Evening eats

a. Ezra Klein defends Christie's weight.

b. Mitch Daniels wants Romney and Perry to get serious on Social Security.

c. Terry Branstad would "love" to see Christie run.

d. P-Day.

e. A Rick Perry Flower Planter.

f. Ann Romney files for Mitt in SC.

g. Perry raises over $1 million in West Virginia.

h. Dick Morris' elaborate joke on all of us continues.

i. Obama still dominates with Hispanics.

Huckabee slams political atmosphere

Mike Huckabee explicitly said today that he wasn't reconsidering a presidential bid, and there's no reason anyone should question that.

But just as compelling as his explicit "no" was this bit, where he ripped the current political environment which demands 100% purity and condemns even 1% compromise.

"This is not an atmosphere where people are looking for someone who can govern; they're looking for someone who can poke out the eyes of the other side.

My background is I was a governor for a long time -- 10.5 years. I worked with a 90% Democratic legislature.... you have to be able to say 'Look, we won't get everything we want; we're going to have to get what we can in the context of the political realities.'

Right now, we have people who want all or nothing. You can't govern like that, Neil, and a guy like me or Chris Christie or a lot of people, I think, would find it very awkward, because people kind of want you to be something you can't be and you shouldn't be."

That doesn't sound like a guy who's eager to appease a base.

Huckabee: I'm not reconsidering

On Neil Cavuto's show this afternoon, Mike Huckabee shot down reports that he was considering a presidential run again.

"There are people who've been talking to me and encouraging me since I announced that I wasn't and before.

.... I'm not having any meetings, I'm not talking to anybody, I'm happy with the decision that I've made.

If somebody comes and puts $50 million in front of me and says 'Here, everybody else has quit and here's the money to get started', call me if that happens."

Gingrich praises his intellect

Newt Gingrich, in Iowa today, reported by MSNBC:

“I’m not running against any of my friends, they’re all good people....But if you watch them and watch me, the difference in the depth of knowledge and the difference in the ability to debate Obama, the difference in actually having done it at the national level, I can’t only think if you’re worried about the future of the country and you’re worried about how we get the country fix, I’m a pretty good mechanic who knows how to fix the car and the other folks are good at selling it."

That's the second time in as many days that Newt has shared his vision of himself for America.

Yesterday, in unveiling his new Contract with America, he said:

“The scale of change I am suggesting is so enormous that I couldn’t possibly show you as a single leader all I am going to do. This is a beginning of a conversation."

Reuters: Huckabee thinking of running

Unbelievable.

Mike Huckabee has been approached by Republican and conservative activists unhappy with the current crop of presidential hopefuls and he is considering entering the fray, two sources who have spoken with Huckabee told Reuters.

.... "He is entertaining the request for conversations about it," one of the sources said. "I do not think it is a complete 100 percent 'I'm reconsidering' but he hasn't shut the door on it."

One of the sources said Huckabee was urged to enter after the recent stumbles of Texas Governor Rick Perry, who appeals to a similar right wing of the Republican party.

Rick Perry's stumbles have to be encouraging for anyone thinking of running, but it's Barack Obama's stumbles that are most important for prodding these people into thinking again.

It was in June, remember, that John Thune had his moment of reconsideration before squashing it again.

UPDATE: Scott Conroy:

Hogan Gidley (now working w/ Santorum) talked w/ Huckabee this AM: "He said something like, 'This is news to me'"

Gidley is HuckPAC's executive director.

Santorum: Voters tired of Romney, Perry

Rick Santorum, on Fox News tonight, via the Hill Tube.

"I've heard it in Florida, I've heard it in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.... they're tired of the Mitt and Rick show, and they want to hear from the other candidates.

That's why you see Herman [Cain] getting a bump, we've gotten a bump.... our fundraising has jumped up in the last couple of weeks as a result of the debate. The most constant thing I hear is that I wish they'd ask you more questions, I wish I'd hear from some of the other candidates, and so I think there's a dissatisfaction with the choices that have been presented to the American public."

Is Christie too fat?

Michael Kinsley writes of Chris Christie's presidential readiness:

"He is just too fat."

That's not an electoral judgement from Kinsley; it's a qualitative indictment (i.e. Christie is too fat to be a good president).

His thinly-argued reason?

"A presidential candidate should be judged on behavior and character, not just on policies."

Christie's behavior and character here refer to how much he likes Denny's and Krispy Kreme.

Kinsley immediately recognizes that he's implicitly condemning Barack Obama for failing to quit smoking and Bill Clinton for failing to zip it up, so he makes a distinction between behaviors.

Controlling what you eat and how much is not easy, and it’s harder for some people than for others. But it’s not as difficult as curing a chemical addiction.

Whether Kinsley is right or not, Christie's weight will clearly be an issue, if only because so many will talk about whether it is an issue.

Both Haley Barbour and Mike Huckabee said last year that you could judge their presidential intentions by their waistlines. Barbour lost weight; Huck didn't. Neither ran.

The question for Christie is whether weight is a crucial part of his populist appeal, and it probably is.

If he's as secure in himself to not let his handlers handle his love handles, then people assume he's secure enough in what he believes to stick to his guns. That's Christie's appeal, after all -- conviction -- and weight seems to add to it.

Florida goes rogue

The Hill's Josh Lederman:

Florida made its plans to hold its Republican presidential primary on Jan. 31 official on Friday, setting off a reshuffling of the primary calendar as early states scramble to move up their contests to protect their cherished statuses.

.... Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, the four states permitted to hold contests prior to March 6, have all vowed to move their dates up to buck the Florida shift.

"The arrogance shown by Florida’s elected leadership is disappointing, but not surprising," Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn said in a news release immediately after the Florida vote, adding that Iowa will set the date for its first-in-the-nation caucuses after New Hampshire announces the date for its primary. “Iowa will remain first."

Party sanctions for moving up remain far too soft (i.e. Florida will only lose half its delegates to the national convention) for what a state gets, in attention, influence, and prestige for going early.

It's like telling a kid who's threatened to take a day off from school that you'll ground him for the first fifteen minutes of that day.

Letting them lose

Jed Lewison (emphasis added).

Still, not even Fox can point to any actual enthusiasm for Romney from Republican primary voters. The best they can do is compare him to a tortoise, and hope that the latest distraction of the day — whether it's Herman Cain or Chris Christie or Donald Trump or Sarah Palin — is enough to keep the GOP primary field unsettled as Romney methodically makes his way to the finish line, hoping to be the last option standing.

