Free Republic

Not to say it will happen, but what if Mitt chose Sarah as his running mate (and she accepted). What if there was an agreement where Mitt actually came to the conclusion that with Sarah as his VP running mate, he would resign immediately as President so Sarah could become President. I know, I know...you say no way. But the Lord works in misterious ways. Mitt just might see the light and realize that the only way to make sure Obama is defeated is to first, choose Sarah as his running mate and second, once elected immediately step down and...

Some Republicans expressed concern that Mitt Romney's campaign is stuck in neutral and limping, not lunging, toward the party's U.S. presidential nomination. Even before Rick Santorum's sweep of contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri Tuesday, the Romney campaign was getting warnings and advice from Republicans concerned about the former Massachusetts governor's performance on the stump, which hasn't improved since the state caucuses and primaries began early in January,

Did Tuesday’s results matter? Nowhere near as much as the results from Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida mattered. But primary campaigns rarely reach stasis; momentum shifts, ebbs, and flows, and the trio of contests yesterday offered a few hints that the storyline will change once again.Rick Santorum is on the verge of overtaking Newt Gingrich as the anti-Romney alternative.Santorum began this contest as the man of the hour, the little engine that could in a sweater-vest who challenged and beat the much-better-funded Mitt Romney . . . and yet he has, at the moment, an entire three...

“You’ve got to stop the spread of crony capitalism. [Obama] gives General Motors to the UAW. He takes $500 million and sticks it into Solyndra. He stacks the labor stooges on the NLRB so they can say no to Boeing and take care of their friends in the labor movement. . . . He has to bow to the most extreme members of the environmental movement. He turns down the Keystone pipeline, which would bring energy and jobs to America. “My view is capitalism works. Free enterprise works. . . . There’s nothing wrong with profit, by the way. That...

John Roco argues that a pattern of increasing power enabling access to a female 'of more desire to him' has defined Newt Gingrich for the election, debates, presidential race of 2012, as well as leaving a wife when she was 'baggage' of being ill, and seemingly not to serve his purposes. John Roco also argues of Newt Gingrich's attack ability at debates, whether South Carolina, Florida or future, actually becomes an extreme deficit of one who would want to be leader of our nation, needing to 'contain' outbursts and expressions of ego empowerment. Admiral Patrick Walsh is mentioned as one...

FLORENCE, S.C. — Mitt Romney delivered a 13-minute speech here on Tuesday morning, shook hands with an audience that filled only a small part of a ballroom and caught a plane for a fund-raising gala in New York, a clear sign that he is looking beyond South Carolina. The outward confidence in Mr. Romney’s posture belied a deeply uncertain and fluid conclusion to the Republican presidential primary here. His rivals have shifted away from assailing his business record and are reminding conservatives through radio and television advertisements about the health care bill he signed as governor of Massachusetts and about...

Developing... (Fortunately for Newt, 99 per cent of the audience will be watching Tebow vs. Brady anyway)

Open letter to O`newt Mr. Gingrich you had my vote . Right up to your jumping the shark moment.

Though Romney is personally not working with any pro-Romney super PAC(s), can Romney at least tell them or ask them to cease any potential negative attack ads aimed at Gingrich or someone else? If he doesn't, is he still taking the high road? Secondly, how could pro-Romney forces ask pro-Obama forces to do the something if they won't? How can pro-Romney RINOS and CINOS berate Obama surrogates for saying something about Romney if pro-Romney surrogates do the same to GOP candidates?

Conventional wisdom is that whoever wins the Iowa caucus has an encouraging boost to get the Republican nomination for president in November’s vote. Never mind that Mike Huckabee crushed Mitt Romney in the 2008 Iowa caucus, and neither went anywhere; in the 2000 caucus George W. Bush easily beat Steve Forbes and went on to win his party’s nomination; or that in 2000 Robert Dole edged Pat Buchanan and both fell by the wayside. So while winning in Iowa is a morale booster it doesn’t mean much, and will quickly be forgotten after New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. This...

