Free Republic

Mitt Romney’s campaign unleashed a multi-pronged attack against Newt Gingrich Wednesday — a sign the GOP front-runner could be worried about a surge from the ex-Speaker prior to South Carolina’s primary on Saturday. Romney rolled out a pair of new attack ads and dispatched two of his top surrogates to blast Gingrich’s erratic temperament just days before the make-or-break southern contest. “He’s not reliable,” former Missouri Senator Jim Talent slammed on a media conference call. “Yes, he can say exciting things — he also says things that undermine the conservative movement.” That theme was reminiscent of the line of attack...

On his first trip back to the nation's first voting state as a soon-to-be declared presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney reaffirmed his support for federal ethanol subsidies -- an always important campaign issue in Iowa that figures to take on an even more central role in the divided GOP field. "I support the subsidy of ethanol," Romney told a potential voter after an event here was cut short by a fire alarm. "I believe ethanol is an important part of our energy solution in this country." Support for ethanol subsidies has long been considered a political necessity for...

The next Republican presidential campaign will happen in lots of new places. There will be all the familiar locations we love so much--Iowa, New Hampshire, diners, and Lincoln Day dinners--but this week offered another reminder, as if we needed one, that the race for the 2012 nomination will play out in the virtual world and at hyperspeed. For the next 18 months, there will be stories and controversies and entire news cycles (or mini-cycles) in which the candidates deliver their messages but in which no one is actually seen speaking. The most successful adopter is Sarah Palin on Facebook. She's...