****** Rudy Giuliani out of contention for Cabinet
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has removed his name from consideration for a position in President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet, the transition team announced Friday.
Giuliani, who is currently a vice chairman on the presidential transition team, had been rumored to be in consideration for secretary of state.
"My desire to be in the Cabinet was great but it wasn't that great and he had a lot of terrific candidates and I thought I could play a better role being on the outside and continuing to be his close friend and adviser," Giuliani told Fox News' Neil Cavuto.
Trump met with Giuliani on Nov. 29., when the matter was discussed. He confirmed to Fox News that he had only been interested in being secretary of state.
"Honestly, the other positions I didn't have an interest in, so that really was the only one I had any real interest in," he told Cavuto.
Giuliani said he now intends to continue his work in the private sector. He also warned against the selection of Mitt Romney for the position, saying the former Massachusetts governor had "gone over the line" in previous criticisms he made about Trump.
"I will support [Trump's] decision, but my advice would be that Mitt went a little too far. You can make friends and make up but I would not see him as a candidate for the Cabinet," Giuliani told Cavuto.
Trump praised Giuliani in a statement, calling him “an extraordinarily talented and patriotic American.”
"He is and continues to be a close personal friend, and as appropriate, I will call upon him for advice and can see an important place for him in the administration at a later date."
Reince Priebus, tapped to be Trump’s chief of staff, said that Giuliani was “was vetted by our team for any possible conflicts and passed with flying colors."
Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz dropped their buddy-buddy act -- trading blows in explosive exchanges over Cruz's Canadian birth and his denunciation of Trump's "New York values."
The two stole the show the Fox Business Network debate in North Charleston, South Carolina, where Republicans met for their second-to-last debate before the Iowa caucuses.
"I guess the bromance is over," Trump told CNN's Dana Bash afterward.
Here are six takeaways from Thursday night's debate:
Cruz was ready to attack Trump over the real estate mogul's assertion that Cruz's Canadian birth (to a U.S. citizen mother) makes him vulnerable to accusations he is ineligible for the presidency, pointing out that Trump said in September that Cruz is, indeed, on solid legal footing.
"Since September, the Constitution hasn't changed. But the poll numbers have," Cruz said.
He said following Trump's logic to the furthest possible extent, Trump's own qualifications could be questioned due to the businessman's Scottish-born mother.
As Cruz rebutted Trump for raising the issue -- effectively winning the moment -- Trump essentially held his hands up and said he's not the one who's concerned.
"I'm beating you," Trump said. "I think I'm going to win fair and square."
And he succeeded in keeping the question alive -- a loss, in and of itself, for Cruz. Trump asked: "If you become the nominee, who the hell knows if you can even serve in office?"
That's the point Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe, the legal source Trump has cited and Cruz has dismissed as liberal, made on CNN after the debate. "If he did put it to bed, he's certainly sleeping alone," he said.
Trump seemed genuinely taken aback by Cruz's insult of his "New York values."
Cruz explained that jab, saying: "Everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal, are pro-abortion, are pro-gay marriage, focused around money and the media."
That led Trump to launch into a lengthy, emotional defense, pointing to New York City's response to the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
He said that "the people of New York fought and fought and fought, and we saw more death -- the smell of death was with us for months."
"We rebuilt Downtown Manhattan, and everybody in the world watched and loved New York and loved New Yorkers," he said.
Trump's response was moving, but to Cruz it was also predictable. That Cruz stuck with his "New York values" criticism anyway highlights his strategy as the campaign enters its final days: Cruz is heavily courting the evangelicals who dominate the GOP contests in Iowa and South Carolina.
Trump and Cruz were at the center of the night's most memorable exchanges, but Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie traded blows as well.
Rubio accused Christie of supporting Common Core education standards, gun control laws and Planned Parenthood. Christie, echoing a Rubio comeback against Jeb Bush at a debate last fall, accused the senator of attacking him because he was advised it would work politically.
Later, Christie interrupted a wonky tax policy exchange between Cruz and Rubio by shifting the discussion toward entitlements -- and swatting down Rubio's attempt to interject, saying: "You already had your chance, Marco. You blew it."
That Christie was even a target suggests he has a leg up on the two other governors in the race -- Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush -- for the lone ticket out of the New Hampshire primary, which looks likely to winnow the "establishment" crowd.
The debate raised a question: If Bush had a good night but no one paid attention, did he really have a good night?
He hit Trump over his ban-all-Muslims proposal and trade, but Trump wouldn't talk policy and dismissed him with a line that demonstrated why he's so often gotten the best of the former Florida governor, saying: "We don't need a weak person as president of the United States, OK? ... That's essentially what we have now, and we don't need that."
