Romney on cruise control amid rivals' woes ……..“Beyond fundraising, Romney spent much of the week granting a handful of television interviews with television stations in general election battlefields like Colorado and Florida, and he unveiled detailed spending plans in New Hampshire and Washington. He didn't join Republicans' forum on manufacturing in Pella, Iowa, or its gala in Des Moines.
And he didn't feel pressure to go up on the airwaves in early voting states like New Hampshire even though Perry — the only candidate with the money to go at Romney hard — and his allies started running TV ads in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina.
It was a comfortable — even light — schedule as other candidates fought for attention and to overcome personal struggles.
From the sidelines, Romney deflected questions about his opponents.
"I really don't have any information about Herman Cain's setting. I've only seen what's been on TV and what I've read in the newspapers. All the questions related to his issue there I think have to be addressed to him and to his campaign," Romney recently told Denver's KUSA.
In the end, he may end up being the one who stands to benefit the most by Cain's troubles.”…….
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Cain's pain may be Perry's gain ….. “As Perry refocuses efforts and begins an intensive early-state media campaign, his money and institutional party support position him best to benefit over the long run. With Bachmann's apparent collapse, Perry's main rivals besides Cain are former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose support has remained static in Iowa despite strong debate performances, and the underfunded former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
Continued conservative divisions may enable Romney to finish first in Iowa, where the poll showed one-third of likely voters want a more moderate candidate with appeal to independents. He remains strongly favored in New Hampshire.
If Romney wins both Iowa and New Hampshire, he'll only wrap up the GOP nomination if momentum enables him to broaden his support in the next contests in South Carolina and Florida beyond that 25 percent base. But if the anti-Romney conservatives unite behind one candidate, that candidate could well defeat Romney. And with a bankroll to survive early setbacks, Perry remains most likely to become that candidate.”
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It’s Herman’s turn in the barrel ............."Any time that you rise to the top of the polls, any time that you appear that you are going to be an individual of substance that those on the left are concerned about, you're going to get whacked," Perry told O'Reilly when asked whether the scrutiny of Herman Cain served as a cautionary tale.
"As you said" – he continued to O'Reilly – "it's Herman's turn in the barrel."
During O’Reilly’s back-to-back interviews with the candidates, a relaxed Perry also did not take issue with the press coverage of his own campaign.
“I figure they are giving me [as] fair a shake as anyone else,” Perry told the Fox radio host. “I mean, you’re running to be president of the United States of America, you better believe you’re going to be watched and taken apart.”
The Texas governor laughed off questions about his recent freewheeling speech to a conservative group in New Hampshire, which was ridiculed on Saturday Night Live’s ‘Weekend Update.’
Perry noted that a number of reporters from Fox and other news outlets were in the audience in New Hampshire and tweeted about his “great applause lines” and the standing ovation he received from the audience.
Of his speeches, Perry said: “Not every one of them is all the same. So if anybody wants to read anything into it, they can. I’m still having great fun on the campaign trail.”
Perry said the biggest shock to him after entering the 2012 race late was that “There are no days off. It’s full bore every day.”
Thanks. Blessings to you, CW.