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FEBRUARY 3, 2012 Mitt at a Minimum A Sign of Romney's Moral Defensiveness. Serves us right. Yesterday we tried to defend, or at least explain, Mitt Romney's remark that he didn't worry about the poor because they had the government to help them. Then Mr. Romney tells the world he favors a rising minimum wage indexed for inflation that really would hurt the poor. Mr. Romney reaffirmed his minimum-wage views to reporters as he tried to extricate himself from the controversy over his "poor" remarks. (See "What Mitt Really Meant," Feb. 2.) It was a classic political gotcha moment, and...

Fresh off his big win in Florida Tuesday night, Mitt Romney made the most stunningly stupid remark of his campaign. “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there,” Romney said in an interview with CNN's Soledad O'Brien this morning. “If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.” "There are lots of very poor Americans who are struggling who would say, 'That sounds odd,'" O'Brien...

Earlier today, I said that only Mitt Romney could derail Mitt Romney this month. Did my prediction come true already? The media and Romney detractors have jumped all over this statement to CNN in which Romney says that he is “not concerned about the very poor,” but that slice of Romney’s statement is entirely misleading — although it’s certainly not adept for a front-runner:

One of the things fellow Republicans and political observers have never liked about Mitt Romney is the wholesome piety he exhibits on the stump, while his hacks and PACs engage in some of the ugliest politics around. He can flash that plastic smile and pretend all he wants, but people know the cold fish doesn't shy away from the politics of personal destruction. If anything, his campaigns embrace it more than most, while feigning ignorance and pretending otherwise himself.This is why so many people in the GOP have come to dislike Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney backer and New Jersey Gov....

This much is obvious: South Carolina has proven to be a disaster for Mitt Romney. The size of his defeat by Newt Gingrich -- a 12%+ landslide in a four-way race --- is virtually a repudiation of his candidacy in a state that has prided itself on picking the eventual nominee for 32 years. And we suspect Romney will have several more nights of heartburn, much like this one, as the nomination unfolds. Snip Gingrich's win brings to a halt any prospect Romney had for ending this contest with a win in Florida on Jan. 31. What Gingrich now needs...

On the surface, the new (and final) Des Moines Register poll of likely Iowa caucus-goers basically corroborates polling from Rasmussen and NBC/Marist earlier in the week, which showed Mitt Romney slightly edging Ron Paul, while Rick Santorum gained enough ground to move into third place. The numbers are almost identical, at 24/22/15 — but it’s not the topline that is the real news. The four-day poll of 602 likely caucus-goers, which is a larger sample than NBC/Marist but smaller than Rasmussen’s single-day survey, had significant change in the final two days of polling on Thursday and Friday: But the four-day...

Mitt Romney Announces Virginia Leadership Team December 29, 2011 Location Boston, MA United States Mitt Romney today announced additional members of his Virginia leadership team. The additional members join Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, Delegate Chris Peace and Delegate Barbara Comstock as members of Mitt Romney’s leadership team. “Virginia is on the most business friendly states in America and these Virginia leaders understand we have to make jobs our number one domestic policy priority,” said Mitt Romney. “The Virginia Founding Fathers understood the principles of free enterprise, hard work, and innovation and I am pleased these Virginia leaders are standing with...