Stories related to: Mitt Romney

Six months before an election in which some estimate Republicans could lose 20 seats in the House and five in the Senate, insiders tell Politico how the GOP can pick itself up: Write some policy. “It’s critical that our candidates have a very clear set of principles,” says Mitt Romney. Think tax-cutting and spending-slashing. More »

John McCain unveiled a new health care plan today, urging a larger role for the government while denouncing universal coverage, the St. Petersburg Times reports. The presumptive GOP nominee wants state nonprofit risk pools that would help those without coverage or unable to pay for it. He said, “I won't create another entitlement program that Washington will let get out of control.” More »

The war to define John McCain hasn't started—the Democrats are still working on each other—but while his advisers look to build the next Dwight Eisenhower, some say McCain may be closer to Bob Dole. John Heilemann of New York tags along as McCain, "a candidate of pronounced and glaring weaknesses," hits the road. More »

While the Democratic candidates were grinding away at each other last night, some other normally stiff shirts were loosening up at the Radio and Television Correspondents annual dinner in DC. The high points: Dressed in hunting hat and shades (no naked lady), Dick Cheney spoofed Barack Obama’s blue-collar gaffe (“Obviously you’re not the kind to look down on a bitter man who clings to his guns”) and Hillary Clinton’s whiskey shot (“Looked like she replaced Mark Penn with Johnnie Walker.’) More »

Mitt Romney would have been a better GOP candidate than John McCain, Howard Dean told the press yesterday—with unlimited cash resources and a willingness to “say anything” to win. “I know him from New England,” the top Dem said, and he “was the candidate I feared the most.” Dean said the Republicans underestimated Mitt, the Wall Street Journal reports, even as he gave a preview of Dems' tacks for the general election. More »

John McCain and Mitt Romney buried the hatchet and hit the campaign trail together in Utah yesterday. Romney thumped McCain 90% to 5% in the state's Republican primary, but he's now stumping and fundraising for his former rival in a week-long trip through the West, AP reports. "We are united. Our job is to energize our party," McCain told a Salt Lake City audience with Romney at his side. More »

The former legal counsel to Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush is siding with Barack Obama, calling the Democrat “a person of integrity, intelligence and good will.” Doug Kmiec disagrees with the candidate on gay marriage, abortion, states’ rights, and the place of religion in the public sphere, but he says Obama’s ability to engage opposing viewpoints won him over. More »

With the GOP nomination in the bag, speculation is shifting to John McCain's possible choices for running mate, the New York Times reports. The 71-year-old McCain would become the oldest person ever elected as a first-term president if he wins this November so there's likely to be even more interest than usual on his choice of vice president. His campaign says there's no short list yet. More »

They've escaped the dreaded "flip-flopper" label, but both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have changed positions on various issues in the course of their campaigns. Appearing absolutely consistent is especially hard for senators, reports the Washington Post , because they have thousands of votes to explain, and many are the products of strategy and compromise. More »

Mitt Romney has been curiously mum since John McCain’s lobbyist scandals broke last week, perhaps because he’s thinking of jumping back into the presidential race. Josh Romney said it was "unlikely, but possible” that his father would throw his hat back in if McCain’s ethics problems broaden and imperil his candidacy, the Deseret Morning News reports. More »

Now that the New York Times ’ long-awaited story on John McCain’s relationship with a female lobbyist is finally out—matched by a similar Washington Post story—how will it affect the presidential race? The New Republic ’s Christopher Orr says the article may cut both ways for conservatives, with some seeing a TImes “attack” as a feather in McCain’s cap and others seeing more evidence of Mac the “sanctimonious phony.” Noam Scheiber says the piece clearly “had its guts ripped out” before it ran—and wonders whether those guts will re-appear. More »

Academics, including those at most theological seminaries, have long ignored the study of Mormonism. But now, possibly because of a certain presidential candidate—or a certain HBO show—it's on the radar in religion departments and scholarly publishing houses, the Boston Globe reports. Harvard Divinity School just added its first course, and whole departments are cropping up at other non-Mormon universities. More »

If history is any guide, Mitt Romney had every reason to smile last week as he endorsed John McCain, the Washington Post reports: Every GOP nominee of the past 30 years, except George W. Bush, finished second in the previous contested primary. Judging from the presumptive 2008 nominee's support of Bush in 2000 and 2004, "McCain understood what it took," says one political scientist. More »

Mike Huckabee is unfazed by delegate math, empty pockets, and the sight of Mitt Romney endorsing John McCain. Rather than be “part of the coronation,” the ex-Arkansas governor is telling backers he plans to take the GOP fight to a brokered convention, Politico reports. Once there, all bets are off. "Top candidates will have an opportunity to make an impassioned plea,” he writes in a fundraising letter. More »

Mitt Romney endorsed former Republican rival John McCain for president today, saying the Arizona senator “understands the war we’re in.” The former Massachusetts governor called McCain “a man who served and suffered for his country.” Romney quit the race last week, having collected 286 delegates in the nomination fight; he is "releasing" them to McCain, which means he'll encourage them to back Mac. More »

He’s already outlasted America’s mayor, a Law and Order star, and a millionaire former governor. Now, despite eating John McCain's dust in the GOP delegate race, Mike Huckabee vowed today to continue to fight for the White House, Reuters reports. “Am I quitting? No, I’m not,” the former Arkansas governor told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington—the same forum Mitt Romney chose to drop out of the race. More »

George W. Bush never mentioned John McCain by name this morning, but he nonetheless sought to give the presumptive GOP nominee a boost among the party's conservative base, the Washington Post reports. "Soon, we will have a nominee who will carry a conservative banner into this election and beyond," he told the Conservative Political Action Conference. More »

One of the most influential Evangelical Christian leaders in the nation is expected today to endorse Mike Huckabee, providing a major boost to his campaign among conservatives, AP reports. James Dobson, founder of Colorado's Focus on the Family organization, has never before endorsed a Republican presidential candidate during a primary campaign. Dobson has grabbed national headlines with a number of controversial comments, including linking stem cell research to Nazi medical experiments and implying that the cartoon character Sponge Bob Square Pants is gay. More »

Pundits won’t have Mitt Romney to kick around anymore after his withdrawal today from the Republican race. Here are four final jabs: Romney fell because he turned his positions inside out, Newsweek 's Howard Fineman says, relying “bad, cynical advice.” Above all, “voters know a phony.” Too bad, because Mitt could have won in a slowing economy if he’d “stuck to selling his managerial mettle.” More »

In the wake of his poor Super Tuesday showing, Mitt Romney ended his presidential campaign this afternoon, CNN reports. In a rousing address at a conservative conference today, the former Massachusetts governor said, “If this were only about me, I’d go on”—but that his presence in the race was preventing a Republican nominee from taking his candidacy national. More »