In short, the Romney strategy is to let everybody else lose first. That's not exactly inspiring, but with both Fox and the GOP establishment on his side (unless Chris Christie enters the race), it's plausible — and given his weaknesses, it's probably his best shot.

I partially agree. For most of the race, that's been his strategy, but in his tussle with Perry, he's actually surrendered some of his capital to knock Perry off his game, which makes it slightly less passive than Lewison makes it out to be.

Bachmann hammers someone over immigration

Michele Bachmann releases a new web ad, ostensibly hammering Rick Perry for 1:24 over the DREAM Act, border fence, and position on Arizona's immigration law without actually mentioning his name.

"Last week, we conservatives were accused with not having a heart. Nothing could be further from the heart. It's just that we have a mind with that heart, and failing to act rationally on the rule of law has created chaos on our borders.

We can't settle for a president who would encourage more illegal immigration through magnet policies like tuition breaks for illegal aliens or their children.

.... we can't settle for a president who says he supports states' rights but abandoned the state of Arizona when they attempted to do what the federal government wouldn't -- enforce immigration laws.

We can't settle for a president who thinks building a fence to secure the border is idiocy and, on its face, ridiculous."

Is Bachmann talking about Perry here or Obama, or is she trying to merge them? She's probably talking about Perry, since she opened with his accusation about opponents of the DREAM Act not having a heart.

If she's talking about Perry, she's got him wrong on the Arizona law when she says that "we can't settle for a president who says he supports states' rights but abandoned the state of Arizona."

It was exactly his belief in states' rights that led him to his position. Here's what he said at the time.

“I fully recognize and support a state's right and obligation to protect its citizens, but I have concerns with portions of the law passed in Arizona and believe it would not be the right direction for Texas."

That's as states' rights as states' rights can get.

Gary Johnson criticizes al-Awlaki killing

On Fox News this morning, Gary Johnson joined Ron Paul in hitting the Obama Administration for targeting and killing terrorist and U.S. citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki.

"To my knowledge, this is one of a kind: a U.S. citizen, really, given the death sentence without due process -- that is not why this country's great."

Paul also condemned the killing, saying it amounted to an "assassination."

Mitch Daniels won't rule out VP bid

But he tells CSPAN that, like a presidential bid, a Veep run would be subject to familial concerns.

"I’d have to talk to the five women in the Daniels family again, and I don’t know what they’d say."

[Hat tip: Tom LoBianco]

Obama, Christie locked

A new Rasmussen Reports survey shows Barack Obama and Chris Christie in a dead-heat, 44%-43%.

That's the best showing of any '12 contender, according to Rasmussen's most recent surveys. Mitt Romney is the only other candidate to land in the margin of error against the POTUS, trailing him 44%-41%.

But Christie remains largely undefined to most voters with a 38%/27% favorability rating. 35% don't have an opinion of him.

Romney chats with Huck

Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee chatting before the taping of Huck's show, to air this Saturday evening.

Via Andrea Saul.

Money waits for Christie

Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman report that one key question won't be a question for Chris Christie.

“This is not going to be a problem,” said one donor who is familiar with the private meetings Christie has held. “There’s just so much money on the sidelines.”

Among the key reassurances the bundlers gave him? A super PAC would immediately be formed to help raise unlimited sums of cash that couldn’t be coordinated with his campaign, but could support his candidacy.

The prospect of a super PAC cash infusion has played a role in convincing Christie that he would be able to compete, despite the late start, with two proven fundraisers, multiple sources said.

It’s not immediately clear what the target would be for Christie’s initial quarter (which he’d join, as Perry did, once it was already underway). But it’s likely to try to be on par with at least what Romney raised in his first quarter this cycle, $18 million.

And Christie has fans not just in the New York donor community, but in other ATM states like California — places where large numbers of hard-dollar checks can be bundled.

Romney team dismisses backfire on immigration

Chuck Todd asks Mitt Romney strategist, Russ Schriefer, a key question this morning about Romney's new web ad, tying Rick Perry to Vicente Fox:

TODD: An ad like that, using somebody speaking broken English, do you worry about alienating Hispanics and making Colorado harder, making Nevada harder, making New Mexico harder.

SCHRIEFER: I think that legal immigrants -- people who are here legally, who are first generation and second generation immigrants -- are as offended as anyone else that they are subsidizing people who are here illegally, and I think that that's not going to be a problem at all.

That's the same argument ex-CA Gov. Pete Wilson's defenders made during the Prop 187 fight in 1994 and over other immigration measures, and it's only half true.

Yes, legal immigrants, including Hispanics, don't support illegal immigration or special benefits for illegals.

But, by incessantly pounding on an immigration issue -- as Wilson did -- Romney risks turning the debate into one that's not about a specific issue like the DREAM Act, but one that bleeds over -- however fairly or unfairly -- into a debate about Hispanics' role in America itself.

Why, Hispanics began asking, is this such a massive issue to Republicans? Why is the GOP debate dominated by the DREAM Act when there's the economy and jobs to contend with?

The conclusion many draw is that hostility to the DREAM Act is representative of a larger hostility to Hispanic culture.

That's the danger Romney is embracing, but his team seems to think that knocking Perry out now is worth risking losing key, Hispanic support later on.

Red State mocks Palin's deadline

Erick Erickson is having some fun with Sarah Palin's failure to abide by a previous, self-imposed, September 30 deadline for making a decision.

The Red State front-page is filling up hourly with updates today on her non-decision.

Erickson has never been a huge Palin fan, but he's been an admirer over the years, defending her against attacks and, overall, praising her role in the dialogue.

But her 3 year tease finally wore him down late, last month when he wrote:

I think we are coming to the end of the line for Sarah Palin’s ability to string the Republican primary voters along.

They are trying to settle on a candidate now, they’ve held out hope of her entry, and are now ready for her to put up or shut up.

Rove: Christie would make nominee stronger

Karl Rove says we'll probably know whether Chris Christie will run "pretty darn quick" and that he'd make for a better race.

"If he does jump in, I think it jiggles the contest in interesting ways, and whether he wins or not, I think it ends up making the Republican candidate stronger.

Ironically enough, the better the field at the top, the better the nominee becomes, because he or she has to engage in a strong campaign over a sustained period of time, and it's sort of like, you know, good things rule out, the strongest person will rise to the top.

