in their ability to win but will mention any unique positives. Please share your thoughts on these or any other potential candidates. Romney - Romneycare is an albatross. He is a Mormon which impacts appeal. Is popular in Michigan due to his father. Sometimes comes across like a used car salesman. Is probably more conservative than his record and gets a bad rap due to his need to make compromises to get elected in The People's Republic....

Mitt Romney says that like other presidents, Barack Obama inherited a recession. But the former Massachusetts governor feels unlike his predecessors, Obama has made the recession he inherited worse, not better. In an op-ed in Wednesday's USA Today, Romney says what he calls the president's inability to "stem" the rise in unemployment should not be a surpise. "With no experience whatsoever in the world of employment and business formation, he had no compass to guide his path. Instead, he turned over much of his economic recovery agenda to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, themselves nearly...

Let me be clear: I don't like Romney. I wouldn't vote for Romney. I hope he never runs for President, and if he tries, I hope he never gets the nomination. In other words -- I don't like Romney! However, -- I am tired of having to scroll past an anti-Romney ad as the #1 entry on every article lately. Why does every post start with an anti-Romney ad? As far as I know, he isn't even running for anything right now. In fact, why should every article begin with an anti-Anyone ad? I've always considered most Freepers to be...

The whole notion there was a conversation where I tried to cajole her into a conversation with Katie [Couric] is fiction," Wallace told MSNBC. "I am not someone who throws around the word 'self-esteem.' It is a fictional description." [SNIP] "It was never made as two working gals," Wallace said. "It's either rationalization or justification or fiction." [SNIP] "She hated me from the beginning," Wallace said. "I try not to take it personally, the fact is that she wrote a book based on fabrications... This book is a bizarre fixation on things that everyone else has moved on from."

(snip) The GOP wins in New Jersey and Virginia are breeding a new competition among Republicans to take part of the credit. Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, potential rivals for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, both tried to bask in glow."We worked extremely hard on behalf of Bob McDonnell and the entire Republican ticket in Virginia, and helped him close strong with a full day of campaigning in the final week; in New Jersey, we endorsed Chris Christie early and made sure he had the resources to be competitive against his better-financed opponent," Romney told supporters of his Free &...

What a great election yesterday! It's exhilarating to wake up to headlines of conservative victories in the battleground elections in Virginia and New Jersey. The American people have sent a very strong message to the liberals in Washington, DC that big government is not the answer, and that conservatism is still alive and well. We worked extremely hard on behalf of Bob McDonnell and the entire Republican ticket in Virginia, and helped him close strong with a full day of campaigning in the final week; in New Jersey, we endorsed Chris Christie early and made sure he had the resources...

In the early stages of the undeclared race for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney is the frontrunner. The former governor of Massachusetts has the best-developed national network of supporters of any of the potential candidates. He is the one doing the most party-building across the country; of his potential rivals, only Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty comes close. He is the one to whom other Republicans are most likely to turn for answers on economic policy, and on many issues he is the only one giving them. When the auto companies came to Washington only Romney had a plan (“Detroit...

Recently, I asked a GOP consultant, who must remain nameless here, this question: Who advises Sarah Palin? His answer: No one. Really? I asked. Yes, he said, really.