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Mitt Romney, whose liberal past and questionable conservative credentials are at the heart of his problems securing the Republican presidential nomination, is being supported by three prior Republican nominees--all of whom lost their bids for the presidency while running as moderates.Sen. John McCain, the 2008 nominee who lost to Barack Obama, endorsed Romney on January 4 heading into the New Hampshire primary.Former Sen. Bob Dole, the 1996 nomineee who lost to Bill Clinton, endorsed Romney in December before the Iowa caucus.Former President George H.W. Bush, who lost to Bill Clinton in 1992, 'unofficially' endorsed Romney in December in remarks to...

Panacea, Florida (CNN) -- While media outlets and Beltway pundits might use state polls to gauge the race in Florida between GOP presidential hopefuls Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, Ron Crum uses poles. Fishing poles. Crum, a Republican small business owner in this sleepy seaside town south of Tallahassee, calls Romney a multi-millionaire who expects to get breaks because he's rich -- be it a low tax rate or the GOP nomination. But former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Crum says, is a man who understands the plight of the working class and can articulate conservative principles effectively. Picking up...

Different crowds, different tones at events for the 2 top GOP candidates. The two leading Republican presidential candidates came to Central Florida on Wednesday, and their events — and reception by voters — couldn't have been more different. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney showed up at factory in Orlando on Wednesday morning, telling a politely enthusiastic crowd of about 400 that President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night showed that the president is out of touch with America. "We have a president who is detached from reality. He's detached from the people. He's detached from his own...

Link Only, per rules: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-22/jeb-bush-cautions-republicans-on-tone-without-endorsing-any-candidate.html

Romney aides tell Fox News they expect a second place finish based on exit polls.

Newt Gingrich appeared incredulous after being told of the latest attacks by GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney. ”Wait, wait, wait.  Hold on. They’re saying I helped re-elect a Democrat?” Mr. Gingrich told reporters in Winnsboro, S.C., adding, “That’s just stupid.” Earlier Wednesday, the Romney campaign set up a conference call with two former lawmakers who lashed out at his leadership as House speaker, saying it helped to re-elect President Bill Clinton. The campaign also released a new Web ad,  calling him “unreliable.”Mr. Gingrich said he helped create the GOP’s first House majority since 1928. “So what did Mitt Romney do?  Who...

DAMON CLINICAL LABORATORIES Romney Was Board Member Of Company Fined Over $100 Million For Medicare Fraud – At The Time, It Was The Largest Criminal Fine For Health Care Fraud In History Romney Sat On Board Of Damon Clinical Laboratories, A Bain Capital Portfolio Company Fined Nearly $120 Million In 1996 Due To Medicare Fraud. “A Needham clinical laboratory agreed yesterday to pay $119 million in criminal and civil fines after pleading guilty to charges that it defrauded the nation’s Medicare system by seeking reimbursements on millions of dollars worth of unnecessary blood tests. … Damon Clinical Laboratories Inc. admitted...

Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer sat down with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and opined that Newt Gingrich won last night’s debate — in fact, he “won big.” Krauthammer criticized Mitt Romney‘s mediocre debate performance and was incredulous at how the former Massachusetts Governor wasn’t prepared for a question on his tax returns. “How could he not have prepared a nice short succinct humane answer about what he did at Bain?” Krauthammer perplexedly exclaimed. “He didn’t really have that — he kind of stumbled around.” RELATED: Rick Perry Challenges Romney: ‘Mitt, We Need For You To Release Your Income Tax’ O’Reilly wondered...

New Hampshire has long had a reputation as the most conservative state in the Northeast. Its license plates even say, "Live Free or Die." The Tea Party ought to be a force here. Just days before the state's primary, New Hampshirites may help Mitt Romney consolidate his position as the Republican front-runner. Not because they support him, but because they cannot unite behind another candidate.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Even before votes are cast here, movement conservatives across the country are beginning to fear that 2012 will be a replay of the last GOP presidential primary: conservatives divided between candidates, enabling a center-right contender to march up the middle and claim the nomination. Time is running short on activist Republicans who have long yearned for a unifying Mitt Romney alternative in the race – leading some to worry that if they don’t stop him in Iowa on Tuesday, they may not be able to stop him at all. Rick Santorum’s late surge in Iowa, coupled with...

