President Obama used a speech at West Point last week to announce that he has ordered 30,000 additional troops to be sent to Afghanistan as part of a new, refocused strategy intended to quell the Taliban and help the Afghan government build up its own security forces. As part of the new strategy, Obama also said last week that the U.S. would begin to remove those additional troops in July 2011, depending upon the conditions on the ground in the war-torn country.

“I think he’s made the right decision with regards to Afghanistan in a general direction,” former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.

“And, by the way, you’re noting that Republicans are not making this a political football,” the former White House hopeful added. “Republicans are saying ‘Yeah, he’s done the right thing here.’”

But, Romney’s praise of Obama quickly turned to criticism.

“It took him a long time,” Romney said of Obama’s 3-month deliberation process. “That was a mistake, of course.

“I think he is mistaken also in sending these conflicting and confusing signals about the timeline because you don’t want in any way to have [Pakistan or Afghanistan] thinking that somehow we’re only in there for 18 months and then we’re getting out no matter what. That’s not the message you want to have heard.”

Romney also questioned Obama’s judgment in providing Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan with 30, 000 additional troops when McChrystal had reportedly requested 40,000 more.

“My first question is not, ok, how do I get it down to 30,000?” Romney told CNN Chief National correspondent John King. “My first question is what’s the right number?”

“I think [Obama] may have been a little unwise to cut back on that number,” Romney said Sunday. “But we sure hope [Obama’s surge] works,” the Republican added.

Romney’s comments echoed those of Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl who said earlier on State of the Union that Republicans generally supported Obama’s decision to order the surge.

But “I think he has complicated matters by having this firm beginning-of-withdrawal date” of July 2011, added Kyl.

“The reason I said it complicates matters is that in war, will matters, “explained Kyl, “In fact, the whole object of war is to break the will of the enemy to fight.”

During an interview Thursday night on CNN's Larry King Live, Romney, who in his four years as governor said he did not pardon or commute a single sentence, noted the focus should be on the tragedy that struck the lives of Washington State residents.

Huckabee has come under fire because, as governor of Arkansas in 2000, he signed a clemency order for Maurice Clemmons. That made Clemmons, who at the time was serving a 108 year prison sentence, eligible for parole, which was granted. Clemmons, 37, was fatally shot Tuesday by police in Seattle, Washington, after a two-day manhunt that began after he allegedly killed the officers at a coffee shop in Lakewood, Washington.

"You have three families that lost their father, one family that lost their mother, and this is just tragic," Romney said. "I think [Huckabee] indicated that had he got the chance to do it again based on what he knows now, of course he wouldn't have made that decision and I believe that's true."

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney said he put strict pardoning guidelines in place to avoid letting personal impressions fog his judgment.

"My conclusion was if somebody has been convicted by a jury of their peers and they have been prosecuted and the police were able to get the evidence necessary to put them behind bars, why in the world would I step in and reverse that sentence," he said.

Romney and Huckabee, who both unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, are considered possible contenders for the 2012 GOP nomination.

Romney lays out his plan to fix the economy in an op-ed Thursday.'

Washington (CNN) – Mitt Romney says that like other presidents, Barack Obama inherited a recession. But the former Massachusetts governor feels unlike his predecessors, Obama has made the recession he inherited worse, not better.

In an op-ed in Wednesday's USA Today, Romney says what he calls the president's inability to "stem" the rise in unemployment should not be a surpise.

"With no experience whatsoever in the world of employment and business formation, he had no compass to guide his path. Instead, he turned over much of his economic recovery agenda to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, themselves nearly as inexperienced in the private sector as he," says Romney.

The op-ed's release comes hours before the president holds a jobs forum at the White House. The nation's unemployment rate stands at 10.2 percent, the highest level in 26 years. November's job report will be released Friday.

In the article, Romney, a Republican presidential candidate in the 2008 election and a possible contender for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, lays out advice he terms a ten point plan to help reenergize the economy.

See Romney's "10-point plan" after the jump.

My 10-point plan

The president's economists insist that technically, the recession is over. But double-digit unemployment was neither prevented nor has it ended. To get people back to work as rapidly as possible and to restore America's economic vitality, the nation must change course. Here's the advice I would give:

• Repair the stimulus. Freeze the funds that haven't yet been spent and redirect them to immediate, private sector job-creation priorities.

