“I used to be a conservative and I watch these debates and I’m wondering,
I don’t think I’ve changed, but it’s a little troubling sometimes when
people are appealing to people’s fears and emotion rather than trying to
get them to look over the horizon for a broader perspective and that’s
kind of where we are.”

— Jeb Bush, quoted by Fox News, on the rhetoric of the Republican presidential candidates.

When asked if he might be convinced to run as a consensus candidate, Bush told CBS Dallas/Fort Worth, “Not going to happen.”

While pundits have speculated about the impact on the Republican
presidential nomination if Mitt Romney loses in Michigan next week, Dan Balz wonders what would happen if Romney manages to eke out a victory in the state where he was raised.

“How
much would a pair of victories be worth? Republican strategists say
that although they would restore Romney to front-runner status in the
race, they could still leave the party looking at a long nomination
battle… Even if Romney were to win Michigan and Arizona, he will face a
difficult landscape on Super Tuesday, March 6.”

“Romney certainly needs to win
Michigan to put himself back on course. But he needs victories to start
coming consistently and by healthy margins. His team is correct that
this will be a battle for delegates, but Republicans want a
standard-bearer who can do more than scratch out the nomination by
attrition. That’s why Tuesday’s contests loom so large.”

The Wall Street Journal
reports that Mitt Romney is “tapping experts in the moderate camp of
GOP economics to help him craft a meatier campaign message,” drawing
heavily from President George W. Bush’s former economic advisers.

Among
the economists advising the campaign are Glenn
Hubbard and Gregory Mankiw, who both served as chairmen of
the president’s Council of Economic Advisers in Bush’s
administration. Hubbard, who helped craft the Bush tax cuts, also
was the architect behind Romney’s latest tax initiatives.

A slew of others Bush alumni advise the Romney campaign on health, trade, regulatory and labor issues.

Eliot Spitzer is holding a fundraiser in New York for Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA), who is running for governor in Washington, the New York Post reports.

“Insiders believe Spitzer’s soiree shows he’s trying to become a political mover and shaker once again — this time as a national kingmaker… Fund-raising is also a chance for Spitzer to test the political waters without drawing too much attention locally.”

Rick Santorum’s wife granted a rare interview telling Glenn Beck that she initially had been against her husband running for president but finally concluded it was “God’s will,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Karen Santorum: “I did always feel in my heart that God had big plans for Rick. Eventually it was there, tugging at my heart. When Obamacare passed, that was it. That put the fire in my belly.”

During a live performance, Bill Maher presented a check for $1 million to a Super PAC which supports President Obama’s reelection campaign, the Hollywood Reporter reports.

Jon Huntsman may have endorsed Mitt Romney when he dropped his White House bid, but today he called for a “third party movement” to freshen up the presidential race, NBC News reports.

Said Huntsman: “Someone’s going to step up at some point and say we’ve had enough of this. The real issues are not being addressed, and it’s time that we put forward an alternative vision, a bold thinking. We might not win, but we can certainly influence the debate.”

He added: “All I can say is I’m looking at the political marketplace and the duopoly is tired and we’re stuck in a rut.”

A new SurveyUSA poll finds that 49% think President Obama’s view of the world is closer to theirs while 35% pick Mitt Romney’s world view.

Asked to choose between Obama and Rick Santorum, Obama’s view of the world is seen as closer to their own by 52%, while Santorum’s was chosen by 37%.

Of those who chose both Romney and Santorum, 51% of these voters said Santorum’s view of the world was closer to their own while 43% said Romney’s.

“The odds are greater that there’s life on Pluto than that the GOP has a brokered convention.”

— Karl Rove, writing in the Wall Street Journal.

In an appearance in Arizona, Mitt Romney mocked Rick Santorum for his attempts to “explain why he repeatedly voted against his conscience while in Congress,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Romney: “We saw Senator Santorum explain most of the night why he did or voted for things he disagreed with. And he talked about this as taking one for the team. I wonder what team he was taking it for. My team is the American people.”

Expect to see the “taking one for the team” line in an advertisement very soon.

[Read more…]

A new Brown University Poll in Rhode Island finds Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s (I) approval rating is a dismal 22%, down from 27% in December.

Rep. David Cicilline’s (D-RI) approval rating is even worse at lowly 15%.