“Just before Mitt Romney left the Massachusetts governor’s office and first ran for president, 11 of his top aides purchased their state-issued computer hard drives, and the Romney administration’s e-mails were all wiped from a server,” the Boston Globe reports.

“Romney administration officials had the remaining computers in the governor’s office replaced just before Governor Deval Patrick’s staff showed up to take power in January 2007… As a result, Patrick’s office, which has been bombarded with inquiries for records from the Romney era, has no electronic record of any Romney administration e-mails.”

Ben Smith: “It’s also, perhaps, a mark of how dangerous is is for Romney that his old office is now occupied by one of Obama’s closest allies.”

The latest Economist/YouGov poll shows Newt Gingrich leading the Republican presidential race nationally with 23%, followed closely by Herman Cain at 21% and Mitt Romney at 19%.

The remainder of the field is far back: Ron Paul at 7%, Rick Perry at 6%, Michele Bachmann at 5%, Jon Huntsman at 5%, Rick Santorum at 2% and Gary Johnson at 1%.

The Albuquerque Journal reports a federal grand jury is investigating whether former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) violated campaign finance laws during his unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid by raising money to settle a threatened lawsuit by a woman who worked in state government.

“Several people familiar with some aspects of the investigation have mentioned similarities to pending criminal charges against former presidential candidate John Edwards on allegations that his campaign supporters paid to shield the candidate from a public scandal.”

Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff told David Gregory that Newt Gingrich’s $1.6 million consulting contract with Freddie Mac to provide “strategic advice” is an example of the corruption that’s taken over Washington politics.

Said Abramoff: “People who come to Washington who have public service, and they cash in on it. And they use their public service and their access to make money, and unfortunately Newt Gingrich is one of them who’s done it. I don’t know if he’ll survive this, to be honest with you.”

He added that Gingrich is “doing and engaging in the exact kind of corruption that America disdains. The very things that anger the Tea Party movement and the Occupy Wall Street movement and everybody who is not in a movement and watches Washington.”

“He’s a man with no ethical core whatsoever. There are a number of conservatives whom I
respect… Newt’s just never had any principles, so no I’m not surprised
about this at all.”

— Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), quoted by the Boston Globe, about Newt Gingrich’s $1.6 million contract with Freddie Mac for “strategic advice.”

A new Iowa State University/Gazette/KCRG poll in Iowa finds Herman Cain still leading the Republican field in the first presidential voting state.

Cain leads with 25%, followed by Ron Paul at 20%, Mitt Romney at 16%, Rick Perry at 8%, Michele Bachmann at 8%, Newt Gingrich at 5% and Rick Santorum at 5%.

However, the big story is that the race is really still up for grabs with just 17% firmly commited to a candidate, 30% leaning towards a candidate and 52% still undecided.

A new CNN/Opinion Research Poll indicates that only
44% of Americans believe that things will be going well in the country a
year from now. That’s down from last fall, when 55% were optimistic
about the coming year, and from November, 2009, when 63% felt that way.

A new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll finds Mitt Romney is the clear front-runner in California’s Republican presidential primary.

Romney leads the GOP field with 27%, followed by Herman Cain at 20%, Newt Gingrich at 14% and Ron Paul at 6%. All others are below 5% in support.

The California Republican primary will not be held until June 2012.

New Bloomberg polls in New Hampshire and Iowa find wide majorities of likely Republican voters view Mitt Romney as “smart, business-savvy and fit to be president” however “substantial numbers, almost half in Iowa and two out of five in New Hampshire, also view him as someone who will do or say anything to get elected, ‘a flip-flopper,’ or not a true social conservative.”

“Those warring impressions help explain how Romney has attained front-runner status in national polls while remaining unable to secure enough backing to break away from his rivals.”

Said pollster Ann Selzer: “They see the competence, and they see that the problems that are immediately to be solved are in his wheelhouse, but there’s sort of this lurking suspicion about whether they can trust him or that he is going to be their guy on social, moral issues.”

A new Fox News poll shows Newt Gingrich leading the GOP presidential field nationally with 23%, followed by Mitt Romney at 22% and Herman Cain at 15%.

The rest of the pack: Ron Paul at 8%, Rick Perry at 7%, Michele Bachmann at 6%, Jon Huntsman at 3%, and Rick Santorum at 2%.

Rick Perry released a new ad to run nationally and in Iowa slamming President Obama’s recent comments that “we’ve been a little bit lazy I think over the last couple decades.”

For bonus points, see if you can spot the missing “is” in Perry’s statement.

[Read more…]

Obama administration Cabinet members and senior aides “are fanning out across the country in an aggressive fundraising drive, taking advantage of porous campaign finance laws that allow them to appear as marquee speakers and raise substantial money for the president’s reelection effort,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“For $5,000, a donor can get a kind of season pass to see officials when they come to town — a bargain compared with the $35,800 typically charged for dinner with President Obama… None of this is illegal, although the appearances must be carefully choreographed to avoid running afoul of the federal Hatch Act, which regulates political activity by government employees but allows ample wiggle room.”

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) mocked Mitt Romney’s Iowa expectation-setting and warned him that he “would meet the same fate as Rudy Giuliani four years ago if he didn’t get serious about the caucuses,” Politico reports.

Said Branstad: “I think he’s making a big mistake…by not coming here and spending more time. I mean Romney is dropping in the polls and I think he thinks that he wants to keep down expectations, you know. Well, his expectations may get really bad if he doesn’t get a little more serious.”

He added: “Iowans don’t like being ignored, they don’t like being ignored!”

Nate Silver: “Romney certainly does not need to win Iowa to win the nomination. But
unless he builds up more of a cushion in the national polls before the
voting there, a loss for his campaign in the caucuses would at least
make for an exciting January.”