But I don't know whether he's going to run or not, but I think we'll know the answer pretty darn quick."

In other words, the GOP race should be like the AL East, and adding Christie to the mix would be like adding the Phillies to the division.

Romney ad ties Perry to Vicente Fox

Mitt Romney's new web ad links Rick Perry's support for Texas' DREAM Act with Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and even ex-president of Mexico, Vicente Fox.

As I've written, I think web ads like this are going to come back to bite Romney if he makes the general. It's very Pete Wilson, and I can't imagine Hispanics are going to like his pounding on the issue or his implication that Vicente Fox is the worst of all out there. Romney even includes an extended clip of Fox speaking, accent and all, and highlights him as the chief bete noire, worse even then Obama, Pelosi, or Reid.

No listo.

Palin won't meet self-imposed deadline

On Fox Business last night, Judge Andrew Napolitano asked Sarah Palin if she'd hold fast to her self-imposed deadline of making a presidential decision by September 30.

Her answer:

"I hold my political cards close to my chest. I've certainly learned lessons along those lines, and I'm going to continue to do that until I'm ready to make an announcement.

This is a serious decision, and I'm engaged in serious deliberations and within the next 24 hours, don't look for me to make a decision."

Evening eats

a. Levi Johnston's book flops.

b. South Carolina goes to bat for itself.

c. Newt's new Contract with America.

d. Should we take Herman Cain seriously?

e. Fox News really paid Santorum that much?

f. Bachmann pins the Arab Spring on Obama.

PPP: Romney, Obama tied in Florida

A new Public Policy Polling survey shows Barack Obama and Mitt Romney locked in Florida, 46%-45%.

a. Barack Obama 46% Mitt Romney 45%

b. Barack Obama 45% Ron Paul 44%

c. Barack Obama 49% Michele Bachmann 44%

d. Barack Obama 50% Rick Perry 43%

e. Barack Obama 50% Newt Gingrich 42%

Key take-aways:

a. What about that Paul number?

Paul is, shockingly, just 1% behind Obama because of his strength with independents. He beats Obama by 15% among indies.

Obama, on the other hand, beats Romney by 3% and Perry by 13%.

Chris Cillizza wrote about this phenomenon the other day in a piece titled, "Ron Paul's Republican problem." The reason Paul isn't a serious contender for the GOP nomination is that Republicans don't like him a ton. But indies do.

b. Florida is friendly to Romney.

This is actually one of his worst showings in a Sunshine state poll this year. For example, in August, he led Obama by 8% in a Mason-Dixon survey and by 4% in July. He's consistently been tied or ahead of Obama here. And keep in mind, PPP's poll is of registered; not likely voters, which generally is a dynamic favoring Dems.

Also key for Romney -- an American Research Group survey showed him leading Perry by 6% in a GOP primary in the state.

c. Obama strong among Jews.

Pollster Tom Jensen:

Although it's a small sample he leads Perry by an 82-2 margin and Romney by a 78-11 spread with them. His overall approval with Jewish voters is 76/20 and specifically on the issue of Israel he's at 61/31 with Jews.

Romney expects $11-$13 million haul

Matt Viser reports that Mitt Romney's quarter three haul will be lower than the $18.2 million he raised in quarter 2 and lower than at a commensurate point in the 2008 election.

It appears that Romney will be behind the pace that he set during his first presidential campaign, in 2008, when the former Massachusetts governor was relatively unknown on the national stage and was competing with a strong field of fundraisers.

It’s a signal either that the down economy is causing donors to contribute less, or that the GOP financiers are still not sold on Romney.

This week, Team Romney started setting expectations for the report, claiming that Rick Perry is on track to raise more in the last quarter, thanks to Perry's fresh factor.

Pataki wants Christie to run

The Daily Caller:

Former New York Governor George Pataki says he wants New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to run for president.

“America is in a crisis, and none of the current candidates or the President has leveled with the American public about what needs to be done to rescue our future,” Pataki, who flirted with his own presidential campaign earlier this year, wrote in a statement.

If a Kissinger, a Reagan, and a Bush have Chris Christie seriously thinking about a run, maybe all he needs is a Pataki to seal the deal.

Report: Christie seriously considering run

The New York Post with the big story of the day.

After months of hedging, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is giving serious thought to jumping into the ring for a GOP presidential run -- and could make his decision next week, The Post has learned.

The announcement may come as soon as Monday, said sources familiar with Christie’s thinking.

The renewed consideration about a White House run came after prodding this week from some Republicans he idolizes, including former First Lady Nancy Reagan, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and former President George W. Bush, sources said.

.... Christie pals said the pol’s “mind-blowing” experience at the Reagan library in California Tuesday changed his thinking.

.... Something changed that night, sources said.

Behind the scenes, sources said, the discussions about running took on a more serious and “surreal tenor,” as the encouragement from Reagan, Kissinger, Bush and others began to sink in.

Btw, in the Matthew Dowd interview I posted earlier, he says that Christie has about a month to make a decision, and makes the interesting argument that Rick Perry got in a little too soon, and that his flubs are a result of that.

Interpreting Anita's role

Matthew Dowd, consultant and former W. Bush strategist, on Anita Perry's sudden emergence.

"I think any time you have a wife go out on the trail, you know that your campaign's basically in trouble if you start putting your wife out there in a front and center way."

Having said that, Dowd thinks Rick Perry can still fix the problem, but needs to do so fairly quickly.

Vid via The Note:

Trump: Huntsman is like BrickBreaker

Donald Trump, tweeting this afternoon.

@JonHuntsman has zero chance of getting the nomination. Whoever said I wanted to meet him?

Time is money and I don't waste mine.

Yesterday, a Jon Huntsman spokesman scoffed at Rick Perry and Mitt Romney for wooing Trump.

"Here's hoping Govs. Romney & Perrys courtship of Trump continues well into the winter. Next seasons best reality show might be Rick, Mitt, and Donald choppering to Hawaii to examine the birth certificate."

Note: this isn't I, but I wish it were.

Romney will appear on Huckabee's show

The New York Times' Michael Shear:

Mitt Romney is scheduled to sit down for an interview with a 2008 rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Mike Huckabee, this weekend, The Caucus has learned.

.... Mr. Huckabee will tape the interview with Mr. Romney on Friday, and it will be broadcast on his Fox News show, which airs on Saturday and Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Promos for the interview are set to broadcast Thursday afternoon on the network.

