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COMMENTARY | During the Republican presidential debate in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday night, the subject of Newt Gingrich's moon colony idea came up. During the exchange, Mitt Romney especially revealed a smallness of vision and an ignorance of the issue. [snip]If Romney wants to know why Gingrich is so focused on the moon, he could go no further than to read Paul Spudis' The Case for Renewed Human Exploration of the Moon" in which the rationale for returning to the moon, not only for science, but also as a prelude to the exploration of the Solar System is examined. Spudis also...

Everything seems very serious, very important, very consequential now. The earlier debates — months ago — were looser. The eight or nine candidates would bounce onto the stage. Romney would greet Bachmann with a big mwah. Cain would smile brightly. The atmosphere was almost festive. But now we’ve gotten down to the nitty-gritty — crunch time. Newt immediately links himself to Reagan. Remember when pundits swore the Gipper couldn’t win? he says. He also points out that Reagan’s economic program was labeled “voodoo economics.” That was Bush 41’s — the future Bush 41’s — line, of course. But the 1980...

<p>Our purpose and goal on FR is to restore, defend, preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States and to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity!!</p> <p>The goal of the domestic enemy (the left), i.e., the statist liberals, Marxists and progressives is just the opposite.</p>

According to the survey, which was released Monday, 28 percent of Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP say they support Perry as their party's presidential nominee, with Romney at 21 percent. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is at ten percent, with Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who's making his third bid for the White House, former Godfather's Pizza CEO and radio talk show host Herman Cain, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, all at seven percent. The poll indicates that Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is at four percent, with former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania at three...

I’ve mentioned before Mitt Romney’s weird tone-deaf penchant for conventional wisdom way past its sell-by date. So here’s today’s Los Angeles Times: Romney Says He Can Work With Democrats Gee, I know that’s what I’m looking for in a Republican candidate these days. Last time round, Mitt spend a ton of money and got nowhere. This time, he seems determined not to learn from last time’s fiasco. So today he’s going around “touting his record of working with Democrats”. Er, we already have a president whose record of “working with Democrats” is pretty impressive. Look, it’s not very difficult. Nixon...

As Democratic and Republican leaders in Washington struggled to find agreement on spending cuts and extending the debt limit, Mitt Romney struck a conciliatory note in New Hampshire on Monday by lamenting partisan feuding while touting his record of working with Democrats — even the Senate’s onetime liberal lion Edward M. Kennedy. [...] At both stops, Romney pointed to the warmth between former President Reagan and former Democratic House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill as an example of what is needed in the Capitol. “I worked with [former Massachusetts Sen.] Ted Kennedy, for Pete’s sakes,” Romney said in Concord, noting...

Rick Perry Trounces Romney In ZOGBY/NEWSMAX POLL John G. Winder, The Cypress Times June 28, 2011 - 1:48 p.m. CST Texas Governor Rick Perry gets 55% of the vote to Romney’s 22%Despite the mainstream media's best offers to give the Republican nomination for president to Mitt Romney before anyone has actually voted, a Zogby/Newsmax polls shows again how incredibly vulnerable Romney is, and how much conservatives dislike the man. In a recent Zogby/Newsmax survey of likely Republican primary voters, Rick Perry destroys Mitt Romney basically across the board in a head-to-head matchup. Newsmax reports:“No matter which way you look at...

Mitt Romney is on track to get the Republican nomination for president the same way his 2008 rival John McCain did. The former Massachusetts governor was the runner-up in the last open primary and is not facing anyone strong enough to knock him out of his place in line. The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found 30 percent of likely GOP voters would back Romney. Second, at 14 percent, was Sarah Palin, who is: a) not yet running, and b) not yet literate. This is in spite of party purists' fury over Romney's record of helping people and running...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's (R) campaign honeymoon appears to have ended, as other candidates for the Republican presidential nomination begin voicing open criticism of Romney. Romney, by virtue of his status as the putative frontrunner in the race, is now facing increasingly vocal criticism from his competitors, criticism that had otherwise been muted or nonexistent so far in the campaign. The attacks suggest that the campaign for the 2012 Republican nomination hasn't just begun, but has advanced to the point where candidates have started to throw elbows in order to jockey for position with primary voters. There was no...

Mitt Romney, the leading contender to become President Obama’s Republican opponent next year, had just finished working the room at Blake’s Creamery here when he paused for a photo with the restaurant’s owner, Ann Mirageas, and decided to tell her a joke. “I saw the young man over there with eggs Benedict, with hollandaise sauce,” he said. “And I was going to suggest to you that you serve your eggs with hollandaise sauce in hubcaps. Because there’s no plates like chrome for the hollandaise.” The proprietor laughed weakly. “Good luck to you,” Mirageas said. The hubcap joke must have killed...