Kasich, meanwhile, got the most engagement of the night from 89-year-old former Democratic Rep. John Dingell, who tweeted: "John Kasich tells more "back in my day" rocking chair stories than me or anyone I know, and I was born during the Coolidge administration."
Cruz thanked Rubio for "dumping your oppo-research book on the debate stage" -- and that's exactly what Rubio had just done.
More than two hours into the debate, Rubio saved what had been a mostly lifeless night by unloading a combination of punches on Cruz.
He hit Cruz on immigration, trade and voting against Department of Defense funding -- and in doing so, he alluded to a potentially damaging theme against Cruz: That he's willing to say and do anything to win.
"That is not consistent conservatism, that is political calculation," Rubio said.
Cruz fought back, arguing that Rubio had distorted his record at every turn and saying Rubio had allied with Democrats like Sen. Chuck Schumer while he sided with Republicans like Sen. Jeff Sessions on immigration.
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll out Thursday showed exactly why the two are fighting. In a two-way race between Trump and Cruz, Cruz wins, 51% to 43%. But in a three-way race, Trump wins, with 40% to Cruz's 31% and Rubio's 26% -- suggesting that the two can't co-exist.
It's probably not surprising two days after the State of the Union address, but President Barack Obama was at the center of the debate.
The first question from Maria Bartiromo invited Cruz to take a shot at Obama's management of the economy -- and the Texas senator decided to also take a swipe at the President over Iranian TV pictures of the captured US naval crew on their knees with their hands on their heads.
Cruz and Christie subsequently both described the President as "a child."
There's no reason to expect the Obama talk to subside between now and November.
With his approval ratings in the mid-40s, Republicans think he's unpopular enough to be a liability for Democrats, especially when they mention him with Hillary Clinton in the same sentence.
But at the same time, his high popularity among Democrats means that barring a huge slump in his favorability ratings, there's good reason for the eventual Democratic nominee not to run too far away from him either.
No, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul didn't change his mind and show up for Thursday's 6 p.m. undercard round.
But skipping the debate worked for him.
Over the past couple of days, Paul appeared on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
He was interviewed on "The Daily Show" and "The Dr. Oz Show." He held a live Twitter town hall from the social media giant's New York City offices. He Periscoped for 20 minutes during the debate. He appeared on Glenn Beck and Laura Ingraham's radio shows.
It was a lot of exposure, and he didn't miss much -- the undercard debate with Carly Fiorina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum felt like a non-event with three candidates whose moments have come and gone.
Still, if the undercard did nothing to change those candidates' trajectories, skipping it likely did little to help Paul's. It was the best option he had, but his message with the free airtime was mostly to complain about not having been invited to the prime-time debate.
"If you're designated as someone who is not in contention, that is very disruptive to a campaign that is about three weeks out," he told CNN's Alisyn Camerota on "New Day" Thursday. "There's only one debate tonight. Let's be honest about this."
Sen. Lindsey Graham is dropping out of the presidential race, his campaign announced this morning.
Graham, a South Carolina Republican serving his third term, addressed his supporters in a video and an email.
"While we have run a campaign that has made a real difference, I have concluded this is not my time," Graham said.
Graham's focus on national security and fighting terrorism was influential in the overall primary debate, but he was not well known outside South Carolina or the Senate. He failed to poll above single digits nationally or in the early voting states.
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that with Graham's announcement, "Republicans lost our most qualified, thoughtful, fearless and honest presidential candidate, not to mention the candidate with the best (and it seemed sometimes the only) sense of humor."
"Despite the disadvantages he faced in resources and debate opportunities, Lindsey’s message of serious statesmanship and problem-solving in public affairs, his forthright opposition to policies and attitudes that would endanger our country and reflect poorly on our party, and his genuine decency and humility won him many new admirers," McCain said in a statement.
Graham stood out in the crowded Republican field by promoting his efforts at compromise with Democrats on issues such as reducing the federal debt and fixing immigration laws.
"This has been a problem solver’s campaign. However the centerpiece of my campaign has been securing our nation," Graham said in his farewell video. "I got into this race to put forward a plan to win a war we cannot afford to lose and to turn back the tide of isolationism that was rising in our party.
I believe we have made enormous progress in this effort."
Graham, 60, won a third Senate term last year after defeating a big crowd of primary challengers without a runoff. He returns to the U.S. Senate with five years left on his term, and is frequently mentioned as potential defense secretary if a Republican wins the White House in 2016.
