Associated Press: “Add up the wealth of the last eight presidents, from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. Then double that number. Now you’re in Romney territory. He would be among the richest presidents in American history if elected — probably in the top four.”
Quote of the Day
“What we saw with this ridiculous opposition dump on Newt was nothing short of Stalin-esque rewriting of history. It was Alinsky tactics at their worst.”
— Sarah Palin, writing on Facebook, defending Newt Gingrich against attacks made by Mitt Romney.
Going for the Kill
Mitt Romney unleashed a very effective political ad today targeting Newt Gingrich in Florida which consists only of a clip of Tom Brokaw from “NBC Nightly News” on Jan. 21, 1997.
Cain Endorses Gingrich
Herman Cain threw his support to Newt Gingrich in the GOP presidential race, the Washington Post reports.
“The move by the former GOP candidate and tea-party favorite comes three days before the Florida primary, at a moment when Gingrich is badly in need of something to rekindle the momentum he gained in the wake of his South Carolina primary victory.”
Said Cain: “had it in my heart and mind a long time. Speaker Gingrich is a patriot. Speaker Gingrich is not afraid of bold ideas.”
More Polls Give Romney the Lead in Florida
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Florida shows Mitt Romney leading Newt Gingrich among Republican primary voters by eight points, 40% to 32%, followed by Rick Santorum at 15% and Ron Paul at 9%.
A new War Room Logisitics (R) poll shows Romney leading Gingrich by 10 points, 40% to 30%, with Santorum at 15% and Paul at 6%.
Polarization in Obama’s Approval at Historic Highs
Gallup finds that the historically high gap between partisans’ job approval ratings of President Obama continued during his third year in office, with an average of 80% of Democrats and 12% of Republicans approving of the job he was doing.
In fact, that 68 point partisan gap is tied for the fourth highest dating back to the Eisenhower administration. Only George W. Bush’s fourth, fifth, and sixth years in office showed higher degrees of political polarization.
President Will Vacate Oval Office Next Year
The Washingtonian reports that the ultimate victor of the presidential election, no matter who he is, “may not get to claim the ultimate prize: the Oval Office.”
Beginning sometime next year the President may be relocated from the White House West Wing and the iconic Oval Office to temporary office space next door while his office undergoes needed repairs and restoration.
Poll Shows Dead Heat in Florida
A new Dixie Strategies/First Coast News poll in Florida shows Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich tied at 35% each, with Rick Santorum at 9% and Ron Paul at 7%.
Every other recent poll shows Romney with a single digit lead.
The New York (Mayor’s) Review of Books
“Indulging in a tale of make-believe” is rare for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but the New York Times notes he actually recommended two spy mysteries this week by John LeCarre: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy.
Of the latter, he said, “It’s 600 pages, it’s mostly description, there is almost nothing that happens. But it’s fascinating!”
“Virtually the only other work of fiction publicly endorsed by the mayor has been Johnny Tremain, the 1943 patriotic children’s story that Mr. Bloomberg frequently cites as a favorite. His personal library now has several first editions, gifts from friends.”
Romney Holds Small Lead in Michigan
A new EPIC-MRA poll in Michigan finds Mitt Romney with a small lead in the GOP presidential race with 31%, followed by Newt Gingrich at 26%, Ron Paul at 14% and Rick Santorum at 10%.
The Michigan primary is scheduled for February 28.
The poll also shows President Obama leading both Romney, 48% to 40%, and Gingrich, 51% to 38%, in general election match ups.
Meet a Super PAC Donor
We don’t know much about the financial backers of Super PACs, but investor Foster Friess gave a fascinating interview to Bloomberg TV on why he supports Rick Santorum.
Said Friess: “Sometimes I sit back in my armchair and say it would be neat if we could have Santorum as president and put Mitt Romney in charge of the entire economy. Do what we did with homeland security. Put all of the agencies under one roof and make Mitt Romney minister of the economy… I think if I suggested it [to Santorum], he would consider that fairly inappropriate at this stage. I would suggest to Rick that if he becomes president, just turn the keys over to Air Force One to Herman Cain and let him fly around the world selling America.”
Romney Converted His Father-in-Law After He Died
Gawker: “Two readers have sent us confirmation that Edward Davies, Mitt Romney’s militantly atheist father-in-law, was indeed posthumously converted to Mormonism by his family, despite the fact that when he was alive he regarded all religions as ‘hogwash.'”
Gingrich Readies Brutal New Ad
Newt Gingrich plans to release “a brutal new ad accusing Romney of trying to mislead, deceive, and distort his way to the White House,” ABC News reports.
The money line: “What kind of man would mislead, distort and deceive just to win an election? This man would: Mitt Romney.”
The ad is still being produced but accuses Romney of lying in last night’s debate about his blind trust and about his vote for Sen. Paul Tsongas (D-MA) in 1992.
Deadlocked in Arizona
A new American Research Group poll in Arizona finds Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney are tied with 32% each, followed by Ron Paul with 12% and Rick Santorum with 10%.
The Arizona Republican primary is scheduled for February 28.
Flashback of the Day
“The blind trust is an age-old ruse. You give a blind trust rules. You can say to a blind trust, don’t invest in properties which would be in conflict of interest or where the seller might think they’re going to get an advantage from me.”
— Mitt Romney, in a 1994 debate with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA).
Romney currently defends his own investments on the grounds he can’t control money in a “blind trust.”
Quote of the Day
“I hope not.”
— Former Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS), when asked by CBS News whether he thought Newt Gingrich had a chance to be president.
Gingrich Spokesman Confronts Romney Surrogate
NBC News has video of Newt Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond approaching
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), a surrogate for Mitt Romney, asking him
questions with a recorder open after a Gingrich event in Florida.
“This tit-for-tat continued for the next several minutes turning to
topics of Gingrich not being able to get on the ballot of his home state
of Virginia to using the Thomas System to look up legislative
records… The Romney surrogates, according to a campaign source, are
attending these events to rebut the speaker and provide another
narrative to the press. They stand in the back and talk to press when
approached, rarely speaking to voters unless the voter initiates
conversation.”
Mark Halperin: “After leaving Gingrich alone until it was too late in South Carolina, Boston focused on Newt from the start in Florida. And, like when Perry threatened the frontrunner, Team Romney has been incredibly effective tearing down Gingrich, going after him on the campaign trail by sending surrogates to crash his events, hitting him with TV and radio ads, holding daily media conference calls to drive choice themes, lining up newsmaking anti-Newt statements from people like Bob Dole and using Matt Drudge.”
The Limits of an Anti-Media Strategy
The Republican presidential debate last night went very poorly for Newt
Gingrich, and one reason was his inability to land a decisive blow
against debate moderator Wolf Blitzer. The Los Angeles Times notes that
unlike past moderators, Blitzer refused to “let Gingrich off the hook”
and received some decisive support from Mitt Romney.
It is also
noteworthy that Blitzer did not begin the debate with a question of his
own, instead turning to the audience and social media for questions
throughout the debate.