Everyone knows about the hostilities between the two (particularly on Huckabee's side), but if you'd like a crash-course just amble by my Mike Huckabee vs. Mitt Romney archive, where you'll find loads of examples of Huck hitting Romney, even after the 2008 election.

Huck's most stinging rebuke came when he said of RomneyCare at the 2009 Values Voter Summit.

"The only thing inexpensive about the Massachusetts health care bill is that there you can get a $50 abortion."

Even Patton is like "chill, bro".

So there's no way Huck would endorse Romney, right?

Actually, yes, he could.

That's because Huck particularly dislikes Perry, as well, especially after Perry backed Rudy over Huck in 2008.

This summer, when Perry was mulling a bid, Huckabee sent a letter saying just that to supporters.

For all his new found commitment to hyper-conservatism, he’ll get to explain why he supported pro-abortion, pro-same sex marriage Rudy Guiliani last time.

And there's one more thing: even though Huck has repeatedly slammed RomneyCare in the harshest fashion, he said earlier this year, that the health care program didn't disqualify him.

[Hat tip: Mike O'Brien]

Perry isn't losing voters to Romney

Nate Silver points out that Mitt Romney hasn't gained much, in an absolute sense, with Rick Perry's fall in the polls.

Instead, Perry's support is heading to Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich, which is what you'd expect, considering those candidates' rhetorical overlap with Perry.

Calendar favors Romney

Ben Smith and Emily Schultheis have a must-read on Mitt Romney's 6th man.

A detailed analysis of the likely primary calendar – which is still in flux, though should be clearer by this weekend – offers a half-dozen possible outcomes, including early knockouts by either Romney or his main rival, Rick Perry.

But if the nomination fight remains a Romney-Perry two-man race after Super Tuesday, among the likeliest scenarios is a long, expensive spring trek through Romney’s political heartland.

Perry has just one clear path: To blow the doors off the race with early momentum, and never let up.

Quiet in Palin-land

The Hill's Cameron Joseph:

Becky Beach, Palin’s top fundraiser in Iowa and a close friend who is usually kept in the loop on the former governor’s plans, told The Hill that she had not heard from Palin in weeks about whether or not she would run.

“I don’t have any idea of her decision or her timing. The only thing I’ve heard her say is that the legal deadlines are the real deadlines, and I share her sentiment,” she said.

Perry's morning pivot

Check out Rick Perry's pivot on CNBC this morning.

FL Gov. Rick Scott asks Perry about his prescription for Florida, and Perry's first three, specific fixes are: no state health care mandates, no education mandates, and stronger border security.

Each of those just so happens to coincide with either a Romney weakness (health care, Race to the Top flap) or shoring up Perry's weakness (immigration). No coincidence.

Here's the exchange.

SCOTT: What should we be doing in Florida to make sure I do a better job than what you've done in Texas, and how does that apply to what the federal government ought to be doing?

PERRY: Having governors that understand that we have 50 laboratories of innovation is really important.... I can go through a long list of governors who understand that we compete against each other, and that's the way that our founding fathers meant for it to work. Not for one-size-fits-all policy in Washington D.C.

And that's the most important thing that can help you, Rick, is to have a federal government that is not mandating how you deliver health care, mandating how you educate your children. That they're there, truly, for instance -- one of the things that I wish the federal government would do that a lot of problems that we have to deal with as governors would go away -- if they would secure the border of this country with Mexico.

Tony Perkins leery of Christie

The very influential president of the Family Research Council, Tony Perkins, suggests trouble for Chris Christie with one, key portion of the party.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has not entered the presidential race and insists he will not despite widespread rumors, would have difficulty gaining social conservative voters, Perkins said.

Perkins said the New Jersey governor “has made questionable appointments” to state offices and “has backing from individuals who are clearly on the other side of social issues.”

Fascinating, because Perkins gives a free pass to Rudy Giuliani, who -- by nearly every count -- is more socially liberal than Christie.

And Perkins is also generous, in theory, to any politician who's backtracked on previous heresy, claiming that what you did doesn't matter as much as what you say you'll do.

“There’s no purity pledge by social conservative voters that says if you ever messed up, you can’t be a contender for my vote and my support,” Perkins told CNSNews.com. “But I do think there is a fidelity pledge to the core conservative values.

“So what happened last year, two years ago, four years ago, is less of an issue than the positions that you are advocating for now. So I do think it does cause people to take pause – why did you support Giuliani? I think he has answered that question,” he added.

“What he said is that because of the judges he [Giuliani] would have appointed would have been strict constructionist, which for most social conservatives gets us where we want to be,” Perkins continued. “We just want courts to be out of dictating social policy or any type of policy.”

Perkins also expresses some discomfort with Romney -- not because he was socially liberal and then turned socially conservative, but because he's not really talking about social issues this cycle.

As best as I can tell it, Perkins main criteria for approving a candidate: Are you socially conservative now and talking about it?

UPDATE: FRC's VP for Communications, J.P. Duffy, emails the full transcript to clarify that Perkins wasn't defending Perry's endorsement of Rudy, but rather commenting on why some social conservatives were able to back Giuliani.

"As long as he has an audience to talk to"

Rick Tyler, one of the ex-members of Team Newt that didn't trash him upon leaving the campaign, tells The Philadelphia Inquirer:

"Newt is a happy warrior," Tyler said.

"He's optimistic. As long as he has an audience to talk to and feels his ideas are making a difference, he will keep plugging away."

Gingrich's strategy -- debates and TV interviews -- means he can keep plugging away, and his recent call for the final four GOP candidates to engage in one-on-one debates "dialogues" shows he intends on doing it.

[Hat tip: Buzz Tracker]

Perry's dip

AllahPundit responds to that new Fox News poll, showing Rick Perry losing his lead to Mitt Romney.

This is what happens when the big takeaways from your debate performance are (a) you hate your own base and (b) you sound brain damaged.

The "brain damaged" refers to this moment from the last GOP debate.

Huntsman: I'm tired of vaccination, book sparring

Jon Huntsman, trying to take the high road, during an interview on Greta Van Susteren's show last night.

"I'm not interested in drama. I'm not interested in talking about vaccinations. I'm not interested in talking about the latest spin on a book. I'm interested in sharing a vision about where this country can go."