Although his poll numbers suffered in the last few weeks, even in his home state, he has the backing of several Republican leaders in South Carolina. If Graham chooses to endorse one of the other remaining candidates, it could sway some votes before South Carolina Republicans go to the polls in February.
"Senator Graham has an incredibly strong and loyal grassroots network in South Carolina," said South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Matt Moore. "Given Senator Graham's huge primary victory in South Carolina just last year, the Graham network could have a major impact on South Carolina's presidential primary."
Graham began exploring the possibility of a campaign early this year and officially declared his candidacy on June 1.
He raised enough money to travel to Iowa and New Hampshire, but started losing ground when the national Republican party and the sponsors of the televised debates divided the field into front runners and long shots, and he was relegated to the second tier debates.
Depsite several stand out debate performances, his poll numbers never went up enough to qualify for the prime time events, where he would have relished the confrontations with Donald Trump and the rest of the field.
Monday's decision allows Graham's name to be removed from South Carolina's Feb. 20 presidential ballot.
Tuesday night during the GOP Debate in LAS VEGAS, former U.S. Senator & 2016 Presidential candidate Rick Santorum made some very intelligent, valid remarks about Defeating ISIL and Radical Islamist ideology.
However because SANTORUM is a Christian, the Mainstream Media will attempt to portray him as a Hateful, Muslim-hating lunatic.
Rick Santorum & Newt Gingrich have now joined the "Etch-a-Sketch" Political Fray after Romney's Adviser mentioned it this Morning. Both Santorum & Gingrich are losing Badly to Romney.
Rick Santorum has found an unlikely new rallying point: The Etch A Sketch.
Santorum's campaign has aggressively seized on a comment Wednesday morning by Romney Communications Director Eric Fehrnstrom, who was asked on CNN if he was concerned that the primary challenge from Santorum and Newt Gingrich "might force the governor to tack so far to the right" that Romney will alienate moderates who would otherwise vote for him if and when he reaches the general election.
"Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign," Fehrnstrom responded. "Everything changes. It's almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again."
The comment reflected a political reality: Presidential candidates from both parties traditionally tend to play to their base in the primary before tacking toward the center in a general election in order to win moderates. But it also played directly into the Santorum campaign's argument that conservatives can't trust Romney to stand up for their beliefs in the general election.
In the middle of a campaign event in Louisiana Wednesday, Santorum, grasping an Etch A Sketch, said he was launching "what I'll call my Etch A Sketch tour of America." It was not the first time Santorum brought up Fehrnstrom's comment Wednesday.
"Imagine, had Mitt Romney been around at the time we were drafting our Constitution," he said. "He would just shake it and just shook it up after it was approved to rewrite it. We're talking about big things here folks, this isn't a joke or a game. We're talking about important things in our society. Freedom is not something that you go out and give nice lofty highbrow speeches about and then turn around the next day and say no, when we have to go out and work in a general election, I'll go back to my government control approach."
Added Santorum: "The people of Louisiana have a choice to make now that we know what's very clear about the Romney campaign. We all knew it before, as he was all over the place on every issue, but now they've made it clear. They think they have this nomination in the bag so it's time to reset. It's time to start moving to the middle. We have an opportunity here in Louisiana to make a very clear statement. We're not looking for someone who's the Etch A Sketch candidate. We're looking for someone who writes what they believe in in stone and stands true to what they say."
A Santorum adviser told CBS News/National Journal reporter Lindsey Boerma that the campaign had stopped at a Toys "R" Us store on the way to the event and picked up four Etch A Sketch toys - and that on the way to the event they were doing drawings of Romney in the car. (Santorum's campaign tweeted out a photo of Santorum using the toy with the caption "@RickSantorum studying up on @MittRomney policy positions.")
Meanwhile, Santorum spokeswoman Alice Stewart showed up at a Romney event in Maryland and handed out Etch A Sketches to reporters.
"The point is that clearly the Romney camp acknowledged what we've all been afraid of is that if he were to make it through the primary he would abandon his conservative principles and go right back to the middle," she said, pointing to Romney's relatively moderate record as Massachusetts governor. "That's absolutely the last thing that we need as conservatives."
The Santorum team isn't alone in mocking Romney over the comment. Newt Gingrich brought an Etch A Sketch to a campaign event, where he gave it to a toddler and said that with it, the child could be a presidential candidate too. He also tweeted that "Etch-A-Sketch is a great toy but a losing strategy. We need a nominee w/bold conservative solutions."
