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BOSTON -- Gov. Mitt Romney, moving closer to a presidential run, has hired Tom DeLay's former spokesman, according to a top Romney adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement. Kevin Madden, a New York state native who most recently served as press secretary for House Majority Leader John Boehner, will serve as primary spokesman for the presidential committee that Romney is expected to create within the next three weeks, the adviser said. The governor is expected to file paperwork establishing some sort of presidential campaign committee by mid-December. Romney is planning to base his campaign...

Rudolph Giuliani has repeatedly extended the hand of friendship to Christian conservatives in recent months. But a leading member of a think tank closely associated with the former Mayor has just delivered a powerful jab to the face of the same constituency. Mr. Giuliani, long viewed with suspicion by the religious right because of his pro-choice, pro-civil-union positions, went so far as to campaign for former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed back in May. The move was widely seen as an attempt to curry favor with a voting bloc that will play a crucial role in electing the Republican Presidential...

WASHINGTON The Reverend Jerry Falwell has thrown his support -- but not quite his endorsement -- behind Senator John McCain if he runs for president in 2008. Falwell calls McCain "the kind of conservative candidate whom I would have little trouble supporting" and "one of America's most profound heroes." Still, he says that's not an endorsement of a McCain candidacy. Falwell wrote in a column in Sunday's The New York Times that McCain hasn't asked for an endorsement and he hasn't offered one.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Raising money for local Republicans even as he ponders his own political future, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said Monday that Republicans must increasingly be "a big party" that accepts divergent views. Giuliani said that broad-brush themes, like limited government, ought to define the Republican Party -- not hot-button social issues like abortion and gay rights. "The major thing that we organize around as Republicans is government that puts more reliance on people than government," Giuliani said. "They (Democrats) tend to think of government solutions as most of the answers." Giuliani was in Iowa...

We heard some buzz about this last night, but this morning's front-page story in the Tennessean about the hometown boy's big win, also includes some interesting nuggets on how MA Gov. Mitt Romney was able to score his impressive second-place finish. Romney, very quietly, worked with some Volunteer state supporters to bring in some college students from Union University. The school, which, btw, is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, is in Jackson, TN, in between Memphis and Nashville. Also note in the story, the efforts of Romney's Southern backers to cast him as the best candidate in the field...

The field of candidates vying to succeed Gov. Mitt Romney in Massachusetts grew by one last week. For beleaguered Bay State Republicans, that may be one too many. Convenience-store magnate Christy Mihos bolted the party to run as an independent, increasing the Democrats’ chances of retaking the governorship. The reaction from a local blogger to Mihos’s announcement: “Welcome back, Dukakis.” Mihos isn’t polished, has never before held elective office, and is the kind of candidate who gives his advisers fits. Five members of his campaign team quit just days before he officially jumped into the race. But Mihos does have...

Mayor Giuliani's decision to skip a high-profile showcase for potential Republican presidential candidates this weekend is drawing quizzical reactions from some strategists and fueling debate about whether he is serious about seeking the presidency in 2008. The list of speakers for the Memphis gathering contains almost all the top prospects for the Republican nomination, including the local favorite, Majority Leader Frist, as well as Governor Romney of Massachusetts, and Senators Allen of Virginia, Brownback of Kansas, and McCain of Arizona. To stoke the presidential embers further, the conference and a leading political newsletter will conduct a straw poll at the...

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is the most popular politician in the United States, according to a national poll this week testing support for potential candidates in the 2008 presidential race. The survey of some 1,900 voters by the Quinnipiac Polling Institute asked respondents to rate several nationally known politicians on a scale from 0 to 100, with higher numbers reflecting higher regard. Giuliani topped the list, with an average score of 63.5 percent, followed by Democratic Senator Barack Obama, seen as one of his party's rising stars. Obama scored 59.9. In third place was maverick veteran Republican...

White House race: GoP banks on McCain to beat Hillary Sarah Baxter [Tuesday, January 24, 2006 11:57:52 pm THE SUNDAY TIMES] WASHINGTON: Republicans are warming up to John McCain as the politician most likely to beat Hillary Clinton to the White House in 2008 and to clear the party of the taint of sleaze. A poll last week showed McCain could trounce Clinton, the Democrat favourite, by 52 to 36. The 16-point lead reveals that he has a decisive advantage among independents and swing voters. "The more scandal and corruption in Washington, the better it is for McCain. He is...

