George Will: “A straddle is not a political philosophy; it is what you do when you do not have one… Romney, supposedly the Republican most electable next November, is a recidivist reviser of his principles who is not only becoming less electable; he might damage GOP chances of capturing the Senate. Republican successes down the ticket will depend on the energies of the Tea Party and other conservatives, who will be deflated by a nominee whose blurry profile in caution communicates only calculated trimming.”

“Republicans may have found their Michael Dukakis, a technocratic Massachusetts governor who takes his bearings from ‘data’… Has conservatism come so far, surmounting so many obstacles, to settle, at a moment of economic crisis, for THIS?”

A new Des Moines Register Iowa poll shows Herman Cain and Mitt Romney leading the GOP presidential race.

Cain edges Romney, 23% to 22%, with Ron Paul at 12%, Michele Bachmann at 8%, Newt Gingrich at 7%, Rick Perry at 7%, Rick Santorum at 5% and Jon Huntsman at 1%.

Cain has surged 13 points since the first Iowa Poll of the caucus cycle, conducted in late June. His rise has come despite spending little time in Iowa recently, campaigning just once in the state since the August 13 Iowa straw poll.

The Iowa caucuses are scheduled for January 3.

Herman Cain gets the bad lip reading treatment.

Here are previous videos for Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann.

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Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) told the Salt Lake Tribune that he will not run against Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), “narrowing the options for Utah’s most prominent Democrat, but leaving open the prospect of a bid for governor.”

“The six-term congressman also may still run for the U.S. House in the redrawn 2nd Congressional District, where he lives, or in the newly created 4th Congressional District.”

The latest Economist/YouGov survey shows Herman Cain leading the Republican presidential field with 28%, followed by Mitt Romney at 24%, Ron Paul at 9%, Rick Perry at 9%, Newt Gingrich at 7%. All other candidates are below 5%.

Meanwhile, in general election match ups President Obama leads Romney, 48% to 45%, tops Cain, 48% to 40%, and crushes Perry 48% to 38%.

The AP notes Cain’s rise in the polls “appears to be no fluke. Unlike some other Republican presidential contenders who have flamed out after auditioning as the conservative antidote to Mitt Romney, Cain is still riding high atop public opinion surveys.”

This was unexpected: Jon Huntsman’s daughters are the latest to mock Herman Cain’s “smoking” ad.

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Though Mitt Romney said last summer he thought global warming was real and that human activity contributed to it, he was recorded on video at a campaign event changing his position for a conservative audience.

Said Romney: “My view is that we don’t know what’s causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us.”

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Jon Huntsman Sr. tells the Deseret News that people just need to get to know his son — former ambassador to China Jon Huntsman Jr. — to see how perfect he’d be for the job.

Said the edler Hunstman: “If he were running for president of China, he would have already won the election. But he’s had to come here and start from scratch.”

Gary Johnson “knew he was an underdog for the Republican presidential nomination, but his campaign laid out a strategy for breaking through, called ‘the New Hampshire Path,'” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“The idea was that Johnson could build a base of support in the small state where voters place a premium on retail politics. The campaign’s limited resources would go further there than in more expensive states. He even rented a house in Manchester to serve as a base of operations.”

One problem: Johnson nearly failed to qualify for the New Hampshire primary ballot and had to rearrange plans to get to New Hampshire today to file the necessary paperwork in person.

After weeks of missteps, Howard Kurtz reports Herman Cain’s strategists “are slowing the pace to give their man a chance to focus.”

“Cain has made one high-profile blunder after another since his unlikely surge to the top of the GOP presidential polls. By the normal rules of political discourse, he should be back to peddling pepperoni any day now. He has somehow managed to emerge unscathed — but his team is determined to stop the bleeding.”

Said one top aide: “We’re trying to slow down a little bit, make sure he’s rested, make sure he’s focused.”

This post is part of our guest series from Inkwell Strategies analyzing the 2012 campaign ad war.

Political commentators generally agree that the 2012 Republican race will come down to two slots: Mitt Romney and Other. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum clearly agrees with this view, which is why his latest ad attacks Romney’s current biggest threat, Herman Cain.

In an effort to appeal to Iowa’s right wing social conservatives, Santorum zeroes in on Cain’s muddled position on abortion in a new 3 minute web ad. Taking a page from the classic attack ad playbook, the ad mixes unflattering photographs of Cain with quick zooms and clips from recent television appearances in which Cain appears to take a pro-choice stance.

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