Democratic consultant Matt Ortega, meanwhile, went up with a website, etchasketchmittromney.com, featuring what are presented as Romney's contradictory statements on an Etch A Sketch screen. And on Twitter, Romney's critics asked what other toys might describe the former Massachusetts governor using the hashtag #RomneyToys. (A few samples: "Hungry, Hungry Corporations," "Backtrackgammon," "My Little Phony.")
The gaffe blunted a bit of positive news for Romney Wednesday: His endorsement from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Romney responded to questions about the criticism late Wednesday afternoon by saying that his campaign "takes on a different profile," if he gets the nomination, but his positions won't change.
"I can tell you this: When the campaign moves to becoming a general election campaign, the nature of the campaign itself in terms of staff, funding, the states we would go to will be different than today, obviously," he said, adding that the campaign becomes "much larger" and involves working with the Republican National Committee.
"The issues I'm running on will be exactly the same," Romney added, saying he "was a conservative Republican governor" and is "running as a conservative Republican."
Meanwhile, the company behind the Etch a Sketch, Ohio Art Company, says it is thrilled with all the attention. The company put out a statement in which it said that it is "Happy to see Etch A Sketch, an American classic toy, is DRAWING attention with political candidates as a cultural icon and important piece of our society."
It goes on: "A profound toy, highly recognized and loved by all, is now SHAKING up the national debate. Nothing is as quintessentially American as Etch A Sketch and a good old fashion political debate. We are pleased with the added attention being drawn to Etch A Sketch which is truly one of the most recognizable, iconic and fun toys ever developed. As one of the most classic toys of all time, Etch A Sketch has always sold particularly well with today's consumer. It is too early to tell, but we are hopeful to see if there is an uptake in sales given this recent exposure."
I'm sorry folks but after Mitt Romney won Illinois last night & Jeb Bush endorsed him this morning, I don't see how Rick Santorum can continue on in this Primary. It takes BIG Money & Santorum just doesn't have it.
After Romney scored that Endorsement from Jeb Bush, I believe Santorum, Gingrich & Paul are ALL finished!
For some time, Rick Santorum's presidential campaign has argued the former senator would be winning more votes -- and thus, more delegates -- in the Republican presidential primary if Newt Gingrich were to drop out.
The Illinois primary provided the latest evidence that may not be the case. Furthermore, Gingrich continues to insist he's going all the way to the Republican National Convention in August.
Hence, the Santorum campaign Tuesday night slightly recalibrated its message. Rather than calling on Gingrich to drop out, the Santorum campaign asked Gingrich voters to join them. There's some evidence Santorum's pitch could work in Louisiana, the next state to hold its primary.
After Santorum lost by a double-digit margin to Mitt Romney in Illinois Tuesday night, Santorum's chief strategist John Brabender told reporters, "It's time for Gingrich supporters to get behind us if they truly want a conservative candidate."
"We need not only Gingrich supporters," he added. "We would love to have Newt Gingrich be an important voice for our campaign, quite frankly. We would like to have people that are working for Gingrich to be working for us."
Based on remarks he made to Fox News' Sean Hannity Tuesday night, it doesn't look like Gingrich will be joining the Santorum team any time soon.
"Frankly, Sen. Santorum, who I like personally, I think has a hard time explaining why the guy who set the all-time record for losing Pennsylvania, somebody who... as part of the leadership ran up a trillion, $700 billion in deficits, and was part of the largest defeat since Watergate in 2006, as part of the leadership, [should be president]," Gingrich said. "I'm staying in this race because I really do think it's a question of who can beat Barack Obama."
He added that, after finishing fourth in Illinois, "I think we have a much better chance of winning in Louisiana."
While the former House speaker may not like the idea, the latest poll out of Louisiana suggests Gingrich supporters could get behind Santorum.
A poll conducted March 19 by Magellan, a Republican firm that uses robocalling, Santorum leads in Louisiana with 37 percent. Romney carries 24 percent support while Gingrich takes 21 percent. The poll has a 2.18-point margin of error. In a two-person race between Santorum and Romney, Santorum's lead widens to a 21-point margin (55 percent to 34 percent). As many as 61 percent of Gingrich supporters would move to the Santorum column, according to the poll, while just 22 percent would back Romney.
In North Carolina, which holds its Republican primary on May 8, the Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling shows Romney in the lead with 31 percent while Santorum wins 27 percent and Gingrich 24 percent. However, the poll suggests that if Gingrich were to drop out, Santorum would lead with 42 percent to Romney's 38 percent.
Polling is scant in other states where Gingrich's decision to stay in or drop out could make a difference, such as Texas or Arkansas.
