The New Republic

With his candidacy now lying on its deathbed, it is past time for me to confess my secret shame: I kind of like Mitt Romney. I don't just like him strategically, the way many other liberals do, as the weakest potential Republican nominee, although I do like him that way as well. I'm saying that I genuinely sympathize with and relate to the man. READ MORE >>

In my last column, which defends Mitt Romney, I wrote that the vicious way Romney's fellow GOP contenders gang up on him makes him more sympathetic in my eyes: READ MORE >>

A new Mitt Romney ad running in Florida offers yet more proof of how he's retooled his campaign around the economy -- and how it plays to his strengths as a candidate:   READ MORE >>

A quick thought on the GOP debate: Mitt-bashing has been a preoccupation of this blog*, and it was out in full-force tonight. Huckabee kicked off the proceedings after Romney told him to worry about explaining his own position "and I'll explain mine." (No transcript yet, so I've got to rely on my rough notes.) Huck's quick response: "Which one?" He went on to accuse Romney of calling for a timed withdrawal from Iraq before becoming a devout supporter of the surge and staying the course. READ MORE >>

Mitt Romney is a Mormon. He is also rich. According to data released by his campaign in August, Romney's net worth is between $190 and $250 million. He earned much of this money at Bain Capital, the private equity firm he started with two partners in 1984. Under Romney's leadership, Bain took advantage of the leveraged buyout craze of the 1980s and '90s to become a wildly profitable corporation. READ MORE >>

Move over, "definition of 'is,'" you've got competition: Mr. Romney said today that he had been using the word “saw” in a “figurative sense.” READ MORE >>

Over at The Stump, Noam responds to my question about whether a Romney Iowa victory will matter with a resounding "Yes!" and goes on to make this smart point:  READ MORE >>

Adam Nagourney makes a great point in his web column today: Mr. Romney argued that his appearance at the Values Voters Summit was a victory because he eked out a small win in a straw poll there. But straw polls are given to easy manipulation by campaigns, and this one should be taken with more than a few grains of salt. READ MORE >>

Pretty much everything you needed to know about tonight's GOP debate--and much of what you need to know about the GOP race--happened in the first 15 or 20 minutes. That's when Fox News correspondent Chris Wallace invited each of the leading candidates to attack their rivals--and the candidates took him up on it. READ MORE >>

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