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Earlier this week, a group of former special forces and intelligence agents launched a media campaign criticizing President Obama for the White House’s poor handling of sensitive national-security information and for Team Obama persistently using the death of Osama bin Laden as a subject for bragging rights. The Obama campaign can’t have that — Obama almost certainly plans to bring up his daring OBL raid during any foreign policy discussions we have on our way to November, and members of the military and intelligence community rallying in criticism of Obama’s national-security creds would certainly put a damper on that. I’d...

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is seen as more 'mainstream' than President Barack Obama according to a Rasmussen poll posted on Sunday morning: A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds that 52% say it’s more accurate to describe the putative Republican nominee’s views as mainstream, while 30% regard them as extreme. Eighteen percent (18%) are undecided. When it comes to the president's political views, 45% of voters say they're in the mainstream, but an identical 45% say it's more accurate to describe them as extreme. This same poll, however, showed that voters are equally...

As Massachusetts Democrats meet at their nominating convention today, some members of the Cherokee Nation are stepping up a campaign to get answers about candidate Elizabeth Warren’s claims of tribal ancestry – a sideshow controversy that has nevertheless begun to wobble one of the most closely-watched Senate campaigns in the country. This week, Indian reporters say they were snubbed by Warren’s campaign as they sought clarification on why Ms. Warren was listed as a minority Native faculty by Harvard in the 1990s, even though she has no evidence to back that claim and apparently never sought out other Native Americans...

During an interview with CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) discussed everything from the Trayvon Martin shooting, to gay marriage, to his upcoming retirement. And while none of these are surprising for this congressman to talk about, the eye-opening moment occurred when he said (with a straight face) that president Obama has helped “turn around the mess of the economy.” Really? “When you look at the election, you look at the campaign season here,” Malveaux said, “What do you think President Obama has done right, that he’s gotten right? And what do you think he really needs to work...

Not too long ago pundits were arguing that Mitt Romney’s path to 270 electoral votes was “narrow.” We didn’t buy it. Lo and behold, conventional wisdom has now changed. The Associated Press writes: “Warning signs for Obama on tight path to 270.” The AP explains: Obama’s new worries about North Carolina and Wisconsin offer opportunities for Republican Mitt Romney, who must peel off states Obama won in 2008 if he’s to cobble together the 270 electoral votes needed to oust the incumbent in November. Iowa, which kicked off the campaign in January, is now expected to be tight to the...

When Gov. Mitt Romney signed legislation in April 2006 requiring most Massachusetts residents to have health coverage, Senator Edward M. Kennedy stood by his side, beaming like a proud father. They were onstage at historic Faneuil Hall in Boston, a setting that had a special resonance for the two. Twelve years earlier, they shared that stage as opponents in a bitter Senate race. Back then, Mr. Romney accused Mr. Kennedy of waging “untrue, unfair and sleazy” personal attacks. Now, the Republican governor was introducing the liberal Democratic senator as “my collaborator and friend.” Mr. Romney’s complicated relationship with Mr. Kennedy,...

I’ve been struck, in the aftermath of Michigan and Arizona, by how many political journalists have made arguments like the following from New York’s John Heilemann, which emphasizes Mitt Romney’s continued weakness and vulnerability: … the shirts versus skins schism that has emerged as a defining feature of the Republican electorate will be sharper in many of the ten states that vote [on Super Tuesday]. In Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Idaho, and Alaska, more than half the voters going to the polls are likely to be Evangelicals (whereas in Michigan the percentage was just 39 percent). In all those states, Romney...

Mitt Romney, once seen as a sure bet to win the Michigan Republican presidential primary, now appears locked in a surprisingly tight race with challenger Newt Gingrich. Michigan is home turf for the former Massachusetts governor. His late father, George Romney, was a popular governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and the younger Romney grew up in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills. But with the state’s primary approaching on Feb. 28, Mr. Romney’s lead remains small, given his home-court advantage. A poll released last week by the Detroit Free Press/WXYZ-TV found that 31% of likely voters supported Mr....

Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his conservative bona fides following doubts expressed by Sarah Palin. The former Alaskan governor and vice presidential candidate told Fox News Sunday that she is "not convinced" by Romney's conservative instincts, indicating he may not be conservative "enough" for her. "And I don't think that the majority of GOP and Independent voters are convinced, and that is why you don't see Romney get over that hump," she said. (VIDEO AT LINK) "I'm not quite sure what she'd be referring to," Romney responded Wednesday, also on Fox News. "I'm pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, I believe in the...

"He could have stopped it, and should have stopped it," Huckabee said. CNSNews.com: Governor Romney should have stood up to the Court and said, "No"? Huckabee: He should've. (August 2008) Old news? Yes — and Mitt Romney hopes it will be ignored or forgotten. How does Romney manage to bury his past political sins? With a lot of help from his former critics — including Governor Huckabee — who seem to suffer from amnesia. But what of the media's duty to vet the candidates? Shouldn't every significant action in a candidate's record be under review? Why is the media —...

