Obama on GOP Field: 'I'll Be Ready for Them'

Orthodoxy vies with electability among party faithful

(NEWSER) - Herman Cain's surprise win in Florida's straw poll yesterday shows how unpredictable this election cycle is—but it also provides some valuable lessons about that state of the GOP nation, reports the St. Petersburg Times .

• The top GOP contender is still Not-Mitt-Romney: Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry—Republicans are still waiting for the great candidate who can lead them to the chosen land. All they know for now is that frontrunner Romney is not him. Next up ... Chris Christie? .
• It's too late for a new candidate: A major reason Perry imploded was that he just did not have enough time to get the infrastructure in place that he needed. Money, volunteers, the whole process takes way too much work to ramp up so late in the game. So maybe Christie is not an option, after all.

Bachmann, Romney, Paul, Perry all roughly even with prez

(NEWSER) - If the election were held today, it would be too close to call between President Obama and any of the GOP front-runners, according to the latest Gallup poll . Obama would be in a dead heat within the margin of error against Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, or Rick Perry, pollsters found. Romney was tied exactly with Obama at 47%, while Perry was a couple of points ahead and Bachmann and Paul a few points behind. Previous polls have found Obama scoring roughly the same against a generic Republican opponent. More»

Newt paints Mitt as a moderate—handy for November: Jonathan Alter

(NEWSER) - You might think that Newt Gingrich's assault on Mitt Romney would give President Obama the upper hand in the general election—but actually, it's just the opposite, writes Jonathan Alter at Bloomberg . Gingrich's efforts will position Romney as the "more rational and centrist" candidate, which will prove to be a big help when he snags the nomination. Romney's "pivot" into moderate general election mode will seem all the more genuine thanks to Newt. More»

Candidates make last-minute preparations

(NEWSER) - A day ahead of Iowa voting, three candidates are within two points of each other in the latest poll: Ron Paul is leading the field at 20%, while Mitt Romney follows at 19% and Rick Santorum boasts 18%, having jumped eight points since earlier this week, notes Public Policy Polling . That gives him the clear momentum; he's also got the highest favorability rating at 60%. Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich trails at 14%, ahead of Rick Perry with 10%, Michele Bachmann with 8%, and Jon Huntsman with 4%. More»

And more from the Sunday talk shows

(NEWSER) - Rick Perry today weighed in on last night's big debate moment— the $10,000 bet . "I was taken a little aback" by Mitt Romney's wager, Perry said on Fox News Sunday, Politico reports. "Driving out to the station this morning I'm pretty sure I didn’t drive by a house that anyone in Iowa would think a $10,000 bet was possible. It was a little out of touch with the normal Iowa citizen." (Perry also addressed a recent gaffe of his own , explaining , "I don’t have memorized all of the Supreme Court judges," but added that Americans "aren’t looking for a robot that can spit out the name of every Supreme Court justice … They're looking for somebody who's got values.") More»