Furthermore, there's enough evidence to suggest Santorum could have to proactively court Gingrich voters rather than just let them flock to his campaign as Gingrich loses steam. In Illinois, CBS News exit polling showed that if it came down to Santorum versus Romney, 8 percent of Santorum's share of support would come from Gingrich voters while 6 percent of Romney's supporters would come from former Gingrich backers.
A recent Gallup poll also suggested that nationally, Gingrich supporters would split between Santorum and Romney.
Mitt Romney beat back Rick Santorum in the Illinois Republican presidential primary Tuesday, Fox News projects, notching his latest win in an industrial state after shelling out big bucks on advertising.
The victory delivers a setback to Santorum, with just a few contests left on the calendar until late April. And it helps Romney build his case that he is marching inexorably toward the number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination.
It's too early to say how the candidates will split up the 54 delegates up for grabs on Tuesday, but Romney will certainly be able to pad his lead in the overall delegate race.
Very early returns show Romney leading with 54 percent in Illinois, followed by Santorum with 28 percent. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are battling for third place.
The candidates head next to Louisiana, where polling shows Santorum has the edge, but the state is not worth as many delegates as Illinois.
Santorum had fought hard for an Illinois upset, campaigning in the state and hoping to follow up his back-to-back wins in Alabama and Mississippi a week earlier.
Despite those wins, Santorum has struggled to make any delegate gains on Romney, who most recently added to his lead with a shut-out victory in Puerto Rico over the weekend.
In Illinois, Romney invested heavily ahead of Tuesday's vote. Romney and the super PAC that supports him outspent Santorum and his super PAC by roughly 7-1 in the state.
Operational problems in the Santorum camp also opened the door for Romney to win more delegates on Tuesday, regardless of the outcome. Because of filing problems, Santorum was ineligible for 10 of the 54 delegates at stake.
Exit polls in the state showed Romney dominating among self-described moderates, as well as voters who view electability as the most important candidate quality.
Romney enjoyed 52 percent of support among moderates, compared with 24 percent for Santorum.
Santorum was leading among voters who most want their nominee to either have strong moral character or be a "true conservative."
Though Gingrich and Paul continue to campaign, neither campaigned extensively in Illinois.
The two trail in delegates, with Gingrich at 136 and Paul at 50.
Including Romney's victory last weekend in Puerto Rico, the former Massachusetts governor had 522 delegates going into the Illinois voting, according to The Associated Press count. Santorum had 252. It takes 1,144 to win the nomination.
Going into Illinois, Romney and Santorum sparred over their economic credentials.
"Senator Santorum has the same economic lightweight background the president has," Romney said at one point. "We're not going to replace an economic lightweight with another economic lightweight."
Santorum had a tart reply: "If Mitt Romney's an economic heavyweight, we're in trouble."
As Illinois Republicans voted on Tuesday, Romney raised more than $1.3 million at a luncheon in Chicago.
He planned an election-night event in nearby Schaumburg, Ill., while Santorum was in Gettysburg, Pa., site of Illinois favorite son Abraham Lincoln's most famous speech.
Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, has been seeking to make up in broadcast interviews what he has lacked in advertising money.
On Monday, his campaign began before sun-up and ended well after dark, including four appearances at rallies around the state, as well as an extraordinary 19 radio and television interviews.
He accused Romney anew of putting his signature on a Massachusetts health insurance law that is similar to the one Obama pushed through Congress.
Romney cut short his planned time in Puerto Rico, site of caucuses last weekend, to maximize his time in Illinois. He has eked out victories in other big industrial states over the past few weeks, beginning in Michigan on Feb. 28 and Ohio on March 6.
In Illinois, as in Michigan and Ohio, Romney enjoyed an enormous advantage in TV advertising. His campaign and Restore Our Future, a super PAC that supports him, outspent Santorum and his super PAC by $3.5 million to $500,000, an advantage of at least 7-1.
One estimate by the Campaign Media Analysis Group, cited by CBS News, put the margin at 18-1.
Illinois was the 28th state to hold a primary or caucus in the selection of delegates to the nominating convention, about halfway through the calendar of a Republican campaign that has remained competitive longer than most.
Next up is a primary Saturday in Louisiana, where Santorum projects confidence following twin triumphs a week ago in Alabama and Mississippi.
There are 25 delegates at stake. After Louisiana is a three-primary night in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Wisconsin on April 3, with 95 delegates combined at stake.
Santorum is not on the ballot in Washington, D.C., but is ahead in opinion polls in Maryland. Wisconsin -- adjacent to Illinois -- shapes up as the most competitive primary of the night.
