Outside the Beltway

Pundits love to speculate about new candidates entering the race and spicing things up. This will all be academic quite soon because filing dates in key states are fast approaching.

We’re getting close to the point where only two people on this stage will matter.

Governor Jan Brewer says Arizona will hold its primary February 28, per state law. This violates Republican primary rules and will almost certainly set off a chain reaction.

Is she in or is she out? And does it matter?

It’s Rick Perry’s second day on the campaign trail, and he’s already trading barbs with the guy at the top of the field.

Does Ron Paul’s second place showing at Ames mean the media should take him seriously as a contender? No, it doesn’t.

The Ames Straw Poll is like the first scrimmage of NFL training camp.

A good day for Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, and Rick Perry. A bad day for everyone else.

Time for the spinning of the straw poll results to begin.

I got your broken right here: the presidential nomination process.

The failure of House Republicans to pass a bill that would have been dead on arrival in the Senate, anyway, raises questions about whether a deal is possible and whether John Boehner can lead his own coalition.

A new Tim Pawlenty television ad is raising copyright issues rather than, as intended, bringing back memories of the 80s.

Once again, the primary scheduling race is getting ridiculous.

The Obama campaign is stressing that 98 percent of its donations were from little guys contributing $250 or less. But 40 percent of the money came from a handful of major donors.

Tim Pawlenty took aim at Michele Bachmann yesterday but will he keep up the attack?

On paper, Jon Huntsman looks like a great General Election candidate. The problem is it seems impossible for him to win the GOP nomination.

The race for the GOP nomination is taking shape.

Despite the disdain for him on the the hard right, Mitt Romney is the man to beat right now in the race for the GOP nomination.

The battle of Iowa is beginning with Mitt Romney in the lead, but Herman Cain and Sarah Palin aren’t far behind.

Herman Cain is getting a lot of attention lately, but will he amount to anything?

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani tops the latest CNN poll of Republican presidential contenders.

You don’t often see a candidate for President tell Iowans that he wants to eliminate ethanol subsidies, but Tim Pawlenty did.

Mike Huckabee’s decision not to run has shaken up the GOP field for 2012.

New rules for the 2012 primary open the door for a Tea Party candidate to take the GOP nomination.

David Brooks declares Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels, and Jon Huntsman the only serious candidates for the Republican nomination.

A study shows that most national columnists and talking heads are about as accurate as a coin flip.

Nate Silver argues today’s polls “have a reasonable amount of predictive power in informing us as to the identity of the eventual nominee.”

They say anyone can grow up to be president. Michele Bachmann is apparently taking them at their word.

Is Sarah Palin running for President in 2012 ? It’s looking more and more likely that the answer might be yes.

On January 3, 2008 Mike Huckabee celebrated a victory in the Iowa Caucuses, will be able to repeat that in 2012 ?

Republicans are looking at making some major, and interesting, changes to the primary calendar for 2012.