Van Susteren then asks how he can call himself a high-minded candidate when he just took pot shots at Rick Perry (vaccination controversy) and Mitt Romney (book controversy) -- even invoking her old legal days.

Huntsman flatly ignores her question.

VAN SUSTEREN: You come across as kind of the nice guy candidate, but I just heard you do two jabs. One is the vaccination; one is the spin on the book.

It's like the old days when we'd argue before a jury and say "I'm not calling that police officer a liar" when, indeed, you were calling him a liar.

So you are jabbing them; it's not quite as nice and friendly as you suggest.

HUNTSMAN: Greta, you know the American people -- they're sitting out there during these debates. Fifteen million unemployed. Millions more who are so dispirited they've given up trying. Moms and dads and families who have been shipwrecked because they don't have the dignity of a job.

[And he goes on from there with nothing but talking points and no response to Greta's question.]

Huntsman: I'm running Adlai Stevenson campaign in NH

His Kurt Cobain joke having bombed, Jon Huntsman tried a new cultural reference point on Fox News last night-- Adlai Stevenson.

"You can go from zero -- the margin of error candidate, as I liked to call ourselves. I can't call us that anymore -- to knocking on the door of second place in New Hampshire.

That's with nothing on the air, Greta. That's just good old, Adlai Stevenson, shoe-leather politicking."

Huntsman was referring to a recent poll showing him moving into 3rd place in New Hampshire at 10% -- behind Ron Paul and Mitt Romney.

Bristol Palin's heckler apologizes

Bristol Palin's infamous heckler says he regrets calling Sarah a "whore" who's on her way to hell.

"Having had an opportunity to view the camera footage of the incident this past Thursday at the Saddle Ranch Bar & Chop House in West Hollywood, and having reflected on the incident over the weekend, I have come to the conclusion that no matter what my feelings are towards Sarah Palin, I should not have expressed them towards her daughter, Bristol Palin."

Here's vid of the confrontation, which has some NSFW language, and came during the taping of her reality show.

Evening eats

a. Christie, Ryan, and Bush would probably all disappoint.

b. Gingrich discusses his new Contract with America.

c. Rick Perry's golf.

d. Romney sets low Q3 expectations.

e. Romney winning the qualifications primary.

f. Litmus testing Christie.

g. Kristol to Christie.

Perry apologizes for "heart" comments

Rick Perry tells Newsmax that he regrets saying during the last debate that opponents of the DREAM Act lacked a heart.

"I probably chose a poor word to explain that for people who don’t want their state to be giving tuition to illegal aliens, illegal immigrants in this country -- that's their call and I respect that.

I was probably a bit over-passionate by using that word and it was inappropriate.”

That being said, he still defended the decision, if not the language.

Vid via Katrina Trinko.



Perry's controversial answer during the debate.

"If you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state for no other reason than they've been brought there by no fault of their own, I don't think you have a heart."

Romney, Obama close in Pennsylvania, Ohio

Two, new Quinnipiac University Poll shows Mitt Romney and Barack Obama running nearly even in the two key midwestern states.

PENNSYLVANIA:

General election matchups:

a. Barack Obama 45% Mitt Romney 43%

b. Barack Obama 45% Rick Santorum 42%

c. Barack Obama 46% Rick Perry 40%

Romney leads Obama by 4% and does a better job consolidating Republicans behind him, but thanks to Democrats' superior numbers in the state, Obama just edges him.

There's a significant gender divide between the two. Romney is up by 8% among men; Obama up 9% among women. Union households favor Obama by 9%.

OHIO:

a. Barack Obama 44% Mitt Romney 42%

b. Barack Obama 44% Rick Perry 41%

Independents are split between Romney and Obama, 39%-39%. Romney does a remarkable good job uniting the party, winning Republicans 93%-3%. Obama, on the other hand, only gets 83% of Democrats.

As far as the GOP primary goes in each state, Romney again appears to be blunting Perry's sudden rise.

In Ohio, Romney is the top choice for Republicans over Perry, 24%-20%, while in PA, Romney leads 18%-16%.

Cain to Palin: I'm not the flavor of the week

Herman Cain, after being told that Sarah Palin had called him the "flavor of the week" last night.

"That's not true, first of all. The difference between me winning that straw poll and what we're going to do to leverage that is a couple of things: primarily, I have a message that's resonating with the American people -- the voters.

.... rather than being the flavor of the week, people are saying 'Ah, there's more to that flavor than meets the eye', and it's substance."

[Hat tip: Buzz Tracker]

Romney leads in Florida

A couple of very good polls for Mitt Romney today.

Earlier, American Research Group showed him regaining the lead in Iowa, while Public Policy Polling now shows him besting Rick Perry in Florida -- the probably going rogue state.

1. Mitt Romney 30%

2. Rick Perry 24%

3. Newt Gingrich 10%

4. Ron Paul 8%

5. Herm Cain 7%

6. Michele Bachmann 6%

7. Jon Huntsman 3%

8. Rick Santorum 2%

9. Gary Johnson 1%

The big story here is that Perry's performance in the second Florida debate really seems to have hurt him.

In the polling before the debate, Perry and Romney were even, but in the samples taken the following two days, Romney jumped to a 10% lead.

More striking: Perry's fav number dropped from +40% before the debate to +12% after.

As for a head-to-head, Romney beats Perry by 9%, and it looks like the "somewhat conservative"'s are the tiebreakers.

Romney's winning overall because he's up 36-24 with those identifying as 'somewhat conservative.' This really seems to be the swing voting bloc within the GOP electorate for this year.

For the most part Perry's been leading that group in our polling since his entry so it's a very good sign for Romney that they may perhaps be swinging back in the other direction.

The new polling lags but confirms the conventional wisdom that developed soon after the debate -- that Romney has emerged as the weak front-runner again.

One more thing: Check out Newt. He's hopped up to 3rd. Maybe the Valley Forge candidate isn't dead, after all.

Bachmann, meanwhile, continues to fall, placing roughly even with Herm Cain.

Christie's dad thinks he'd win

Via National Review:

“I know he’d be a great president,” Mr. Christie says. “He has always been a leader. I think he would beat [President] Obama.”

But don’t get too excited. “I’ve never asked him if he’s going to run,” Mr. Christie cautions.

“I trust if it’s going to happen, I’d be hearing it from him. I tell him, just let me hear any good news, but let me hear it first, or at least before you announce it to the world.”

What strikes me most is that his dad doesn't refer to Christie's frequent denials about running, but of course, I might be reading too much into this.