Judging from the coverage of Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign over the last few weeks, you might think that the former Pennsylvania Senator’s numbers would be cratering among women.
But you would be wrong. Way wrong.
In a new Washington Post-ABC poll, Santorum’s numbers among Republican and Republican-leaning women have soared over the past month. He now has the highest favorability rating among that group of any of the top-tier Republican presidential candidates.
The poll numbers reinforce findings from recent exit polls that suggest Santorum is holding steady — if not strengthening — among Republican women. In Alabama, Santorum beat former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney by eight points among women; in Mississippi, Santorum took 35 percent among women to 32 percent for Romney.
There are a variety of theories as to why Santorum’s numbers among women have improved even amid an onslaught of negative press regarding comments he has made about contraception and women’s rights.
One is that Santorum’s rise in favorability among women in the Post-ABC poll is due less to the positions he has taken on women’s issues than to the fact that he went from a largely unknown figure in January to the main alternative to Romney in March. Santorum’s numbers among men have also bumped up — although far less significantly — over the past few months.
The second theory is that all of the negative press has convinced many Republican women that Santorum is the victim of a relentless attack from the national media, which most GOP voters — men and women — believe to be biased in favor of Democrats. Being hammered by the media then — regardless of the reason — is a sort of badge of honor for Santorum.
The third potential reason for Santorum’s improved position among Republican women is that he has successfully framed the issue as one of government imposing on people’s personal beliefs — an argument that hits home with the GOP base. Karen Santorum, the candidate’s wife, made that case during an appearance on CNN Monday night. “I think the issue is the government forcing people to go against their conscience,” she said. “That’s really the issue here.”
Regardless of the reason, it’s clear that Santorum’s comments have not hurt him one bit with his target audience at the moment: Republicans — and, in particular, Republican women.
That said, if Santorum does become the Republican presidential nominee, his positions almost certainly will be far more problematic for independent women who are widely assumed to be the swing voting bloc this fall.
Since GOP leaders have Deep pockets & more than enough money to beat Pres. Obama, Democrat & Independent Candidates this year, the ONLY way Pres. Obama is sure to win his bid for Re-election is via Widespread National Voter Support.
As it stands Mitt Romney has NOTHING to use against Pres. Obama other than Negative Ads & lots of $$$$.
But...
American Voters are not stupid!
If Pres. Obama garners the majority of Popular Voter Support in his corner, he can squeak out a Win against Romney.
President Barack Obama leads all of the Republican presidential candidates in Virginia, and it doesn't appear that putting Gov. Bob McDonnell on the ticket would help, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.
The poll, which was conducted March 13-18 with 1,034 registered voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points, shows Obama with a 50-42 percent margin over Mitt Romney. That is his biggest lead over Romney in this election cycle, according to Quinnipiac's polling.
If Republicans opt for McDonnell as their vice presidential nominee, Quinnipiac said that would not help the GOP carry the state. An Obama-Biden ticket against Romney and McDonnell had Democrats winning, 50-43 percent.
"What this Quinnipiac University survey finds is that despite the governor's approval ratings with Virginia voters, he does not appear to help give the GOP the state's electoral votes," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
Other results from Quinnipiac's poll:
Obama wins head-to-head against other Republican contenders:
* 54-35 percent over Newt Gingrich; * 49-40 percent over Rick Santorum; * 49-39 percent over Ron Paul.
"President Barack Obama has opened up some daylight in Virginia against his Republican challengers," Brown said. "His margin over Romney, in the state where Obama has been struggling after his win in 2008, compares to a slight 47-43 percent lead in February."
"The president's lead over Romney in Virginia is due mainly to his strong margin among women, 52-39 percent, but he also wins 48 percent of men to Romney's 45 percent," Brown said.
According to the poll, Obama grabs 97 percent of Democrats in the state and 46 percent of independent voters compared to Romney's 43 percent. Romney leads with Republicans, 84-6 percent.
Meanwhile, according to the poll, Virginia voters approve 49-47 percent of the job the president is doing, Obama's best score in almost a year, and say 49-47 percent he deserves to be reelected, also his best score.
Here we go again -- another Tuesday, another "must-win" primary state for Mitt Romney.
Fifty-four delegates are up for grabs Tuesday when Illinois votes for the Republican presidential nominee.
But for the former Massachusetts governor, capturing the popular vote might be just as important as increasing his lead in the battle for delegates.
"Romney could really use a romp in Illinois. It wouldn't put him over the top, but it would put him back on track with a head of steam," said CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley.