• Create tax incentives that promote business expansion and hiring. For example, install a robust investment tax credit, permit businesses to expense capital purchases made in 2010, and reduce payroll taxes. These will reignite construction, technology and a wide array of capital goods industries, and lead to expanded employment.

• Prove to the global investors that finance America's debt that we are serious about reining in spending and becoming fiscally prudent by adopting limits on non-military discretionary spending and reforming our unsustainable, unfunded entitlements. These are key to strengthening the dollar, reducing the threat of rampant inflation and holding down interest rates.

• Close down any talk of carbon cap-and-trade. It will burden consumers and employers with billions in new costs. Instead, greatly expand our commitment to natural gas and nuclear, boosting jobs now and reducing the export of energy jobs and dollars later.

• Tell the unions that job-stifling "card check" legislation is off the table. Laying new burdens on small business will kill entrepreneurship and job creation.

• Don't allow a massive tax increase to go into effect in 2011 with the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. The specter of more tax-fueled government spending and the reduction of capital available for small business will hinder investment and business expansion.

• New spending should be strictly limited to items that are critically needed and that we would have acquired in the future, such as new military equipment to support our troops abroad and essential infrastructure at home.

• Install dynamic regulations for the financial sector — rules that are up to date, efficient and not excessively burdensome. But do not so tie up the financial sector with red tape that we lose a vital component of our economic system.

• Open the doors to trade. Give important friends like Colombia favored trade status rather than bow to protectionist demands. Now is the time for aggressive pursuit of opportunities for new markets for American goods, not insular retrenchment.

• Stop frightening the private sector by continuing to hold GM stock, by imposing tighter and tighter controls on compensation, and by pursuing a public insurance plan to compete with private insurers. Government encroachment on free enterprise is depressing investment and job creation.

The 10% unemployment crisis hangs like an albatross around President Obama's neck. Eventually, as with every recession and recovery, the economy will improve and jobs will be created, but those who were unnecessarily unemployed due to the president's faulty economic program will not forget. In order to most rapidly re-employ all Americans and to speed a strong recovery, the president must change course. If he does not, Republicans will bring a change of their own to Washington in the 2010 elections.

UPDATE: In a statement, the Democratic National Committee scoffed at Romney's ideas and claimed that Republicans have refused to offer their own plans to fix the economy.

"Now, instead of acknowledging, as leading economists and the independent CBO have, that the President's Recovery Act rescued this country's economy from the brink of disaster and has already saved or created 1.6 million jobs, Republican leaders like Mitt Romney and Eric Cantor are now offering 'plans' that are nothing more than a laundry list of the failed Bush-era economic policies that nearly destroyed our economy in the first place," said DNC national press secretary Hari Sevugan. "Mitt Romney's allegiance to Bush economics is one policy position he'd do well to flip-flop on."

Palin's favorable numbers among Iowa Republicans are strong, says a new poll - though one in four members of her party there have doubts.

(CNN) - Sarah Palin's book tour brings her to Iowa in two weeks. If the former Alaska governor and last year's GOP vice presidential nominee decides to return to Iowa down to road to explore a race for the White House, a new survey suggests that Republicans in the state like her - but have some doubts.

According to a Des Moines Register Iowa poll, 68 percent of Hawkeye Republicans view Palin favorably. That's a statistically insignificant 2 points behind those who have a positive view of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the 2008 Iowa caucuses, which traditionally kick off the presidential primary season.

Among other potential 2012 candidates: The survey indicates that two out of three view former House Speaker Newt Gingrich favorably and 58 percent have a positive view of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

"With those kinds of numbers, if she were to become a candidate, while it's not a sure thing, she would be starting out in a very good position," veteran Iowa GOP strategist David Roederer told the Des Moines Register. Roederer ran McCain's 2008 Iowa campaign.

But according to the poll, nearly one in four Iowa Republicans view Palin unfavorably. That's double the 12 percent who view Huckabee in an unfavorable way.

Among all Iowans, the survey indicates that 55 percent hold an unfavorable opinion, with 37 percent seeing her in a positive light.