Perry's immigration problem

Matt Lewis makes a very good point -- illegal immigration is an easier scapegoat for all sorts of things than RomneyCare (emphasis added).

The immigration issue is especially divisive for a variety of reasons. Stopping illegal immigration is a populist panacea: The guy stuck in traffic can blame illegal immigrants. The guy who lost his job can blame illegal immigrants. The guy who got burglarized can blame illegal immigration. The guy who can’t get into college can blame illegal immigrants …

RomneyCare may be philosophically more offensive to conservatives — I would argue that the individual mandate is much worse — but the average American can’t blame RomneyCare for bad traffic or crime. And it’s even harder (though not impossible) to make the connection between the individual mandate and losing your job. That’s just one of the reasons this issue is so problematic for Perry.

These are all emotional issues — especially during tough economic times. And since voters can’t exactly vote against illegal immigrants, their only option is to take their frustration out on a surrogate — like Perry — at the ballot box.

Romney leads in Iowa

A new American Research Group poll shows Mitt Romney back on top in Iowa, with Sarah Palin plummeting further.

1. Mitt Romney 21%

2. Michele Bachmann 15%

3. Rick Perry 14%

4. Ron Paul 12%

5. Newt Gingrich 8%

6. Herman Cain 6%

7. Sarah Palin 4%

8. Rick Santorum 2%

Palin's numbers have flopped around in the past three ARG polls. In April, she was also just at 4%, but in July she jumped to 11%. Now she's back to 4%. So it's not clear where she stands quantitatively, but the overarching fact is that she's struggling.

This was ARG's first poll since Perry became a serious candidate, so it's hard to know if he's actually dipped in Iowa. A slew of polls, post his official announcement, showed him vaulting to the lead.

Trump: "Awfully late" for Palin to run

Donald Trump, who's a big fan of Sarah Palin's, after being asked this morning if she should run.

"It's getting awfully late. It's getting awfully late.

And I actually think that the people that are running probably should really come to the forefront now, because somebody's going to have to beat Obama."

Translation: She should cede control of the spotlight for the good sake of the party and its real candidates or actually decide to run now (ironic, actually, coming from Donald, but a widely-held sentiment from Republicans about both).

Romney calls Trump meeting "delightful"

On Morning Joe, Mitt Romney talked about his meeting with Donald Trump earlier this week.

"We didn't eat together, but we spent time together with a couple of his kids and a couple of my colleagues, and he's always delightful. I enjoy Donald Trump.

He was colorful."

Romney also said he sees "pretty much eye-to-eye" with Trump on China, which prompted James Pethokoukis to tweet out vid of that time Trump called Chinese leadership "motherf-----s."

Herman Cain doesn't like being called "Herm"

Byron York follows-up on Sarah Palin's reference last night to Herman Cain as "Herm".

I asked Ellen Carmichael, Cain's campaign spokeswoman, if that's a commonly-used nickname for her boss. Her answer: Not at all, but in true Herman Cain fashion, the candidate doesn't take it too seriously.

"Mr. Cain prefers people call him 'anything but Herm,'" Carmichael said in an email. "But earlier this week, when Dennis Miller endorsed him, he called him 'Herm.' I'm sure when he finds out that Governor Palin called him that, he will be fine, just as he was when Miller called him that. Herman Cain is very good-natured and doesn't look for reasons to be upset with people."

Romney stresses bipartisanship

On Morning Joe this morning, Mitt Romney used his gubernatorial work with Democrats as a selling point to Republican voters.

"[Obama] has not had the experience of having to work across the aisle, work with people you disagree with, see if you can find common ground, meet the needs of other people and cobble together something that fits your principle.

.... I spent my whole life, politically, in a state where our legislature was 85% Democrat. I had to learn how to find people across the aisle who shared some of our principles and our views to get the job done."

Couple things:

1. This is a general election-type argument that, smartly, feeds into a primary election argument.

His statement isn't about ideology; it's about practicality, and that fits into one of Romney's strategies in the primary -- emphasize his electability in a general election by saying Hey, look. I can say all the right things that appeal to centrist voters. Perry can't.

That was partly what the Social Security debate was about.

2. It's the positive end of RomneyCare.

He doesn't defend his record on anything explicitly bipartisan, even though he's selling bipartisanship. That's not to say he doesn't have a record, but getting into specifics of compromise might actually compromise his appeal to conservative voters.

Of course, Perry and the others will get specific about his record for him, but Romney will throw out the "85%" and "cobble together" lines to fight back.

Here's more of his bipartisan chatter that you'd expect to hear in a general election debate, but that he might be throwing as a nod to primary voters who want someone electable.

"When I was governor of Massachusetts, the speaker of the house, and the senate president and I got together every week, every Monday, we spent time quietly.... there was a quiet kind of conversation among people, who had a common concern which was trying to make our state better."

Florida likely to move up primary debate

CNN on the calendar shuffle.

Florida is expected to move its presidential primary to the last day in January 2012, a move likely to throw the carefully arranged Republican nominating calendar into disarray and jumpstart the nominating process a month earlier than party leaders had hoped.

Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon told CNN on Tuesday that a state commission exploring potential primary dates is likely to choose January 31 to hold the nominating contest.

Speaking of shuffling, remember this?

Why Christie's tease isn't like Palin's

There are a few reasons:

1. Christie has given us a decision; Palin hasn't.

Sure, he's made high-profile speeches and has been courted by high-profile donors and brokers, but he's gone on the record in every which way to say he won't run.

Palin, on the other hand, has spent two years of giving high-profile speeches, alighting in Iowa, and teasing the press without saying whether she'll run or not.

Christie's tease has been largely the media's creation. Palin's has been largely her own.

2. Christie has been endearingly frank about speculation; Palin hasn't.

Oddly, Sarah Palin has attacked those who predict she'll run, and those who predict she won't run, and overall, affected an attitude that she's uncomfortable with the exact presidential speculation she encourages.

Christie, on the other hand, has been refreshingly frank in dealing with the rumors. Last night, he said that all the attention is flattering, and that's not new candor from the governor.

Check out this interview with Matt Bai from February.

While Christie has flatly ruled out a presidential run in 2012, there is enough conjecture about the possibility that I felt moved to ask him a few weeks ago if he found it exhausting to have to constantly answer the same question.