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...

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has rocketed ahead of President Obama and taken his biggest lead yet in a national head-to-head matchup, a new poll showed today. Romney topped Obama 45 percent to 39 percent in the Rasmussen Reports survey. “It’s also the biggest lead a named Republican candidate has held over the incumbent in Rasmussen Reports surveying to date,” said the pollsters.

The last Des Moines Register poll before Tuesday's Iowa caucuses was just released. Conducted from Tuesday to Friday, Mitt Romney leads with 24 percent, followed by Ron Paul at 22 percent, and Rick Santorum at 15 percent. Newt Gingrich is at 12 percent, Rick Perry 11 percent, and Michele Bachmann at 7 percent. Consider the last two days of polling separately, however, and it's Romney at 24 percent, Santorum at 21 percent, and Paul in third at 18 percent. "Momentum's name is Rick Santorum," said Register pollster J. Ann Selzer. That said, looking at only the last two days raises...

Seriously, one need look no further than John Edwards, to have "concerns". I'm quite concerned, Romney may not be mentally stable. Why chance it. I think Gingrich is much safer. I like him. He's a known quantity. We cannot risk an unproven whatever he is, like Romney

Playing off his persona as a New Jersey tough guy, Christie issued a mock warning. "New Jersey's watching you … We're watching you real closely," he said. "And I want to tell you something. I want to tell you something really clearly. I'm in a good mood this morning. I'm feeling happy and upbeat. I'm happy to be with Mitt and Ann. But let me tell ya, if you people disappoint me Tuesday, if you don't do what you're supposed to do on Tuesday for Mitt Romney. I will be back, Jersey-style."

Rick Perry’s presidential campaign released a tough new ad Thursday targeting Rick Santorum and his history of supporting earmarks in Congress. Why is Perry attacking a candidate who has been mired in single digits in Iowa despite living there for most of the past several months? Simple, Santorum is surging. A CNN poll of registered Iowa Republicans released Wednesday puts Santorum in third place with 16 percent of the vote – his highest share yet. It’s not an outlier. In fact, data from Perry’s internal daily tracking polling shows that the Santorum surge is real and that he has the...

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has rocketed ahead of President Obama and taken his biggest lead yet in a national head-to-head matchup, a new poll showed today. Romney topped Obama 45 percent to 39 percent in the Rasmussen Reports survey. “It’s also the biggest lead a named Republican candidate has held over the incumbent in Rasmussen Reports surveying to date,” said the pollsters. Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney greets supporters at J's Homestyle Cooking in Cedar Falls, Iowa Thursday. A week ago, Romney trailed Obama 44 percent to 41 percent and the week before that held...

CNN's Wolf Blitzer sat down with Mitt Romney and his wife Ann Romney to talk about a wide range of issues from Mrs. Romney’s health to who convinced Mitt Romney to run for president again. Highlights from the interview are after the jump. Please credit all usage of the interview to CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer EMBEDDABLE VIDEO: Romney: I would vote for Ron Paul EMBEDDABLE VIDEO: Romneys discuss their darkest hour Highlight: Romney on Newt Gingrich THIS IS A RUSH FDCH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. M. ROMNEY:...

I'm not hot for Mittens or Newt and what is so silly crazy about the RonPaulster. I'm going to save space by reminding you of Howie Carr,Michael Savage, etc... who have been on the air this last week of December 2011. Why can't people see that the Paulster is a no go? He'll never be prez & Thanks God! He's really wacky. This whole scenario of Mittens,Newt & the Paulster reminds me of Ross Perot. So there, you have it- a middleman candidate who actually represents NOTHING but only to antagonize the devil out of the Republican Party. Truth be...

When Mitt Romney introduces himself to voters, he has a peculiar habit of guessing their age or nationality, often incorrectly. (A regular query: “Are you French Canadian?”) When making small talk with locals, he peppers the conversation with curious details. (“We stayed in the Courtyard hotel last night,” he told a woman at a diner. “It’s a LEED-certified hotel.”) And when he encounters a question he particularly dislikes, he smiles politely and behaves as if it never happened. (“Will you put Ron Paul in your cabinet?” a man asked. The candidate turned away, inquiry left unanswered.)