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Heh. Admittedly, this is pure comment bait, but I do find it fascinating that she remains the most popular Republican in these polls month after month while making no headway against Huck and Mitt and actually losing ground to a dark horse like Gingrich. I don’t want to overstate things — she’s only five points back of the lead — but a media superstar with a double-digit edge in favorability who’s already been on a national ticket and who’s wildly more dynamic than her competition should probably be … way ahead, no? Instead, this: Huckabee leads the way, such as...

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) – Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney would be the top pick of Republicans meeting here, to square off against US President Barack Obama, if the party primary were held now, officials said Saturday. Romney edged out Texas Congressman Ron Paul by only one vote -- 439-438 -- to win a nine-candidate race of Republican candidates, according to results of Saturday's test vote at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. Paul and Romney campaigned unsuccessfully for their party's presidential nomination in 2008. It was won, however, by Arizona Senator John McCain, who eventually lost to Democrat Obama. The...

Utah's favorite political son made no apologies Saturday for his conservative cred -- a stance thousands of backers in the Beehive State hope will propel Mitt Romney to the White House. Speaking at the Salt Palace Convention Center hall, Romney weaved wit, humor and folksy anecdotes around enough anti-Barack Obama broadsides to energize his fawning fans. Most in attendance braved a sloppy snowstorm to hoist campaign-style signs, giving Romney's No Apology: The Case for American Greatness book tour the feel of a 2012 campaign rally. "I hope he does run," Midway's Bart Kotter said afterward. "The guy is an amazing...

We’ve done a million posts about this three-way match-up but I don’t think we’ve done one yet about a key swing state. Not what I would have predicted. Florida’s the first really important stop on the GOP calendar that we’ve looked at, and Romney’s lead there is overwhelming. He gets 52% to 21% for Huckabee and 18% for Palin. It’s closer, but still a double digit advantage, in Colorado. There Romney gets 44% to 25% for Palin and 17% for Huckabee.

Mitt Romney was on the David Letterman show last week and hit a home run. It was two white guys from the Midwest, born in 1947, chatting amiably about the icons of yesteryear: Earl Scheib, the car-painting magnate; the Studebaker (a car, for you younger readers) and the Rambler Classic, manufactured by AMC, the automobile company managed by Mitt’s father, George. AMC and Studebaker were wiped from the face of the earth by better cars made in Japan by more diligent workers, although that is not a subject that came up. Letterman saved the last minute of Romney’s appearance for...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is warning the tea party activists to not run third party candidates that would “divide” Republican voters and waste opportunities for the GOP. Romney said in an interview with Newsmax posted on the conservative outlet’s website Monday night that he was pleased the conservative grassroots movement is “silent no longer.” The likely 2012 GOP presidential candidate cautioned though that while he supports the idea of conservative challenges in GOP primaries, third party tea party-backed candidates in the general election could be disastrous. “Divide and fail is the result,” Romney said of third party challenges. “That...

I watched the Mitt Romney interview on Fox News Watch with Chris Wallace this morning. I actually watched twice, I was stunned. What a debacle! Apparently, this was his opening gambit in his 2012 Presidential campaign, since he has written a book. Wallace, by far the most skilled of the talking head interviewers, pressed Romney on his two primary claims: that Obama has spent his first year apologizing for being an American, and that his health care plan is awful. Romney was unable to delineate any major differences between the plan he developed in Massachusetts and Obama’s, except that the...

Mass. Health Insurers Want Significant Rate HikesMar 6, 2010 3:43 pm US/Eastern BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts health insurance companies have asked the state to approve significant rate hikes, weeks after Gov. Deval Patrick warned his administration might turn down increases it deemed excessive. The insurers have asked for increases of 8 to 32 percent, starting April 1. Last month, Patrick said the state Division of Insurance would review rate increases higher than 4.8 percent as part of a broader effort to control health care expenses. The Boston Globe reports that if the state rejects the increases, it would be the...