“Listen, if you’re going to say you’re exhausted by that, you’re really taking yourself too seriously,” Christie told me, then broke into his imitation of a politician who is taking himself too seriously.

“ ‘Oh, Matt, please, stop asking me about whether I should be president of the United States! The leader of the free world! Please stop! I’m exhausted by the question!’ I mean, come on. If I get to that point, just slap me around, because that’s really presumptuous. What it is to me is astonishing, not exhausting.”

Palin, meanwhile, has treated the speculation and idea of being president like a burden, claiming that she'd be "perfectly happy to go back to Wasilla, Alaska with my five children and my grandson and raise a happy, healthy family, loving our great outdoors."

Nevertheless, she lamented that she'd be willing "to sacrifice" if duty calls. In fact, this theme -- that she doesn't want to run, but might be pushed -- shows up constantly.

Christie, on the other hand, has said that he won't run, even though he's being pushed. The contrast with Palin couldn't be greater.

3. Christie hasn't seemed to deliberately step on other's toes; Palin has.

On June 2, Mitt Romney officially announced his bid for president in New Hampshire. Also, on June 2, Sarah Palin showed up in New Hampshire, clearly stepping on Romney's day.

Then, in August, Palin suddenly showed up at the Iowa state fair the same weekend that declared candidates were roaming about the grounds.

She denied that she was trying to hog the other candidates' attentions, claiming that she just wanted to meet "the good people of Iowa" in a statement that "sure, you were" was designed for.

Christie, meanwhile, has been willing to let candidates have their days.

Yes, Christie has done his fair share of indulging presidential questions, but for the reasons listed above, his answers seem both more honest and more palatable to the cynics politics produces.

Perry plugs along

Jonathan Martin reports:

Even as some of his supporters grow anxious, the Texas governor’s top aides insist they have no plans for real or even symbolic changes to their campaign.

The only pivot they’ll make, they say, is to become more aggressive with Mitt Romney.

The defiant response in the face of nearly a week of sharp criticism is a reflection of Perry’s own pugnacious style — the best defense is a good offense.

.... “We’re not going to change what we’re doing,” said Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “It’s a long race.”

As Martin notes, that stands in marked contrast with Perry backers and bundlers who do want him to change what he's doing, or at least do it a lot better.

[Hat tip: Mark Halperin]

Palin sends more mixed signals

Sarah Palin, as often, sent ambivalent signals in her interview on Fox News last night.

The clip that everyone is buzzing about last night and this morning as a sign that she's leaning against a run:

"I'm going to keep repeating though, Greta, through my process of decision-making with my family and with my close friends as to whether I should throw my name in the hat for the GOP nomination for 2012: Is a title worth it?

Does a title shackle a person? Are they -- someone like me, maverick, you know, I do go rogue, and I call it like I see it, and I don't mind stirring it up.... is a title and is a campaign too shackling? Does that prohibit me from being out there, out of the box, not allowing handlers to shape me?"

I say "ambivalent signals" because, as I posted earlier, her stump monologue for Herm Cain sounded suspiciously similar to one she'd make for herself.

The counter is that she was indicating that she might endorse him.

But, in the past, she's said that she'll only support someone who's both a constitutional conservative (check for Herm Cain) and electable (no check for Herm Cain).

Palin, last November.

"I'm certainly going to take a good lay-of-the-land look, and see if there are others out there, who are electable, who are willing to make the tough decisions, won't care what the heck the media says about them, but will do the right things and shrink the government so the private sector can thrive.

If there are others out there, willing to do that and make the sacrifices, then I'll support them. If there's nobody else, I would do it."

Palin praises Herman Cain

On Greta Van Susteren last night, Sarah Palin notably praised Herman Cain and not any of her top, potential rivals.

"Take Herm Cain.

Look at why he's doing so well right now.... Herm Cain is the one up there who doesn't look like he's part of that permanent, political class.

Herm Cain -- he came from a working class family, he's had to make it on his own all these years. We respect that. That has an automatic connection with the electorate.

.... He's not elite."

Plug in Palin's name for Cain's, and you can see that Palin could just as easily been giving a stump speech for herself.

Christie reject calls to run at Reagan Library

It took two questions in the question and answer portion of Chris Christie's Reagan Library speech (full text here) last night for an audience member to ask him about his presidential ambitions.

His answer, though probably scripted (he had to know it was coming), was masterful.

QUESTION: Governor Christie, you're known as a straight shooter -- one not given to playing games. Can you tell us what's going on here?

Are you reconsidering, or are you standing firm?

[huge audience applause]

CHRISTIE: Listen, I have to tell you the truth: you folks are an incredible disappointment as an audience.

The fact that that took to the second question shows you people are off your game. That is not American exceptionalism.

Listen, I'll be really succinct about this. I saw something great about this on the Politico website, and I don't mean to be an advertiser for Politico, but they put a minute and 50 seconds of my answer, strung back-to-back-to-back together on the question of running for the presidency.

Vid via Mediaite.



Later, Christie took a much more impassioned question about his presidential intentions.

QUESTION: I've been listening to you tonight -- you're a very powerful and eloquent speaker. You know how to tell the American people what they need to hear, and I say this from the bottom of my heart -- for my daughter right here and my grandchildren who are at home -- I know New Jersey needs you, but I really implore you, I really do. I'm not being funny, I mean this with all my heart. We can't wait another four years to 2016, and I really implore you, as a citizen of this country, please sir, reconsider.

.... We need you. Your country needs you to run for presidency.

[Huge, sustained applause]

CHRISTIE: Let me just say this, because there've been a lot of people who have asked me about this over the course of the last number of weeks and months, and this is all I'll say about that tonight -- I hear exactly what you're saying, and I feel the passion with which you say it, and it touches me."

Vid via Mediaite.

Palin slams press for trying to create "reality show"

Ironically, Sarah Palin last night took on the media for turning the presidential contest into a "reality show" -- something she obviously knows something of.

"For many in the media, this is like a reality show.

I think Newsweek the other day had an article that really nailed it when they said that there are media outlets that try to create this reality show, this intrigue, and who's going to be the next flavor of the week, and they prop somebody up in order to crush that person, it seems, later on."

My favorite part of that bit.

"media outlets that try to create this reality show, this intrigue, and who's going to be the next flavor of the week"

Practically everything Palin has done over the past year -- from her mysterious stop-and-go bus tours to her sudden crashing of the Iowa state fair -- has seemed designed to create this same "intrigue" that she hits in the interview.