Mitt Romney: The November Surprise by Carol Turoff January 14. 2006 An unlikely package of contrasts emerges from Leftachusetts. In a state that has kept dependable liberals Ted Kennedy (first elected in 1962) and John Kerry (1984) in the senate and Barney Frank (serving since 1980) among its congressional representatives, an atypical political figure has emerged on the Massachusetts horizon. Never previously having held elective office, Gov. Mitt Romney was elected in 2002 with a decisive margin. The son of George Romney, a former Cabinet member who served three terms as governor of Michigan, Mitt presents an intriguing Republican persona...

Gov. Mitt Romney abandoned plans Thursday to exempt Roman Catholic and other private hospitals from a new law requiring them to dispense emergency contraception to rape victims.Romney had initially backed regulations proposed earlier this week by his public health commissioner, Paul Cote Jr., who said the new law conflicted with an older law barring the state from forcing private hospitals to dispense contraceptive devices or information.The Republican governor, who is considering a run for president in 2008, said he asked his legal advisers to review the matter after members of both parties criticized the regulations. He said the lawyers determined...

Some on the morning talk shows suggested that McCain is the natural successor to Bush for his committment to the war, and that Bush will "pass the baton" to him. My question is: if Bush endorses McCain will you think aboout voting for him? Personally I don't care for McCain for a number of reasons, but if I think he will continue W's legacy, I might reconsider. What do you think?

November 12, 2005--Unlike the Democrats, there is no clear frontrunner for the Republican Party's 2008 Presidential nomination.Three candidates, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Senator John McCain all are favored by more than 20% of GOP voters. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist are the only other Republicans to reach the 5% level of support.McCain is the leader among the minority of Republicans with an unfavorable opinion of George W. Bush.If the three leading candidates do not run, "Not Sure" takes over the Republican lead at 30%. In that...

Gov. George Pataki, eyeing a possible White House run in 2008, continued to shake the money tree Thursday with a little help from House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Pataki was in Chicago for a $1,000-a-person fundraising luncheon to benefit his Virginia-based 21st Century Freedom PAC, the political action committee he uses to finance his national activities. Later Thursday, the New York Republican was headed to Iowa for a two-day visit to the state that hosts the caucuses that traditionally begin the presidential nominating process. It is Pataki's third trip to Iowa in four months. Pataki was coming off three days in...

Many adults in the United States believe Republican Rudy Giuliani should launch a White House bid, according to a poll by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. 54 per cent of respondents would like the former New York City major to run for president in 2008. Republican Arizona senator John McCain is second on the list of prospective candidates with 52 per cent, followed by Democratic New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton with 48 per cent, and former North Carolina senator and 2004 Democratic vice-presidential nominee John Edwards with 47 per cent. Less than 40 per cent of respondents...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton leads Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a hypothetical presidential matchup, an independent poll released Friday shows. The poll, conducted by Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion with New York City television station WNBC, gave the former first lady 50 percent to 41 percent for Rice. But Republicans John McCain and Rudolph Giuliani both topped Clinton. Clinton, McCain and Giuliani are all considered potential 2008 presidential candidates. Rice has said she will not run. The poll, mirroring other recent national surveys, had Clinton as the clear front-runner for the 2008 Democratic nomination, favored...

NEW YORK - Arizona Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) is considering a 2008 run for president but says it's unlikely he'd take the No. 2 spot. In an appearance Sunday at a fund-raiser for a local New York candidate, the Republican seemed to humorously rule out ever accepting a vice presidential post. "I spent all those years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, kept in the dark, fed scraps, why the hell would I want to do that all over again?" he said, the New York Daily News reported in Monday editions. McCain, who ran for president in...

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said Sunday he will contemplate next year whether to run for president in 2008. "I will be considering it next year," Giuliani said during a visit to Denmark. But he added that playing with the idea of running for the Republican nomination for president did not mean he would actually do it. "Sometime you warm up and get ready and you don't get in and pitch," he told reporters, in a baseball analogy. Giuliani who was praised for his leadership following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, thanked Danish...

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said Sunday he will contemplate next year whether to run for president in 2008. "I will be considering it next year," Giuliani said during a visit to Denmark. But he added that playing with the idea of running for the Republican nomination for president did not mean he would actually do it. "Sometime you warm up and get ready and you don't get in and pitch," he told reporters, in a baseball analogy. Giuliani who was praised for his leadership following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, thanked Danish...

Sunday, Oct. 2, 2005 1:04 p.m. EDT NY'ers Back Rudy Over Hillary for Prez New York State voters would back former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for president over home state senator and Democratic Party favorite, Hillary Clinton, according to a Marist College poll released Friday. Forty-nine percent of New Yorkers say Rudy should run for the White House, while only 40 percent want Hillary Clinton do the same. While more than two-thirds of Empire State Republicans [67 percent] want Rudy to seek the Oval Office, just 54 percent of Democrats [52 percent] say Hillary should run. What's more,...