McCain Warms to Romney 2012

Even though he's 'pro-abortion, pro-gun control, and pro-tax increases'

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich might spend most of his time bashing Mitt Romney , but that doesn't mean he wouldn't endorse the man if it came to that. "I think re-electing Obama is a disaster and I’ll certainly endorse the Republican nominee," Gingrich said today on Good Morning America . "But I think that Mitt Romney will have a very, very hard time differentiating himself [from Obama]." More»

'Very' and 'Somewhat' conservatives went Gingrich, 'liberals' went Romney

(NEWSER) - So how did Newt Gingrich pull off his stunning upset in South Carolina yesterday? Unsurprisingly, by appealing to conservatives, writes Politico . Exit polls indicate that 45% of people calling themselves "very conservative" went to Gingrich, vs. 20% to Rick Santorum and 10% to Ron Paul—Mitt Romney took just 20% of them. Gingrich also won among "somewhat conservative" voters and independents. Romney won "moderate or liberal" voters. More»

GOP voters angry, stuck with bad candidates, say pundits

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich's big win in South Carolina has the Republican establishment squirming and political experts churning, trying to explain what the results mean:

• GOP base in revolt. "People are mad as hell they are about to be stuck with another boring, moderate, uninspiring choice that has at best a 50/50 shot at losing to the worst president since Carter," says Erick Ericson at RedState . "Basically, today’s vote is about Republican grassroots giving the Washington Republican establishment the finger."
• Not about policy, but soul. Gingrich and Mitt Romney don't have many big policy differences; instead this is a debate about the emotion and soul of the Republican Party, reports the AP : 'It might not be pretty."

Politico runs down the issues that could derail his candidacy

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney is looking like the inevitable nominee, but there are still some elephants that have been lurking in the room since the start of his campaign. Alexander Burns of Politico runs down the issues threatening him:

• The Bain problem: So far, Romney's deflected attacks on his private equity past by vaguely equating them with attacks on free enterprise itself . That works for a GOP primary, but won't fly in the general election, given that Romney's entire message is that his private sector experience gives him job creation insight. Speaking of which…

Massachusetts' biggest paper snubs Romney—again

(NEWSER) - The biggest-selling newspaper in the state Mitt Romney governed for four years has snubbed him and endorsed Jon Huntsman to be the GOP nominee. Huntsman has been bold where Romney has been cautious, and "rather than merely sketch out policies, he articulates goals and ideals," the Boston Globe writes, praising the former Utah governor's foreign policy credentials, ability to lead in a bipartisan spirit, and willingness to stand up to those in his party who "reject evolution and the science behind global warming." More»