Evening eats

a. Herman Cain will be on Leno this Friday.

b. Cain says blacks are "over this first-African-American president thing."

c. Mitt Romney reels in $1 million in Manhattan.

d. Obama is bleeding Wall Street donors to Romney.

e. Rick Perry retrenches.

f. Newt and Cain come back?

Rick Santorum's poach

Starting to win over those "key people".

Santorum said his camp has even been in talks with “key people” in Bachmann’s camp.

These people are not paid staff, but Iowa activists that “are in conversations with us and see things not going well for her,” he explained.

Not staff, not advisers, not any named elected officials, but "key people".

Michael Reagan: Dad might have lost 2012 primary

Conservative talk show host, Michael Reagan, on Fox News this afternoon, lamenting his party's obsession with purity.

"If you look at my father and you just knew him as governor -- raised taxes, signed an abortion bill, no-fault divorce, and a few other things -- today, the argument against him would come from the Right; not from the Left.

He would have trouble getting his own nomination, but yet he ended up being the greatest president in our lifetimes.

We need to look at the whole package, the whole picture, everybody, and stop nit-picking ourselves to death."

Reagan wants Romney, Perry to cool it down

Conservative talk show host, Michael Reagan, says they're 11th commandment violators.

"Neither Mitt Romney nor Rick Perry, at this point, really have a clear message unless it's against each other, which means they've taken the 11th commandment and thrown it under the bus."

Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment was to not speak ill of a fellow Republican -- a commandment that, over the years, has only been embraced by front-runners who are about 40% ahead in the polls with $50 million more cash-on-hand than anyone else.

Brother says Chris Christie won't run

NJ.Com:

Members of Gov. Chris Christie's inner circle said today he won't run for president, batting down increased speculation that spiked on Monday when former Gov. Tom Kean said Christie was thinking about throwing his hat in the ring.

Christie's brother, a well-connected Republican fundraiser, said the governor hasn't changed his mind.

"I'm sure that he's not going to run," Todd Christie said. "If he's lying to me, I'll be as stunned as I've ever been in my life."

[Hat tip: Mediaite]

Obama opens 10% lead on Ron Paul

As Rasmussen notes, they were tied last month; now Obama leads, according to the pollster, 44%-34%.

A possible theory is that with increased interest in the '12 race, Paul is getting seen and heard more, which might be driving his numbers down. In fact, only 61% of Republicans now support him in a matchup with the POTUS.

Jeb defends Romney on Race to the Top

Jeb Bush tells The Buzz that he backs Mitt Romney's support* for Barack Obama's Race to the Top education initiative.

"Leaving aside the idea of whether the federal government should be spending money it doesn't have, I would rather have the feds be funding reforms in the teacher profession, strong testing and assessments, and school choice (sadly not private school choice) than funding the status quo.

States were not obligated to do anything. They could compete for the money or not. It is not intrusive federal policy. The focus should be on rising student achievement. Reform will make that more likely."

*Romney's support seems conditional, as this Perry video makes clear.



I didn't get a chance to watch last week's debate live (I was drinking port on a palace's terrace, overlooking the Portugal coast, lined with sparkling, village lights that made Thomas Kinkade look bleaker than Tim Burton), but was surprised that Romney didn't defend Race to the Top, which has often been a point of agreement between Republicans and the administration.

Btw, NRO's Katrina Trinko has more on how Romney's defense of the pseudo-flip here. Apparently, Team Romney claims that it supports Race to the Top's objectives but not its execution at the federal level, and the townhall transcript bears that out. But that technicality doesn't make the sound of it much better for Romney, and that sound was that he seemed to back away from something he was supporting very recently.

Chris Christie just saying "No"

This was bound to happen -- two minutes of Chris Christie saying he won't run for president in variously damaging ways. Especially bad: the times he says he's not ready to be president.



Speaking of just saying no -- the classic parody.

"Nancy and I are hooked on heroin."

Report: Palin "days away" from decision

The New York Times' Michael Shear:

Sarah Palin has been quiet recently. Surprisingly quiet.

Ms. Palin, a one-time Alaska governor, is reportedly just days away from deciding whether to run for president.

In the meantime, her Twitter feed and Facebook page have gone silent for the last 10 days. Her Web site has not been updated recently.

If she decides to run, Shear notes, it will probably get leaked in one way or another.

Aides will move quickly to incorporate a campaign committee, probably in Delaware. They will have to find a headquarters building. (An aide promised it would not be inside the Washington Beltway.) Calls will be placed to 15 or 20 wealthy supporters to begin preparing for a fund-raising blitz.

.... Any of those moves would leak out quickly, and the people around Ms. Palin know it.

While we're on the topic, Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake have a good read today, claiming that Palin "is simply not a top-tier candidate".

She trails frontrunning Texas Gov. Rick Perry by 21 points and second-place finisher Mitt Romney wins three times the support Palin does in the poll.

And the bad news doesn’t stop there. Just 51 percent of self-identified Republicans in the poll said that Palin has the “personality” and leadership qualities a president should have” — well below the number who said the same of Perry (73 percent) and Romney (83 percent).

With electability rising as a concern among Republican voters, the fact that she trails President Obama by 21 points in a head-to-head matchup — the largest margin of any GOP candidate — is yet more bad news for Palin.

I think there has to be a distinction between top-tier in reality and perception. If polls are any indicator, Jon Huntsman was never a top-tier candidate, but the media treated him as one in the beginning (and in some ways, we all still give him more space than polling or grassroots enthusiasm warrants).

Palin would be the Huntsman situation on steroids and, thus, be considered a top-tier candidate by all of us even if polling doesn't back that up (although I think she'd rise pretty rapidly in challenging Perry if she got in).

Romney continues pounding Perry on immigration

Mitt Romney releases a web ad, tying Rick Perry to Maryland's Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley on the DREAM act.

Perry is visiting the area today for a fundraiser.

I think Romney might be making a big blunder on this one. Short-term, it seems to be producing good results for him, but he doesn't have to be the messenger. Rick Santorum would be more than happy to be Perry's gadfly on it, and grassroots activists continue to buzz about Perry on immigration without Romney's prodding.

Long-term, it could prove very damaging to Romney. He's polled strongly in general election matchups with Obama in western toss-up states like Nevada (3% lead), but he risks all that with the Hispanic community by turning this into such a big primary issue.