After finishing third last Tuesday in Alabama and Mississippi to his main rival for the nomination, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, and to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Romney regained a bit of momentum on Sunday when he trounced Santorum in Puerto Rico's primary, getting 83% of the vote and picking up all 20 delegates up for grabs.
Now comes Illinois, with a large, somewhat moderate GOP electorate, thanks to the large number of voters in metropolitan Chicago.
Call Illinois the new Michigan, or the new Ohio -- the last two "must-win" states.
Back on February 28, pundits said Romney had to win Michigan, the state where he grew up and where his father was governor. He did.
A week later, on Super Tuesday, political analysts and strategists said Romney had to win the crucial battleground state of Ohio. Again, he did, narrowly edging out Santorum.
"If he and Santorum stay true to the template that fits most of the past contests, Santorum will pull strongly in rural and more conservative downstate Illinois and Romey will do better up north, in the more populous areas, particularly around Chicago and its suburbs," said Crowley, anchor of CNN's "State of the Union." Republican consultant Matt Mackowiak agrees.
"Illinois presents a must-win for Romney as the state's more moderate makeup and urban population set up better for Romney than Santorum," Mackowiak said.
An American Research Group poll released Monday showed Romney with a 14-point lead over Santorum. According to the survey, which was conducted over the weekend, 44% of likely GOP primary voters in Illinois said they were backing Romney, with 30% supporting Santorum, 13% backing Gingrich and 8% supporting Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.
Romney added events in Illinois on Friday morning and Saturday evening and all day Sunday, cutting back on time in Puerto Rico to Friday evening and Saturday morning. He also dropped his emphasis on the math that he argued made it clear that he alone has the only shot during the primary and caucus season to reach the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.
Over the past few days, he appears to be increasing his attention to female voters and to gas prices.
"People across this country are wondering what they are going to do with these gasoline prices," Romney said Monday morning at an event in Springfield. "A lot of moms are wondering if they can take their kids from event to event, from school to soccer practice. People are hurting in this country with gasoline prices the way they are. And the prices are, to a degree, a result of failed economic policies by this president."
And he continued to tout his economic credentials and attack Santorum over the economy.
"I am someone experienced in the economy. I am not an economic lightweight. President Obama is. We are not going to be successful replacing an economic lightweight with another economic lightweight. We are going to have replace him with someone who knows how to run this economy."
In response, Santorum asked if Americans wanted a president with ties to big banks. "I heard Gov.
Romney here called me an 'economic lightweight' because I wasn't a Wall Street financier like he was. Do you really believe this country wants to elect a Wall Street financier as the president of the United States?" Santorum asked at a campaign rally in Rockford.
Later Monday, the two campaigns argued over a quote from Santorum at a rally in Moline, Illinois, in which he hit on an often-repeated theme that the two biggest issues in the campaign were freedom and health care, and Romney would be a weaker candidate on the latter because the health care reform effort Romney oversaw in Massachusetts was the "blueprint for Obamacare."
"We need a candidate who's going to be a fighter for freedom -- who's going to get up and make that the central theme in this race, because it is the central theme in this race.
I don't care what the unemployment rate is going to be. It doesn't matter to me. My campaign doesn't hinge on unemployment rates and growth rates. There's something more foundational that's going on here," Santorum said.
Following Santorum's speech, Romney's team blasted out an e-mail to reporters with a link to a five-second clip of Santorum saying: "I don't care what the unemployment rate is going to be. It doesn't matter to me."
In the e-mail from Romney's campaign, spokeswoman Andrea Saul criticized Santorum over the comment.
"Wow. Sen. Santorum may not care about the unemployment rate in this country or the nearly 24 million Americans struggling for work, but Mitt Romney does and is running to get people back to work," Saul said.
After Santorum's event, he sought to clear up his remarks, telling reporters that he is concerned about the unemployment rate.
"Of course I care about the unemployment rate, I want the unemployment rate to go down, but I'm saying my candidacy doesn't hinge on whether the unemployment rate goes up or down," Santorum said. "Our candidacy is about something that transcends things, about freedom."
Later, Santorum's spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement to CNN that Romney's team was "trying to deceive voters."
"Rick was making the point that the Santorum campaign is not based solely on unemployment rates -- it's based on returning freedom and restoring this country's greatness -- and that it's a mistake for anyone to try and reduce the idea of America to just the 'economy.' Sadly, Mitt Romney thinks this country and this election should be reduced to math, money and spreadsheets," Gidley said.
