A new CNN/Opinion Research poll confirms what many other recent national polls have found: Newt Gingrich is the new GOP presidential frontrunner.

Gingrich leads with 24%, followed by Mitt Romney at 20%, Herman Cain at 17%, Rick Perry at 11%, Ron Paul at 9%, Michele Bachmann at 5%, Rick Santorum at 4% and Jon Hunstman at 3%.

Said pollster Keating Holland: “But don’t think that Gingrich has risen in the polls simply because other alternatives to Romney have fizzled. The number of Republicans who would be pleased or enthusiastic if he won the party’s nomination has grown from 51% in May to 70% now — not the kind of numbers you would expect if voters were ‘settling’ for Gingrich.”

“I tasted a beer and tried a cigarette once, as a wayward teenager, and never did it again.”

— Mitt Romney, in a forthcoming People magazine interview.

Mitt Romney told the Nashua Telegraph that his staff wiped electronic records at the end of his term as governor because they didn’t want “opposition research teams” to have access to them.

Said Romney: “Well, I think in government we should follow the law. And there has never been an administration that has provided to the opposition research team, or to the public, electronic communications. So ours would have been the first.”

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A new American Research Group poll in New Hampshire finds Mitt Romney leading the Republican presidential field with 33%, followed by Newt Gingrich at 22% and Ron Paul at 12%.

Support for Romney has remained steady for months. In April, support for Romney was at 32%. Romney was at 29% in June and 30% in September. 

Paul Begala: “Republicans, apparently, will date anyone before they’ll marry Mitt. Remember their brief fling with Donald Trump? Then, after he decided not to throw his hair into the ring, they fell for Michele Bachmann, the Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya of the far right. Then it was Rick Perry — the guy who claims he jogs with a loaded gun (without a safety) tucked into his shorts. And now that they’ve tired of Herman Cain’s, umm, hands-on style of leadership, it’s Newt’s turn.”

“And so, like MacArthur, Newt has returned. I, for one, could not be happier–but then again, I’m a Democrat, so I have to take my political pleasures where I can find them. I seriously doubt Newt will be the GOP nominee. But a guy can dream, can’t he?”

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Rep. Charlie Bass (R-NH) endorsed Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination, the Nasua Telegraph reports.

Jonathan Bernstein: “The political science literature tells us that high-profile endorsements are important indicators for at least two reasons. One is that these endorsements probably have a direct effect, as primary voters with little way of choosing from among similar-sounding candidates may turn to opinion leaders to sort things out. The other, and perhaps more important, factor is that high-profile endorsements are the most visible ways of seeing the co-ordination of party actors as they compete over the nomination and eventually settle on a candidate.”

First Read looks at the finger-pointing in the wake of the debt supercommittee’s failure to agree on a required $1.2 trillion in spending cuts.

“Republicans — as well as GOP presidential contenders like Mitt Romney — are blaming President Obama for not doing more (even though House Speaker John Boehner and the GOP walked away from the president’s grand-bargain offer last summer). Democrats are blaming Republicans for not making a serious effort to place higher taxes and more tax revenue on the table. And Republicans are blaming Democrats for not making a serious effort to reform entitlement spending. But the institution of Congress needs to take a deep look into the mirror. Because of how it works — legislation has to pass both chambers to get to the president’s desk, and 60 votes are now needed to get almost anything through the Senate — both sides have to come together to get anything done. And right now, that’s not happening. Make no mistake: This likely will hurt ALL incumbents; Congress’ job rating will get lower (who knew that was possible?); and will make running against Washington all the more appealing.”

“I waste less energy. I do fewer dumb things.”

— Newt Gingrich, in an interview with David Brody, on why he’s a better candidate today than years ago.

As the Republican presidential primary enters its final leg, the
candidates are set to “unleash a torrent of spending — finally hitting
the airwaves with television ads, putting out a steady flood of campaign
mail and revving up their paid organizing efforts,” according to Politico.

“The
2012 field will never catch up with last cycle’s primary spending, but
they’re about to pick up the pace. While it’s impossible to say exactly
how much money the candidates have stockpiled, at least four appear to
have sizable seven-figure sums on hand: Romney, Rick Perry, Herman
Cain and Ron Paul. Both Romney and Perry reported having about $15
million in the bank at the end of September, while Paul announced $3.7
million on hand. Cain had a more modest $1.3 million, but his campaign
has claimed to have raised some $9 million from supporters incensed over
the spate of sexual harassment allegations recently made against him.”