Free Republic

With the Republican presidential primary appearing to have narrowed into a two-man contest, Human Events and Red State moved quickly to lock down a date for a Lincoln-Douglas-style debate between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. The two organizations went so far this past Monday as to firm up the Annenberg Theater at the Newseum in Washington as the venue on Dec. 19 after another debate originally scheduled that day was canceled. For its part, the Newseum was excited to host the pre-primary forum. There was just one problem. While Gingrich was ready to take his place on the stage, the...

Mitt Romney has been criticized for not speaking out more forcefully on the debt-ceiling negotiations. But Mitt Romney, the Republican front-runner, has taken a subtler tack, avoiding the issue of the debt ceiling as he presses a more general assault on President Barack Obama's economic record. That has attracted the attention of his GOP challengers, who have begun to accuse him of ducking the most vital issue of the campaign so far. "The current debate is about what kind of leadership you're going to show," former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said in an interview Monday. "If you're running for president,...

Missing: Republicans. Must be willing to declare candidacy for president of the United States. Missed terribly. Last seen dancing with the Tea Party movement. What's going on? Usually, by now in the "campaign cycle" (shortly after the midterm elections), at least a handful of candidates have declared their intention to run for president to much fanfare. But for the Republicans this time around, nobody is ready to announce. They're not even close. Yes, of course, there are names being floated around: Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour and – needless to say – Sarah "the Barracuda" Palin. But nobody seems...

Former Gov. Mitt Romney, a likely GOP presidential candidate for 2012, told supporters he won’t announce his candidacy before the end of the year — but political analysts said yesterday the discussion is the strongest indicator yet that he’ll run. “We know who is running, they’re just doing everything but coming out and saying so,” said Andy Smith, director of the Political Center at the University of New Hampshire. Romney held a conference call with 245 of his top supporters Thursday and told them that unlike his failed 2008 run, he won’t be announcing until later in the cycle, according...

Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, sticking his neck out a bit, waited until today to endorse Mike Lee, a move that undoubtedly was a tough choice now that Lee is the GOP nominee for Senate in Utah and faces no other GOP candidates.

If Sarah Palin, with her mega-wattage superstar status sucking up all the available oxygen in the room, is it worth sharing a stage and competing for some attention? Between now and the first GOP nomination season debate a year from now, that will be the question asked over and over again by the smart political operatives plotting Tim Pawlenty's, Mitt Romney's, and other nonreality show starring Republicans' paths to the White House. The cattle call season for the 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls is upon us, but the media obsession with all things Palin and her knack for dominating a news...

Former Massachusetts Governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mitt Romney has already decided on a timeline for announcing a possible 2012 run for the White House. Former Massachusetts Governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mitt Romney has already decided on a timeline for announcing a possible 2012 run for the White House. In an interview with MyFox Boston Thursday, Romney insisted he had not yet made up his mind about a second run for the White House. However, the man who finished runner-up to John McCain in 2008 has already envisioned the timeframe for a possible rollout. Asked by MyFox Boston’s anchor...

In his new book, Mitt makes himself over as a muscular defender of America. Few things are more predictable than a GOP presidential candidate posturing as a he-man protector of America, and depicting his Democratic counterpart as an effete, appeasing girlie-man on the dangerous world stage. Mitt Romney — who himself has no personal military or foreign-policy experience of any kind — may not seem well-suited to the Republican role, but hey, if draft-dodgers like George W. Bush and Dick Cheney could use the formula against a genuine war hero, anything is possible. Romney, presumably warming up for 2012, flexes...