Yesterday's column on Tim Pawlenty's feebleness in criticizing Mitt Romney's version of ObamaCare prompted several readers to write with the suggestion that Pawlenty is pursuing the vice presidential nomination. We doubt it. We've met with Pawlenty twice in recent months, and he has a well-considered (if, thus far, not so well-implemented) plan to win the presidential nomination. Further, if he was sucking up to the former Massachusetts governor Monday night with a Romney-Pawlenty ticket in mind, that would represent a one-day change in strategy, since it was only Sunday morning when Pawlenty referred to "ObamneyCare." Furthermore, if Pawlenty were angling...

Mitt Romney may be leading in the polls, but his status as the GOP “frontrunner” is fragile at best. For all the talk of Romney’s “did-what-he-had-to-do” performance in the Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire, it’s widely accepted that the former Massachusetts governor is an uninspired choice for the GOP nomination. ... Historically, Republicans have nominated the runner-up from the previous election cycle, and Romney was the runner-up in 2008. But his second-place finish was exceedingly narrow — and in the end, closely contested. Once John McCain beat him in New Hampshire and South Carolina — after Mike Huckabee had...

Romney is simply the front-runner (“Romney Wins N.H. Straw Poll”), the “Billion-Dollar Man” and the president’s most implacable foe (“Romney: First Thing I Would Undo Is Obamacare”). A survey of the past 13 months of Drudge headlines found only one debatably negative reference to the 2002 Olympics CEO (“Bachmann Outraises Romney”) — and a survey of aides to his rivals found a rising level of frustration at what one described as “favoritism” by one of the most important, if also one of the quirkiest, referees.

Romney to Skip Key Poll in Iowa By PATRICK O'CONNOR Mitt Romney will skip a key early test for Republican presidential candidates by forgoing the Iowa straw poll in mid-August, a decision that could recast the contest in the nation's first presidential nominating state. The Iowa straw poll, held in Ames, is one of the landmark events of the nominating contest. Mr. Romney's decision sends the clearest signal yet that he doesn't want to wade deeply into the social issues that carry particular weight with Iowa Republicans and instead intends to present himself to voters nationally as a successful businessman...

Washington (CNN) - Mitt Romney has a message to Tea Party candidates nationwide: If you lose your Republican primary bids, stay on the sidelines. The former Massachusetts governor on Monday warned the grassroots movement not to mount third party efforts in general elections, which he said would siphon votes from Republican nominees. "If there is a conservative candidate that runs in the general election, then obviously, divide and fail is the result," Romney said in an interview with the conservative Web site Newsmax. "Hopefully Tea Party candidates will run in respective primaries and they will either win or lose. And...

I remember when I put a McCain sticker on the car and the sign went up in the yard. It was October of 08. It took of course him picking Sarah as his VP spot. (I remember just before that the buzz was Joe Lieberman was going to be the one). Now as I write Romney is in the lead of our pack. He of course is not the conservative favorite. Right not he has three strikes against him and they are big. Romneycare which was the model of Obamacare. Ethanol which is just the same old crony ways. And...

For any other candidate, raining on a presidential announcement parade would be seen as sabotage. Not former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The 2012 presidential candidate told CNN’s Piers Morgan Monday that he wasn’t offended when former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin appeared in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire on the same day he was set to formally announce his intention to seek the 2012 GOP nomination for president. In fact, though Romney shared his plans one week in advance and Palin insisted on keeping the destination of her top-secret bus tour under wraps until the day before her New...

Only Sarah Palin can Derail Mitt RomneyPosted: June 3, 2011 | Author: pollinsider | Filed under: General | 1 Comment »So, I may be about to get Dick Morris on you, but my official prediction is that Obama will be facing either Romney or Palin in 2012. If Palin does not end up running, Mitt Romney wins the nomination.First, if Sarah Palin does not run, Mitt Romney will be the nominee. I believe she will but, but of course many in the establishment see “no signs” that she is interested in such a race. Polling suggest that, surprisingly, Mitt Romney...

Wanna run for president? Don’t make the mistake of announcing a campaign. Just look at those poor souls roaming Iowa and New Hampshire in search of Republican voters. They have considerable resumes and, in many cases, a pricey campaign team, but they made the grave error of actually telling people they’re seeking the Republican nomination. On Thursday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will join their ranks when he makes it official in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, a former Alaska governor who didn’t complete an entire term and two current governors who have expressed little-to-no interest in the race continue to garner...

The cameras and national press will be treated to a - still tieless! - Mitt Romney spooning up chili and kicking back with the folks on Thursday in Stratham, New Hampshire, site of the presumed Republican frontrunner's official campaign announcement. Romney's real action, though, is unfolding far from the Scammans' lovely farm. Looking to lock in his status as the field's most able fundraiser, Romney has a coast-to-coast schedule of fundraisers slated for the remainder of June. According to a schedule obtained by National Journal - which includes a preview of a July event in London, England - the former...