As his formidable campaign marches inexorably toward the nomination, Mitt Romney should learn a vital lesson from the guy who beat him in his first race for public office: Sen. Ted Kennedy. In 1980, Teddy lost his own bid for the presidency because he couldn’t answer a simple question about why he wanted the job. Like Kennedy, Romney could undermine his confident drive to unseat a stumbling incumbent unless he prepares clear, concise, and forceful responses on what he means to do with the office he seeks. Near the end of the disastrous Jimmy Carter administration, most analysts expected an...

Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he supported tying the federal minimum wage to inflation, a move that would result in automatic increases to the pay rate. The position is a break from fiscal conservative orthodoxy — which generally seeks to eliminate the minimum wage — but could help Romney rebound from damaging comments he made earlier Wednesday when discussing the "very poor" in America. "I haven't changed my thoughts on that," Romney told reporters aboard his campaign plane on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. He was apparently referring to a statement he made in 2002 when running for governor...

The Romney yesterday campaign denied knowing about a 2002 flier distributed by the Romney campaign during Gay Pride Week in Massachusetts while he was running for Governor. Fehrnstrom told the Huffington Post's Sam Stein, "I don't know where those pink flyers came from. I was the communications director on the 2002 campaign. I don't know who distributed them... I never saw them and I was the communications director." Fehrnstrom continued "I never saw them and I never approved them. I'm not quite sure where they came from." But a former Romney campaign volunteer who is now a fiscal policy scholar...

Mitt Romney’s father, liberal Republican George Romney, met with and endorsed infamous progressive activist Saul Alinsky; meanwhile, in a defense of Mitt Romney against charges of racism, the National Black Chamber of Commerce points out the significant influence the elder Romney had on son Mitt and credits the Romneys for a long history of progressive activism. Emphasis mine. No, Mitt Romney is not a racist. As I researched history, over the years I have come to find that the opposite is the case. The Romney Family has a legacy of pro-civil rights, progressive activism and an understanding of how poverty...

If frontrunner Mitt Romney survives the Republican primary process and becomes the party's presumptive nominee, a majority of Democrats surveyed in this week's National Journal Political Insiders Poll say he will enter the general election campaign a weaker candidate than when he began his run. But by an overwhelming margin, Republican Insiders feel the primary campaign has been a benefit, leaving Romney stronger and more prepared to take on President Obama. (GRAPH AT LINK) Many Republicans feel the primary process has been a critical pressure-test for Romney's campaign skills, resulting in a more honed and prepared candidate. "He has weathered...

In a recent article published by The Daily Beast, its Washington bureau chief, Howard Kurtz, reasoned that if “moderate” Mitt Romney wins the Republican nomination for President, he’ll need to choose a running mate with the conservative bona fides to balance the ticket. While the notion that Mitt Romney is "on the verge of sewing up the Republican nomination" is still just a neo-con fantasy (especially in light of Ron Paul’s surging poll numbers and his respectable showing in Iowa and New Hampshire), pundits and soi disant opinion makers have suggested that the former Governor of Massachusetts choose a VP...

A funny thing is happening to Mitt Romney on his way to Florida: ¡He is becoming so aware of Latino voters, that he’s practically becoming Latino himself! Oh, wait, amigos -- ¡Mitt is suddenly so Latino that he’s eligible for Mexican citizenship! ¿You think I’m kidding? Although up to now about the only time he’s mentioned Latinos is to say NO (a word conveniently the same in both English and Spanish), in one of his last appearances in New Hampshire, ¡he dropped the little known fact that his dad was born in Mexico! Yup, suddenly, Romney’s so one of us,...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: There is a story on the Drudge Report today from Sarah Palin in which Sarah Palin says that the White House wants Mitt Romney to be the Republican nominee. Now, not only did I tell you that the Broncos were gonna beat the Steelers, for months I have been telling you that the Democrats want Romney -- and you all know it. You've been listening here and you've heard people call me and tell me I don't know what I'm talking about, that I'm full of it, that they're scared of Romney. "Romney is the only guy...

Mitt Romney's top ten is made up of Goldman Sachs, followed by Credit Suisse (Switzerland), Morgan Stanley, Barclays (UK), Bank of America and JP Morgan. In contrast Romney's co-frontrunner in Iowa, Ron Paul, has a top three donor list made up of the US Army, US Navy and US Airforce.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer sat down with Mitt Romney and his wife Ann Romney to talk about a wide range of issues from Mrs. Romney’s health to who convinced Mitt Romney to run for president again. Highlights from the interview are after the jump. Please credit all usage of the interview to CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer EMBEDDABLE VIDEO: Romney: I would vote for Ron Paul EMBEDDABLE VIDEO: Romneys discuss their darkest hour Highlight: Romney on Newt Gingrich THIS IS A RUSH FDCH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. M. ROMNEY:...