Palin's tour for her new book, "Going Rogue: An American Life," brings her to Iowa on December 6. Palin's scheduled to sign copies of her book at a Barnes and Noble bookstore in Sioux City, Iowa.

The Des Moines Register Iowa poll was conducted November 8-11, with 800 registered voters in Iowa questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for the overall sample.

–CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn

Discussion has begun on the 2012 primary calendar.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Representatives from some of the top 2008 GOP presidential campaigns gathered in Washington, D.C. Thursday to urge the Republican National Committee to lock in a 2012 primary calendar as early as possible to avoid the confusion that dogged the early stages of last year's nomination contest. One campaign manager took his recommendations a step further and suggested ending the traditional first-in-the-nation statuses of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

An RNC panel headed by party chairman Michael Steele invited the campaigns to share their views as it considers numerous possible changes to the process the party will use to nominate a candidate to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012.

Mike DuHaime, the 2008 campaign manager for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, told the panel that the three early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina should continue to hold contests early in the process, but not necessarily as the first three contests.

"I believe there needs to be greater decision-making authority given to states beyond the early states," said DuHaime, referring to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. "If you win two out of three states, those have been our nominees. With that, 47 other states don't have the same say."

"I think that is ultimately not in the best interests of the party," he added.

DuHaime went on to say that the early phase of the nomination calendar should be more geographically and ethnically diverse and that doing so could make the party more competitive in general elections.
DuHaime's candidate did not campaign heavily in the early states and instead focused his time and energy on later contests.

Former Huckabee presidential campaign manager Chip Saltsman, whose candidate won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, defended the role of the traditional early states.

"I think it's very important and crucial to have Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina early on in the process," he said.

Saltsman said that he has seen during his experiences in Iowa from previous campaigns "just how seriously folks in those states take the process. Not that the other 47 states don't. It's an opportunity for any candidate, no matter how rich, no matter how poor, no matter how new, and no matter who's been running for eight years."

"This is making our candidates better candidates," Saltsman added.

The campaigns all agreed that regardless of what the calendar eventually looks like, it will be important to lock in the schedule early so that candidates can plan and strategize accordingly. In 2008, both the Republican and Democratic primary calendars were thrown into disarray when Michigan and Florida moved their contests earlier in the process to challenge the early positioning of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

"This is something that I don't know if there's a perfect solution, but there needs to be a solution," said Saltsman. "Set the rules. Set them fair. Let [the presidential campaigns] know what they are. And set them in a way that don't change."

Beth Myers, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's 2008 campaign manager, echoed a similar sentiment.

"I am of the belief that a campaign can plan for any calendar, but that certainty is what matters," she said in a written statement submitted to the panel. "In other words, my primary recommendation would be that the calendar is set as early as possible so that it is known by all campaigns."

Myers did not address the politically sensitive issue of whether Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina should remain as the first contests, but she did suggest a later start for the primary season, which began on January 3 in 2008, the earliest start of any presidential primary season in history.

"The one complaint we heard more than any other was that it started too close to the holidays," she said. "I would urge you to mandate a start in late February or early March."

Saltzman suggested late January as a starting point.

The RNC invited all the 2008 GOP presidential campaigns to provide feedback for Thursday's forum. The Huckabee, Giuliani and Duncan Hunter campaigns sent representatives to testify in person. The Romney, Ron Paul and Fred Thompson campaigns submitted written statements. The remainder of the 2008 GOP field, including the campaign of Sen. John McCain, did not respond to the invitation.

The RNC is expected to finalize its rules governing the nomination process at its summer meeting next year.

TOPICS: Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden

Full results (pdf)

Romney delivered a speech in California on Friday night.'

WASHINGTON (CNN)– Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney delivered a scathing criticism of President Obama's Afghanistan strategy Friday night, accusing the president of delivering rhetoric and not action in the war-torn country.

Quoting from a speech Obama delivered in March, Romney agreed with the president "that 'we are in Afghanistan to confront a common enemy that threatens the United States, our friends and allies."' Romney continued on seconding the president: "I believe 'that to succeed, we and our friends and allies must reverse the Taliban's gains, and promote a more capable and accountable Afghan government.'"

But Romney went on to criticize Obama for not holding enough meetings with top generals, and inadequately preparing for the elections in Afghanistan.

