2012 Campaign Gets Under Way

Current Republican field riddled with weak spots

(NEWSER) - Republicans talk a good game about challenging President Obama in 2012, but the GOP would look scarier if it had even one legitimate challenger , says Dick Polman. "Obama's job-approval numbers are tepid these days—but he looks robust when matched against actual Republican challengers," warns the Philadelphia Inquirer columnist. "Not to mention the inevitable wounds and scars that any Republican will suffer during a primary season that promises to be downright Darwinian." More»

(NEWSER) - The 2012 presidential race is heating up—at least in a Gallup poll of Republican voters. CQ Politics looks at the results, which have former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney out front, with 26% saying he should top the GOP ticket. Sarah Palin snags 21%, Mike Huckabee gets 19%, and Newt Gingrich scores 14%. But the poll also reports favorability ratings, and there the picture is different: More»

Not one of the slate of hopefuls is electable, writes Chris Cillizza

(NEWSER) - The GOP's presidential 2012 field isn't pretty. "All—that's A-L-L—of the Republicans considering runs carry at least one major flaw," writes Chris Cillizza in the Washington Post . Mitt Romney signed a health care bill similar to President Obama’s. Mississippi governor Haley Barbour “virtually invented lobbying.” Newt Gingrich is on his third marriage. And Sarah Palin? She’s “done next to nothing” to expand beyond her base. More»

Tea Partiers hate it, mainstream contenders support it

(NEWSER) - There’s still a while to go before the official 2012 debates begin—but we have the first unofficial one on our hands, in the form of President Obama’s tax deal. Despite strong support in a vote Monday (only five Republican senators voted against it), 2012 contenders are drawing the battle lines and making it clear they’re either strongly for the deal—or strongly against it. In doing so, they’re making their feelings on taxes and government spending well-known, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Palin, Huckabee, Romney, and Gingrich frontrunners for 2012

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin's Alaska would choose Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, or Mitt Romney over her in a GOP primary for 2012, according to a recent series of Public Policy Polling surveys. The four candidates were the top four choices in 17 of the 18 states surveyed, with Palin coming first in six states, including Texas, Ohio, and Maine, reports TPM , which has a full breakdown of the results by state. More»