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The topsy-turvey GOP presidential season just flipped again as a new poll shows Mitt Romney has jumped to the lead in both Michigan and Arizona just days before pivotal primaries in both states. The former Bay State governor has 40 percent of the vote to 34 percent for red-hot rival Rick Santorum in Michigan, Rasmussen Reports states today. The survey of likely Republican voters was taken last night a day after the CNN debate where Romney went on the attack against Santorum’s record in the U.S. Senate. Michigan holds its primary Tuesday night. So does Arizona, where Romney is also...

I posted last night and again this morning that Rick Santorum had a terrible debate. But it’s fair also to point out that many of the shots Romney scored on Santorum were cheap shots, as pointed out by George Neumayr at The American Spectator (h/t reader OccamsrazorX): "Romney, at his most hypocritical, labored hard to present himself as more socially conservative than Santorum, noting that Rick had voted for Planned Parenthood funding. Astonishingly, Santorum missed his chance at a return upper cut. Why didn’t he mention that Romney once gave money to Planned Parenthood from his own pocket? Why didn’t...

The mainstream media enjoys analyzing how the candidates performed but rarely replays the meat of an answer given by a candidate. The substance of what Newt Gingrich said in reply to the questions asked by CNNs John King will help Oklahoma voters make their decision of who to vote for in the March 6th Presidential Primary. The first question asked was regarding the candidates’ plan to bring down the national debt. Gingrich’s response was to create jobs and spur economic growth. He also suggested that the Federal government open federal land and offshore areas to energy production. He also mentioned...

Senator John McCain appeared on This Week today from Afghanistan, but before getting onto matters of foreign policy, he weighed in on the Republican contest going on in the United States and continued to speak out forcefully on an issue that has been part of his political identity for over a decade: campaign finance reform. McCain has not been the biggest fan of Super PACs, and McCain today blasted the Supreme Court for its decision in the Citizens United case two years ago. When Jake Tapper asked McCain about how the GOP’s divisive contest may end up handing the election...

An Arizona co-chair of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign resigned after announcing that he is gay. Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu was forced to come out after allegations that he dated a Mexican immigrant and hosted a pornographic online profile. The Romney campaign said they received a call from Babeu and accepted his resignation. "Sheriff Babeu has stepped down from his volunteer position with the campaign so he can focus on the allegations against him. We support his decision," spokesperson Ryan Williams said. Arizona is holding its primary on February 28, and all four candidates will be in the state Wednesday...

Sam Fulwood III explains why Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's disrespectful gesture last week will motivate black voters to support the president in the November election. With a waggle of her right index finger last Wednesday, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer erased the question of whether black voters will be enthusiastic about going to the polls in support of President Barack Obama. Now, you can count on it. Gov. Brewer almost guaranteed that large numbers of black voters will turn out on Election Day because they will march to the polls, still angry about Brewer's one-finger salute of the commander-in-chief. Nothing motivates...

Newt Gingrich may have pulled out a shock victory in South Carolina, but he has yet to win the heart of one political analyst. "Newt Gingrich is dangerous on many levels," Meghan McCain told News/Talk 92.3 KTAR's Mac & Gaydos. The Republican daughter of Arizona Sen. John McCain said that Gingrich uses techniques that make the younger McCain dislike politics, including race-baiting. McCain even went so far as to say that, if the election came down to Obama versus Gingrich, she would likely turn to a third-party candidate. "I can't vote for Newt Gingrich," she said. With McCain crossing her...

Jesse Kelly, who narrowly lost to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) in 2010, is running again in the upcoming 8th district special election, according to two sources. “I would say an announcement is imminent,” said an insider close to the Iraq War veteran. Giffords beat Kelly by only 2 points in 2010, in what was an overall terrible political climate for Democrats. Another source close to Kelly described Giffords as the strongest possible Democratic candidate and indicated Democrats would have difficulty finding a nominee with her charm, name identification and fundraising prowess.

Arizona U.S. Senator and former Republican presidential candidate John McCain reflected on his 2008 campaign earlier this week, saying choosing former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has his running mate was “the best decision” he has ever made. Mr. McCain made the comment during an appearance on Fox News, where he also took time to promote his 2008 rival, Mitt Romney, whose Republican presidential candidacy he endorsed last week, after Mr. Romney won the Iowa caucus by eight votes. The Arizona Republican has previously said he stands by his decision to choose Ms. Palin as the Republican presidential candidate for vice...

On Wednesday’s edition of Now with Alex Wagner, the eponymous host asked MSNBC commentator Meghan McCain if her party was in crisis. McCain trashed the Iowa caucus and dreaded the rise of surging Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum. “My father did not become the nominee having anything to do with the Iowa caucus. I find it completely irrelevant. If Rick Santorum becomes the nominee of this party, I mean, it is going to be bedlam and hysteria like you have never seen.” With her over-the-top prognostication for the pending apocalypse in that scenario, McCain appeared to be channeling Bill Murray...

