to move up and down
Kelly McParland: Romney heads into political playoffs with odds against him
Five years after he set out to win the Republican nomination, Mitt Romney finally has the job. Rick Santorum’s decision to “suspend his campaign “, which is the new political term for “quit trying” leaves the former one-term Massachusetts governor as the only viable candidate.
Not that the two remaining no-hopers are planning to “suspend” their campaigns. Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich plan to hang in there until the convention, though neither has the money, support or serious potential to win. Neither has much else to do: Paul says he won’t run for another term in Congress, and Gingrich is an attention junkie who can’t bring himself to abandon the rush he gets from spouting off in public. But only Romney can win.
Gary Clement’s Week in Review for Feb. 5 to 11, 2012
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Mitt Romney in commanding lead as Florida polls open
Florida’s Republican voters go to the polls on Tuesday in a high-stakes presidential primary election, with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney holding a commanding double-digit lead in polls over rival Newt Gingrich.
Florida is the largest state to hold a presidential primary so far this year and a Romney victory would give him a big boost in the state-by-state battle to decide who will face President Barack Obama in the November election.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. local time. Most of the state is on Eastern Time, except the western Panhandle region, which is on Central Time and where polls will close an hour later.
Rick Perry defends Marines caught urinating on Taliban corpses in video
Texas Governor Rick Perry, scrambling to keep his U.S. presidential bid alive, accused the Obama administration on Sunday of over-reacting to a videotape that shows four Marines appearing to urinate on dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
“These kids made a mistake. There’s not any doubt about it. They shouldn’t have done it. It’s bad,” Perry told CNN’s “State of the Union” program.
“But to call it a criminal act, I think, is over the top,” said Perry, who faces a possible make-or-break performance in the South Carolina Republican presidential primary on Saturday. (Photos: Reuters)
Stephen Colbert announces intention to enter South Carolina GOP primary
The race to be the next President of the United States might now come down to Barack Obama and… Stephen Colbert?
The Comedy Central funny man announced his intention to run for president of the “United States of America of South Carolina” at the taping of his show Thursday night and will try to compete in South Carolina’s GOP primary Jan. 21.
“I’m proud to announce I plan to form an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my candidacy,” Colbert said.
While Colbert won’t actually compete for the GOP nomination in the general election, this may give Republicans another option beyond Mitt Romney in a pivotal state. Every Republican presidential candidate since 1980 has won South Carolina’s primary.
“Clearly my fellow South Caroliniacs see me as the only Mitternative,” Colbert said. (Photo: Yuri Gripas/Reuters)
Analysis: Mitt Romney withstands the attack deluge … for now
Maybe being the presidential campaign’s symbol of capitalism isn’t so bad after all. After the two worst days of his run for the Republican nomination — days in which even foes within his party branded him as an elitist job killer — former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney seemed to be on top of the world. (Photo: Reuters/AFP/Getty Images)
Ways to win and lose the New Hampshire GOP primary
New Hampshire is in the news a lot these days because Tuesday the “Live Free or Die” state will hold the first primary in the U.S. presidential sweepstakes.
And because it is the first primary, it can make or break a contender’s momentum.
In other words, New Hampshire may be small, but its influence on U.S. politics is huge.
So what will it take for Republican presidential wannabes to win this key primary? Well first off, the nominees better forget all that stuff about wining votes through new-fangled notions like social media.
To be successful in New Hampshire requires old-fashioned “retail” campaigning, namely lots of baby-kissing, hand-shaking and Town Hall-attending. Simply put, “Granite Staters”, as they call themselves, want to see candidates up close.
Sheldon Alberts: Mitt Romney may not be re-electable
According to almost every national poll taken over the past six months, Romney fares better in a hypothetical head-to-head contest against Barack Obama than any of the other five remaining GOP candidates.
But he suffers from a real problem — the more people see of him, the less they seem to like him.
In Iowa, he won the Republican caucuses on Jan. 3 despite not growing his support at all in the four years since the 2008 campaign.
New Hampshire is Romney’s second home — people here know him as well as anybody — and yet Suffolk University’s tracking poll has shown his support slipping in each of the past four days he has campaigned here.
Anyone But Romney: The race by the Republican right to find an ‘ABR’ continues
Contenders to Mitt Romney in the republican presidential race have emerged and then faded – support for the former Massachusetts governor one of the few constants in the nomination race.
Despite Mr. Romney’s inconstantly high poll rankings, the GOP can’t seem to fully embrace him. The National Post’s graphics team takes a look at the ups and downs of the race so far.
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‘Pizzazz’ propels Rick Santorum into three-way GOP Iowa caucus race
Sheldon Alberts: For many divided Republicans, beating Obama trumps ideology
As tens of thousands of Hawkeye State Republicans prepare to kick off the 2012 U.S. election campaign Tuesday with their first-in-the-nation caucuses, polls show voters still torn over a trio of top-tier contenders trying to break free of the GOP pack.
Iowa voters have a mixed history in picking the eventual GOP nominee, often supporting very conservative candidates who struggle to win over more moderate Republicans in later primaries and caucuses.
But many Republicans say they’re worried less this year about ideological purity than beating Obama.
“I’m a little conservative, like a tornado is a little bit windy. But we’ve got to win,” said Betten, explaining why he is still considering backing Romney.
“I think Obama hates the United States, and I think he wants to destroy it internally. I think this election is critical because of that.” (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
‘Not too late’ to join Republican Primary race: Sarah Palin
Tea Party champion Sarah Palin, who has already ruled out a 2012 presidential run, on Monday attempted to dangle her name anew as a possible Republican candidate, although it’s probably too late.
In an interview to air on Fox Business Network’s Follow the Money program, the 2008 Republican nominee for vice president was asked whether she would still consider a run for the White House.
“It’s not too late for folks to jump in,” Palin said. “Who knows what will happen in the future.” (Photo: Lee Seung-Hwan/AFP/Getty Images)
Sizing up the U.S. Republican field
We asked 11 National Post writers to present their picks for the Republican Presidential nominee.
Robert Fulford: “The 2012 Republican presidential field is the worst lineup of potential candidates I’ve seen in my lifetime.” Do you agree?
Jesse Kline: Ron Paul is the one candidate with no sacred cows
Terence Corcoran: Romney almost walks the walk
Jonathan Kay: If Huntsman loses, something is wrong with America
Rex Murphy: Newt Gingrich is in tune with America
Graphic: The Republican nomination race so far
As new Republican contenders have emerged, taken off and then crashed in the polls, Mitt Romney’s support has remained one of the few constants in the nomination race. And yet the GOP can’t seem to fully embrace him. The National Post’s graphics team takes a look at the ups and downs of the race so far.
Rick Perry ‘ain’t quitting’ 2012 bid after embarrassing debate gaffe
Rick Perry vowed to press on with his campaign on Thursday a day after a devastating debate stumble that rocked his already endangered 2012 White House bid.
Perry suffered a mental lapse on stage with his rivals in Michigan on Wednesday night and failed to remember the third of three government agencies he has vowed to eliminate.
He cited the departments of Education and Commerce but could not bring to mind the Energy Department.
“The fact of the matter is, one error is not going to make or break a campaign. So we’re going to keep on talking about what’s important to the people of this country,” Perry told the CBS “Early Show.”
