Mitt Romney was asked in Iowa earlier today how he will stop the gridlock in Washington and Politico notes he “drifted into talking about Bob Dole as an ‘American hero’ who he’d model himself after.”

Interestingly, Romney told Fox News four years ago that Dole was “the last person he’d want” in his corner.

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Jon Huntsman said that he had not seen the ad recently released by the pro-Huntsman Our Destiny PAC in New Hampshire, and did not know whether his father had helped fund the $650,000 ad buy, The Hill reports.

Said Huntsman: “He’s my dad, he’s my best friend, he can do whatever he wants to do, we don’t talk about those things, we can’t. I’m just delighted we got some outside assistance from wherever it might come from that believes in our cause.”

Jonathan Chait: “The Republican race now seems to be between Mitt Romney, the consummate
establishmentarian, and Newt Gingrich, an hysterical blowhard. But if
you watched Tuesday night’s national security debate, you’d never have
guessed which was which.”

A new American Research Group survey in Iowa finds Newt Gingrich leading the Republican presidential field among likely caucus goers with 27%, followed by Mitt Romney at 20% and Ron Paul at 16%.

Key finding: Tea Party support has coalesced around Gingrich, from 13% in September compared to 42% now.

Howard Megdal thinks a new GOP rule which says that any primary or caucus held before April 1 must allocate delegates proportionally could lead to a brokered convention.

“From April 1 on, the winner-take-all primary and caucus states will vote. That means a weak front-runner can earn victories in early states without taking a commanding share of that state’s delegates, while several challengers can lose, but still rack up a decent delegate total… 1,163 of 2,380 delegates will be selected before a single winner-take-all primary is held.”

“Rather than settle for a nominee incapable of generating enthusiasm,” Republicans could use their national convention “to find a candidate more in tune with the Republican voters” including “a compromise candidate who hasn’t been in the race at all.”

During last night’s GOP presidential debate, Michele Bachmann claimed that 15 Pakistani nuclear sites were vulnerable to jihadist attacks, and that six of them had already come under some form of Islamist attack. No U.S. official had ever said that before and Bachmann serves on the House Intelligence Committee.

National Journal concludes the new facts “represent either a news-making leak of previously unknown classified information or another in her recent series of seemingly-random, and highly inaccurate, public comments.”

Out next week: Playbook 2012: The Right Fights Back by Mike Allen and Evan Thomas, the first in a series of e-books on the 2012 presidential election.

According to a publicist’s email, “It’s loaded with juicy scoops and razor-sharp analysis and explains with an insider’s precision the intrigues and the plotting, the ground games and the quests for cash.”

TV show host Jimmy Fallon apologized to Rep. Michele Bachmann for a song played as the presidential candidate walked on stage for her interview on his late night show, CNN reports.

As Bachmann walked out to greet Fallon, the show’s band played a song by Fishbone called Lyin’ Ass Bitch.

A new Pew Research survey finds no evidence that Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith “would prevent rank-and-file Republicans, including white evangelicals, from coalescing around him if he wins the GOP nomination. Rather, the same Republicans who may have doubts about Romney’s faith are among the most vehement opponents of Barack Obama.”

Key findings: “Fully 91% of white evangelical Republican voters say they would back Romney over Obama in a general election matchup, and 79% would support Romney strongly. Overall, white evangelicals would be among the strongest Romney supporters if he is the GOP nominee challenging Obama next fall.”

“Representatives for leading social conservative groups in Iowa held a secret meeting Monday as part of an effort with one main goal: find and support a Republican presidential candidate who can stop Mitt Romney in Iowa,” CNN reports.

“The idea: avoid splintering the conservative vote in the state by rallying around one GOP rival who could win Iowa’s Jan. 3 caucus and then challenge Romney in New Hampshire and the other early voting states.”

Mitt Romney will announce the endorsement of Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the Washington Post reports, “a rising star in the Republican Party who had weighed a White House bid of his own before deciding to stay in the Senate and move up in his party’s leadership.”

The Daily Beast has video clips of the best parts from last night’s Republican presidential debate.

Newt Gingrich failed to qualify for the Missouri Republican primary, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The filing requirements were not particularly onerous: A $1,000 check and some paperwork were all that’s needed. But Gingrich failed to file by the deadline.

“Missouri’s primary is a ‘beauty contest,’ meaning that no delegates will be awarded. The state Republican Party will hold caucuses in March for that purpose. However, Missouri is a major state, and the nonbinding contest will be the only primary in the country between the Florida primary on Jan. 31 and the Arizona and Michigan primaries on Feb. 28. Candidates wishing to maintain their momentum, and media visibility, through that dry spell in February may well see Missouri as a place to compete for bragging rights.”