My choice for President is Mitt Romney. I just shuddered at that statement. But there it is. There is the reality that 13 debates, months of bickering and intrigue, and countless discussions with conservative brethren have brought me. It is kind of a sad reality. Is this the best conservatives could do? So here has been my calculation for who I would support, from the beginning. First, the candidate must be electable and able to defeat Barack Obama, both electorally and intellectually. Second, they must broaden the base of the Republican Party, both on the conservative and moderate sides. Third,...

In light of his cavalier attempt to wager $10,000 during the most recent GOP presidential debate, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is trying to counter the claim that he is out of touch with most Americans by relating stories of traveling in Europe as a young man. In New Hampshire on Sunday, Mr. Romney spoke of his experience as a 19 year old Mormon missionary in France; living on $110 a month which he said was the equivalent of $500 or $600 in today's dollars. "You're not living high on the hog at that level," he said.

I've been wondering why they brought these allegations against Cain out during the Primary and not the General Election. After reading about a poll showing most of Cain's supporters will go to Newt it came to me. First of all they gambled that Cain will not win the primary (even without the allegations). Obama and the MSM fear that Romney would have the best chance against Obama. With Cain's voters going more to Newt this is their way of getting a candidate who is easier to beat (notice too how Cain initially suspected Newt and not Romney).

Republicans might not particularly like Mitt Romney, but they may have to learn to live with him if they want to take the White House next year. So suggests a poll released today by Purple Strategies, which surveys voters in 12 swing states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. President Obama's approval rating in the swing states is in peril -- just 41% overall and 37% among independents -- but his saving grace seems to be that voters there are even more sour on the Republican candidates. This critical block...

Howie thread for the week starting with his Sunday Boston Herald column

Mitt Romney has a growing lead in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, and almost half of the party's voters expect him to be the nominee, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Twenty-eight percent of Republicans backed the former Massachusetts governor, giving him a lead of 8 percentage points over his nearest challenger Herman Cain in the poll, taken November 10-11.

When Gov. Sarah Palin was deciding whether or not to get into the presidential race, Karl Rove was popping up on Fox News to talk about why her skin was too thin for the job. And when Gov. Rick Perry was thinking about his entrance into the race, Rove was Johnny-on-the-spot with reasons why a Perry candidacy would not be viable either. Now Rove’s moved on to Herman Cain, whose candidacy he’s doing all he can to sink, sidetrack, or On Fox News this past Monday, Rove did his best Mr. Rogers imitation by holding up a small dry-erase board...

Herman Cain leaving the campaign trail: Why now? Herman Cain is surging in popularity in a number of polls. So why is Herman Cain putting his campaign on hold for the next month? The Hermantor Experience is, by almost any measure, the hottest thing going in the GOP presidential primary (not named Chris Christie). < snip> But Cain seems destined to squander it. And here’s why. As NBC’s thoughtful First Read points out this morning, Cain's promoting a book - and appears to be taking himself off the campaign trail for almost a month. Cain won’t be back in the...

A bad poll for everyone involved, including Mitt. Granted, he’s gained nine points since the last time the Journal surveyed the race (Huckabee was still in play at the time), but only 45 percent of Republicans say they’re happy with the field as is. Four years ago at this time, that number was 73 percent. Just 24 percent say they’re confident in Romney’s ability to be president; in 2007, even John Edwards hit 31 percent. Clearly the base wants more options and the Palin/Cain/Perry constituencies aren’t natural defectors to Romney, so one of those three is bound to start consolidating...

It is always quite amusing to hear the pundit class talk about the respective electability of the G.O.P. candidates for President. Sarah Palin is routinely ridiculed by the punditocracy largely because she's not part of the club. Last evening's debate was an intriguing forum with telling results. All of the candidates look good and no one made a fatal mistake. Here is my assessment of the candidates. Herman Cain started strong and speaks forcefully on the economic issues,however he loses his step on matters outside his greatest strength. He lacked specifics for all his passion and that is something he...