In a vacuum there’s nothing newsy about this, but 2012 isn’t a vacuum. We’ve talked before about the developing narrative: Palin vs. anti-Palin, “true conservatives” vs. centrists, blue-collar vs. white-collar, and … populists vs. “elitists.” With Beck having brought down the house at CPAC and the GOP in the grip of tea party fee-vah, why oh why would a potential nominee spritz cold water on populism? Branding, dear boy, branding: As Mitt Romney sets out this week to promote his new book, “No Apology,’’ he is also auditioning for a rapidly disappearing role in American politics: a politician who is...

The title of Mitt Romney's new book, "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness," is a not-so-subtle jab at the visits President Obama made overseas when he first took office, derided by the Right as the "American Apology Tour." Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has published a new book, "No Apology: the Case for American... Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has published a new book, "No Apology: the Case for American Greatness," which sets the stage for a second presidential run in 2012. He is shown here as he addresses a forum of the Foreign Policy Initiative at the W...

Republican consultant Charley Manning is replacing the nationally syndicated Rush Limbaugh on WRKO radio starting Monday. Jason Wolfe, program director for WRKO-AM (680), confirmed to the Herald that Manning will take over the station’s weekday noon to 3 p.m. slot. Manning, who has served as a campaign adviser to former Gov. Mitt Romney, emphasized that his new show, “The Charley Manning Show,” will be local. The GOP strategist said his show will “touch on all of the local issues that everybody is talking about, but with a special look at politics.” “I’m looking forward to really getting into politics, especially...

And so it begins: CPAC embraces the new Mitt Romney http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/33161.html South Carolina mulls 2012: Romney? Palin? Huck? http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/South-Carolina-mulls-2012_-Romney_-Palin_-Huck_-84732787.html Romney now biggest threat to Obama head to head http://hotair.com/archives/2010/02/18/ppp-poll-romney-now-biggest-threat-to-obama-head-to-head/ These are just a few examples from the last two days. You'll also notice the (once again) packed straw poll at CPAC, and a sudden surge in Freepers attacking Sarah Palin at every turn. It seems the push is already at full force. Mitt Romney is the guy to beat, like it or not (remember that McCain enjoyed -5% support at FR during the campaign), and the GOP is circling the...

In light of a recent poll that shows former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney leading the pack of possible 2012 GOP presidential contenders, 10 serious questions were presented that Romney must answer satisfactorily in order to gain the support of conservatives. To answer these questions Romney supporters provided various explanations concerning the candidate's stance on key issues impacting conservative support, among these being gun rights, property rights, and healthcare. Conservatives are individualistic voters who think independently. Unanimous agreement on the issues is an unrealistic expectation. However, in general conservatives can unite around several core principles:

Over past 7 months, Mitt Romney’s favor among Republicans has fallen off a cliff. Monthly surveys by Public Policy Polling shows that Romney’s level of support has fallen to just 48% among Republican voters from a high of 67% in May of this year. Romney polled in the 60s on the first three polls but has not reached that threshold since and now for the first time he's below 50% with the party base. I don't have any theories to explain Romney's popularity slide with Republican voters but it certainly bodes ominous for his 2012 nomination prospects if he can't...

Besides the occasional Republican either voting for socialized medicine or preventing a filibuster of it, the guilt of the association with the proposal that passed the Senate and the GOP is very deep. In fact the recent bill, without the public option (but will force people into public care) looks increasingly like the failed experiment of Massachusetts.

Mitt and Ann Romney sat for an interview with Fox News that aired this morning (video after the jump). Here are some nuggets of interesting material: When asked if he's intimidated by the big crowds and book sales Sarah Palin drew on her "Going Rogue" tour, as he prepares to embark on his own in March to promote his upcoming book, "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness", the former governor says he's not: "Oh no, not at all, it's great--that's terrific news. I'm glad to see people are buying books from conservatives." (VIDEO AT LINK) More on Palin: "She...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said Tuesday that he'll decide whether to run for president in 2012 sometime after this fall's midterm elections. Romney, a 2008 Republican candidate for president and rumored 2012 contender, told Fox News in an interview to air Wednesday that he and his wife would give thought to a second presidential bid in a few years. "It's always a possibility, and you keep the options open, but, you concentrate on the task ahead, for me that's trying to get some good people elected in 2010," said Romney during a "Fox and Friends" appearance. "And, I...