Pawlenty, Romney Said Out; Odds Rise for Alaska's Palin

Hints at Romney problems, saying too late to 'spin it'

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin topped off the Conservative Political Action Conference last night with a rousing speech, avoiding endorsing any candidate, but certainly hinting at Mitt Romney's weaknesses, reports the Wall Street Journal . Palin said that Republicans need a conservative whose beliefs are "instinctive," not someone molded by spin doctors and Washington consultants. "It's too late in the game to teach it or spin it at this point," said Palin, without actually mentioning Romney by name. "It's either there or it isn't." More»

And Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin is still pretty scary: reactions

(NEWSER) - If you thought Julianne Moore's Sarah Palin was terrifying in the first Game Change teaser , wait until you see her in the full trailer, where she utters lines such as, "We have to win this thing. I so don’t want to go back to Alaska." Watch below, then read on for some reactions:

• This will clearly be "a Frankenstein-esque story about McCain’s staffers coming to regret the choice they made in bringing a little-known governor into the limelight," writes Jon Bershad at Mediaite . "The full trailer ... gives us even more famous actors getting their turn to stare in horror at the 'monster' they’ve created."

Says his former rival 'will lead from the front'

(NEWSER) - No last-minute change of heart: As expected , John McCain today endorsed former rival Mitt Romney for president in New Hampshire, reports NPR . "He will lead from the front as Ronald Reagan did, not from behind as this president does," said McCain. Four years ago, Romney endorsed McCain after dropping out of the GOP race, and McCain returned the favor today. “I am really here for one reason and one reason only, and that is to make sure that Mitt Romney is the next president of the United States,” McCain said. More»

Move doesn't surprise Rick Santorum

(NEWSER) - As Mitt Romney heads to New Hampshire following his razor-thin win in Iowa , he can expect an endorsement from the man who trounced him there four years ago . John McCain plans to endorse Romney and will travel with him on his campaign bus through the state, a campaign insider tells the New York Times . Romney endorsed McCain after dropping out of the race in 2008. More»

HBO debuts first teaser

(NEWSER) - For all of you who have spent the past nine months wondering how Julianne Moore’s Sarah Palin impersonation will stack up against Tina Fey’s , you finally have your answer. HBO debuted its first teaser trailer for Game Change, the film due in March that's based on the Mark Halperin-John Heilemann book about the 2008 presidential election. Neither Ed Harris as John McCain nor Woody Harrelson as top adviser Steve Schmidt sound much like their real-life counterparts, notes David Jackson in USA Today , but Moore’s Palin is spot-on: Numerous publications including People , New York , the Huffington Post , and Jezebel are fairly impressed. More»