Regardless of what polling shows, Santorum remains confident. And he knows the stakes hold in Illinois.
"If we're able to get out of Illinois with a huge or surprise win, I guarantee you, I guarantee you, that we will win this nomination. We will nominate a conservative, we will beat Barack Obama in the fall election," he told voters Saturday night in Effingham, Illinois.
And his criticism of Romney appears to be getting more personal.
"It really has to do with what your principles and your core is," Santorum said Monday in an interview on CBS. "I have a core. I'm someone who has really strong convictions about the limited role of government, about the importance of having a strong defense, you know, lowering taxes and getting regulation down. That's a sharp contrast with Mitt Romney."
GOP strategist and CNN contributor Alex Castellanos says to win, Romney needs to think big.
"Romney can put this campaign away only if he elevates his campaign into a cause. Romney's campaign now is only about why he's a better businessman than Barack Obama.
He is offering a very small campaign to a country craving a big change in direction. And Americans want to be part of something large, not something small," said Castellanos, who was a media adviser for Romney's 2008 White House bid but who's not taking sides this cycle.
"This campaign is his for the taking but Romney won't put this race away until he offers voters a purpose larger than his campaign provides them today."
Gingrich made a quick swing through Illinois last week, but those were his last stops in the state. He is concentrating his efforts on Louisiana, which holds its primary on Saturday. Paul made one stop in the state last week as well.
But neither campaign is putting any ad money into the state.
Romney is once again pouring big bucks into a crucial state. His campaign and the pro-Romney super PAC "Restore Our Future" have spent more than $4 million on broadcast and cable ads.
At the same time, Santorum's campaign "Red, White and Blue Fund" super PAC that supports him has spent about $530,000 in television time in the state -- that equates to about a 7-1 spending advantage for Romney
So what if Santorum pulls the upset in Illinois? It will be costly to Romney, Mackowiak said.
"While Romney does appear the likely nominee, losing Illinois will intensify concerns about Romney, potentially drive Gingrich from the race (forcing a Romney-Santorum head-to-head matchup) and drag out the already costly primary," said Mackowiak, a former press secretary to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and former Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana.
"While Santorum has repeatedly over-performed polling, Romney should win Illinois Tuesday giving him a significant momentum boost and slowing down Santorum's progress."
Crowley had a similar take, saying a loss for Romney "would be close to catastrophic for him."
And a Romney victory?
"A nice win would at least let Romney dust himself off after losses in Alabama and Mississippi," she said.
President Barack Obama collected $45 million for his re-election bid in February, accelerating his fundraising pace as his campaign frets over an oncoming spending blitz by Republican-leaning outside groups.
Obama’s monthly haul was nearly twice as much as the $23 million per month average he raised during the final three months of 2011 and more than the $29.1 million he raised in January. Yet the largesse still fell short of the $56 million he raised in February 2008, when he was seeking the Democratic nomination against Hillary Rodham Clinton.
With Republicans locked in an extended primary, Obama’s team has tried to build a large 50-state operation that will help it register new voters, bring back past supporters and boost turnout. Obama’s campaign had about $75 million in the bank through the end of January; totals for February were not immediately available.
Campaign officials have implored supporters to donate money and get involved, pointing to Republican-leaning super PACs expected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to defeat the president. Obama’s campaign said earlier this year that it would bless big-money super PACs supporting Democrats as a way of countering the Republican effort.
In an email to donors last week, campaign manager Jim Messina cited a poll showing Obama trailing Republican Mitt Romney and asked them to get involved.
“We’re looking at a race that will be tighter than you think. And the other side has groups ready to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to tear down President Obama,” Messina said.
Obama has consistently outraised his Republican opponents. Romney, who has led the Republican field in fundraising, brought in $6.5 million in January, about a quarter of what Obama raised that month.
But Obama’s totals in February lagged behind what candidate Obama raised four years ago, before he had the benefit of the entire Democratic Party apparatus behind him.
Kirsten Kukowski, a Republican National Committee spokeswoman, said Obama was “having a hard time convincing voters he deserves another term” following three years of “record debt, high unemployment, and soaring gas prices and healthcare costs.”
Obama’s campaign said nearly 350,000 people contributed in February and the average donation was about $59 for the entire election cycle. Nearly 98 percent of the donations were $250 or less. The money was spread among Obama’s campaign, the Democratic Party and two campaign funds.
Obama has boosted fundraising efforts in recent weeks, holding events last month in Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. Last week, Obama raised money in Chicago and Atlanta.
The fundraising reports were being filed ahead of a Tuesday campaign finance deadline for presidential campaigns.
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