"The President has held his job for 10 months but does not yet have a strategy," Romney said during his speech before the Young America's Foundation in Santa Barbara, California. "What has he been doing that is more important than protecting the lives of the troops of which he is Commander-in-Chief? He has been campaigning- rallying at phony town meetings and making over 30 campaign stops for fellow Democrats. This President's inattention and dereliction remind me of those Northwest Airlines pilots who were so distracted from their jobs that they lost their way. But in this case, the consequences are far more severe."

Romney has been a constant critic of the Obama administration. In March, Romney accused the president of neglecting the country's needs, while posing for magazine covers, and making appearances on late night television during an interview with CNN's Larry King.

"This is a president who is learning on the fly," Romney said. "He's never turned anything around before. He hasn't had the experience of leading a nation or a business or a state in trouble. And the first rule I can tell him is focus, focus, focus. "

Since February, Romney has attended nine events for senatorial candidates, appeared at more than a dozen rallies or fundraisers for those running for governor this year or next, and spoken at almost two dozen meetings of Republican Party groups or conservative organizations. And he has finished a new book.

"This is a pivotal time in the history of our country," Romney said at his political action committee's office.
As the Republican Party searches for ways to rebound and find leaders it can turn to, Romney clearly is trying to position himself to be one of them.

In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, Romney ranked third in Republicans' choice for a 2012 nominee, behind former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin; 36 percent had a favorable view of him, while 26 percent had a negative view and 37 percent weren't sure.

If Romney does decide to make another presidential run, he will have accumulated a lot of political capital that can be a crucial asset.

His political action committee, Free and Strong America, has raised more than $2.6 million this year and given out more than $118,000 in contributions, according to financial records and the PAC.

–CNN's Kevin Bohn contributed to this report.

(CNN) - Mitt Romney is heading to Reagan country.

The former Massachusetts governor is scheduled to speak this Friday to the Young America's Foundation at the Ronald Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, California. Romney is expected to be the dinner banquet speaker for the foundation's West Coast Leadership Conference, which consists of young conservatives from 44 colleges and universities across 12 states.

"Young people provide much of the energy in the conservative movement, and if we are going to be successful as a party we need to harness that energy and put it work on behalf of the principles we all believe in – more freedom, lower taxes and limited government," says Romney Adviser Eric Fehrnstrom.

Since February, Romney has made a series of moves that could aid in any 2012 reprise of his 2008 presidential bid: He has attended nine events for senatorial candidates, appeared at more than a dozen rallies or fundraisers for those running for governor this year or next, and spoken at almost two dozen meetings of Republican Party groups or conservative organizations. He's also finished a new book, due out next year.

"From now until November of 2010, I will be working to help conservatives across the country," Romney told CNN last week. "The country, in my view, is being taken a direction that is very damaging, and I think people want to see a strong return of fundamental American principles."

–CNN Political Producer Kevin Bohn contributed to this report

Boston, Massachusetts (CNN) - If you look at his travel schedule crisscrossing the country, you might think Mitt Romney was still running for office.

Since February, he has attended nine events for senatorial candidates, appeared at more than a dozen rallies or fundraisers for those running for governor this year or next, and spoken at almost two dozen meetings of Republican Party groups or conservative organizations. And he has finished a new book.

"This is a pivotal time in the history of our country," Romney said recently at his political action committee's office.

As the Republican Party searches for ways to rebound from its recent losses and leaders who can be turned to, Romney clearly is trying to position himself to be one of them.

Full story

Romney is not making an endorsement in the NY 23 race.'

(CNN) - Is Mitt Romney weighing in on the intra-Republican Party fight in race for New York's 23 Congressional District by refusing to make an endorsement?

That's the special election where the GOP nominee, Dede Scozzafava, is facing a challenge not only from Bill Owens, the Democrat's candidate, but also from Doug Hoffman, who's running on the conservative party line. Because of the split among Republicans, Owens has a good chance of taking back a district the Democrats haven't won in generations.

On Wednesday Romney was asked whether he'd make an endorsement in the New York 23 contest.

"I have chosen not to endorse the Republican candidate in New York's 23rd District," Romney told reporters while campaigning in Virginia for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell. "That should speak a certain amount of volume. I can't endorse our candidate in that race."