Meghan McCain is a person who gets paid to think and say intelligent things about politics on cable news. The daughter of Sen. John McCain, who before joining MSNBC was famous for tweeting a provocative photo of her breasts, joined Lawrence O’Donnell last night to discuss her father’s endorsement of Mitt Romney. Other than stating the obvious about Romney (“[his sons] are just perfect and beautiful”) she took the time to call someone else a “moron”– namely, Rick Santorum who, had Sen. McCain endorsed him, “I mean, I’d be, like, slitting my wrists” over it. RELATED: Meghan McCain Predicts ‘Bedlam...

Former Vice President Dan Quayle will endorse Mitt Romney for president tomorrow at a campaign event in Arizona. The endorsement will take place in Paradise Valley, Arizona, which is located within the congressional district of Ben Quayle, the former Vice President's son, who was elected to the House in 2010 and has yet to make an endorsement in the presidential race....

On CNN’s State of the Union today, Candy Crowley asked Senator John McCain if the Republican party should be worried about courting Hispanic voters in places like his home state of Arizona heading into next year’s presidential election, particularly given the anti-immigration sentiments of many of the candidates. McCain explained the policy of the United States should be “humane” when it comes to dealing with such matters, a word that got Newt Gingrich in hot water with conservatives when he used it about immigration several weeks ago. McCain suggested that the Latino vote might not necessarily go for Obama because...

Just got this from Glenn Beck's The Blaze news blog. Wow, McCain is turning more and more into Walter Matthau each day. Here is the link to the Blaze article. Comment at will. Sorry ahead of time for the short post. More are coming in the next few weeks, as I have been on hiatus for the summer. Look for a list of Repubs that vote for either a Bonner plan or something like it.

PHOENIX -- One of the Valley's leading political analysts said he believes Republican Sarah Palin is setting up a national base in Arizona, but is not planning to run for Jon Kyl’s vacating U.S. Senate seat. Jaime Molera, founding partner of the Molera Alvarez Group, who has held a variety of high-level state positions, said he thinks Palin’s plans are bigger than just running for the U.S. Senate. “I think she’s thinking about running for the presidency,” Molera said. “At the end of the day, being one of 100 senators versus being the leading contender for U.S. President; I think...

As if the death of Osama bin Laden weren’t enough good news for one month to offer the once-sagging political fortunes of the Obama administration — the terrorist mastermind was killed May 1, though it already seems like a year ago — when you include the failure of the Republican Medicare overhaul to pass in the Senate, plus indications that Tea Party darling Sarah Palin might actually run for president, the mood at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue must border on unbridled jubilation. Can’t you see Obama skipping through the halls the White House, swinging his arms wide, perhaps singing a few...

Sarah Palin has deliberately left the question as to whether or not she will run in 2012 open. For those who believe a bid for the GOP nomination is still a possibility for her, The Arizona Republic provides some further evidence: after months of rumors, Palin may have purchased a house in Scotsdale, Arizona. A deal on a secluded, 8,000-square-foot home in far north Scottsdale was recently closed by Safari Investments LLC for $1.695 million cash. The terms of the deal hide the identity of the owner, and when the attorney listed on the property records, Alan Kierman, was asked...

As first reported by New Times, there are rumors that the Tea Party's number-one ding-bat, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, is considering a run for the Senate seat getting vacated by Senator Jon Kyl -- and according to a recently released poll, if she does run, there's a pretty good chance she'd win. The poll, conducted by left-leaning pollsters at Public Policy Polling, finds that Republican voters nationwide don't want Palin to be president. However, Arizona Republicans say "you betchya!" to the idea of Palin being the state's next senator. Palin tops the list of potential GOP candidates with 35...

In a somewhat surprising move, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on Monday vetoed the so-called “birther bill,” which would require presidential candidates to show proof of citizenship. When the bill passed the Arizona legislature it seemed all but a done deal. Wait. Brewer did?!? Jan Brewer? Yes. Yes, she did. Jan, thank you, Jan. (VIDEO AT LINK) In an uncharacteristic move of sense and sensibility, the Republican governor — who, let’s face it, has a reputation for steering into the crazy, not away from it — surprised everyone with her veto letter, saying the measure “is a bridge too far,” according...

Is Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana, going to run for president in 2012? Mr. Daniels, a wonkish Republican, has not yet said whether he will seek his party’s nomination, but his comments Wednesday about immigration could make it a bit more difficult if he does. Faced with lawmakers who are considering an Arizona-style immigration law, Mr. Daniels said he did not support controversial provisions that sparked a national debate last year that would provide police officers the power to question and detain people they think are illegal immigrants. “I think that legislation will be changed,” Mr. Daniels said Wednesday,...