Free Republic

Another audience member questioned the candidate about Santorum awarding former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky with the Angels in Adoption Award. Santorum explained that he lacked knowledge of the situation at the time and noted that the award has since been withdrawn. In response to his explanation, the audience member asked, "So we shouldn't trust Obama with our kids, but we can trust you?"

"Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., who calls himself “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” will endorse Texas Gov. Rick Perry next week, a source with knowledge of the endorsement told ABC News.".......

The New York Police Department has foiled an alleged terror plot targeting law enforcement and soldiers returning from the battlefield. The New York Times reported that 27-year-old Jose Pimentel was acting as a 'lone wolf' and was taken into custody Saturday. He allegedly was inspired by Al-Qaida, although his citizenship was not immediately known.

Romney has had a big boost from the Republican establishment, which decided a while back he's the serious candidate with a chance of beating President Obama. The establishment also decided that upending Texas Gov. Rick Perry's chances is the best way to ensure a Romney victory, since none of the other candidates in the race are very serious and the establishment utterly failed in coaxing NJ Gov. Chris Christie into the race. Cain and Romney are also buddies. Cain endorsed Romney last time around and Romney finds various ways to praise Cain, even going so far as telling a NH...

BATON ROUGE — President Barack Obama is supported by slightly more than one-third of Louisiana voters and would be easily beaten in the state by Republican contenders Rick Perry or Mitt Romney, according to a new poll released Thursday.Obama's approval ratings in Louisiana are below his favorability ratings nationally. But Louisiana's backing of the tea party political movement also is strong. The Clarus poll shows 46 percent of voters surveyed support the tea party, while 30 percent opposed it. ……..When Republican voters were questioned about who they supported for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, Perry, the Texas governor, was in...

Bartlett, Tenn. - Herman Cain lashed out at his critics Friday, accusing detractors of his 9-9-9 tax reform plan of trying to slow his newfound momentum with baseless attacks. During his first campaign swing since surging in the polls, Cain told a tea party crowd near his birthplace of Memphis that the plan would grow the economy by five percent at minimum, and pledged to pass it in his first 90 days in office. “Can y’all see the bull’s eye on my back?” he joked to the crowd of several hundred supporters who had gathered in a city park here...

Now that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has announced he will not seek the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, all of the Republican donors, elected officials, and party activists pining for a savior to jump into the race must face the reality that the field is set. They need to channel Stephen Stills: “If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” No doubt the fundraisers for Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are tying up the phone lines into New York’s financial district, wooing donors who had either been holding out for Christie or had used...

HOUSTON -- Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Thursday that he would definitely consider an invitation to run as the eventual nominee’s vice president, except if the nominee turns out to be Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Cain, who rocketed to the top tier of the GOP field in several recent polls, was asked by reporters on the campaign trail for his thoughts on a hypothetical invitation to run as the eventual nominee’s No. 2. After offering the obligatory comment that he intends to be the nominee, Cain said, “Quite frankly, based upon Gov. Perry’s position on some issues, I would...

A source on the Rick Perry campaign tells Hot Air that the Texas governor conducted some Texas-size fundraising in the third quarter. Coming in just a little over halfway through, Perry raised $17.1 million. That number would put Perry somewhere between $4-6 million ahead of Mitt Romney’s rumored total for Q3, according to this report last week from the Boston Globe. It’s also likely to far outpace Herman Cain’s fundraising or that of the other Republicans currently in the race. The pace is even more impressive. Perry had 49 days in which to raise funds, rather than the full 92...

EXCLUSIVE: Republican White House hopeful Rick Perry raised over $17 million in 49 days, DRUDGE has learned. $347,000 per day; 20,000 unique donors from all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and Guam. With more than half of donors living outside of Texas... Developing...