Many top conservatives have weighed in on the race in the past few weeks, endorsing Hoffman, who jumped into the contest as a third party candidate after failing to gain the nod of Republican leaders in the district.

Among those backing Hoffman are possible 2012 GOP presidential contenders Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum. Both Romney and Mike Huckabee have refused to make an endorsement, while Newt Gingrich is supporting Scozzafava.

"Mitt Romney is a Republican and he tends to support the Republican candidate in races and when he can't because there are too many differences on the issues, he stays out of the race altogether and that's the course he's following in the New York special election. He doesn't plan to make any endorsement at all," Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom tells CNN.

The election in the three-way race to fill a vacant congressional seat is 5 days away. The office opened up after nine-term Republican Rep. John McHugh stepped down after being confirmed as Secretary of the Army. The largely rural district spans 11 counties in northern New York.

Republicans have represented this area of the state since 1872. McHugh never won less than 60 percent of the vote in his nine election victories, but Barack Obama did edge out John McCain in the district in last year's presidential election.

Scozzafava won the nomination in a vote taken by the 11 GOP county chairman in the district, rather than through a traditional primary election. The local Republican leaders picked the state assemblywoman, who is also backed by the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Republican National Committee, because they felt her moderate views would appeal to centrist Republicans, independents, and even some Democrats.

The move sparked a revolt among many conservatives, who are angry with what they call her liberal views on same-sex marriage and abortion.

Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter @psteinhausercnn

"We were unable to deal with - and didn't have any pretense we would somehow be able to change - health care costs in Massachusetts," Romney said in an interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta. "We still have a fee for service, a re-imbursement system here like every other state in America. That's the way Medicare and Medicaid are structured, that's the way the insurance industry is structured."

Romney said "Massachusetts is not the model" for reducing health care costs.

"We didn't deal with that here in Massachusetts, and frankly dealt with much more narrow issue - getting people insured that weren't insured and, and this is just as important, perhaps even more important, for those who are insured, making them understand that they will never lose their coverage," he said. "If you're in Massachusetts and you've got coverage and you lose your job youre always going to be covered.

Despite Romney's claim that he and his advisers never tried to change costs, The American Spectator pointed out Wednesday that he did boast about the plan's ability to lower costs when the legislation was being implented. In an April 2006 Wall Street Journal op-ed, Romney wrote: "Every uninsured citizen in Massachusetts will soon have affordable health insurance and the costs of health care will be reduced."

Romney has raised money for McDonnell numerous times.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is coming back to Virginia yet again to help Republican Bob McDonnell in the final week of his gubernatorial campaign against Democrat Creigh Deeds.

And he'll make the trip one day after President Obama is set to make a high-profile appearance for Deeds.

The McDonnell campaign announced Friday that Romney will appear with the entire Republican ticket - McDonnell, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Attorney General candidate Ken Cuccinelli - at a series of press conferences throughout the Commonwealth next week.

The photo-ops will take place in Virginia Beach, Roanoke and Richmond next Wednesday. Obama will appear in Norfolk on Tuesday.

Romney has already visited the state several times this year to raise money for both McDonnell and Bolling. If they both manage to win on Nov. 3, chances are they'll repay the favor if Romney decides to run for the White House in 2012.

Romney spoke at an AIPAC summit in California on Monday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Mitt Romney has a message for the Obama administration: Stop talking to Iran. Period.

"The Iranian leadership is the greatest immediate threat to the world since the fall of the Soviet Union, and before that, Nazi Germany," Romney said in a speech Monday to the pro-Israel group AIPAC at their national summit in San Diego, according to excerpts provided to CNN.

"The Iranian regime is unalloyed evil, run by people who are at once ruthless and fanatical," Romney said. "Stop thinking that a charm offensive will talk the Iranians out of their pursuit of nuclear weapons. It will not. And agreements, unenforceable and unverifiable, will have no greater impact here than they did in North Korea. Once an outstretched hand is met with a clenched fist, it becomes a symbol of weakness and impotence."

Romney - who has used a series of high-profile speeches to bolster his foreign policy profile in advance of a possible 2012 presidential bid - called on the United States to enact "comprehensive, withering sanctions" coupled with support for "the forces of freedom within Iran." He demanded that a "credible" military threat must remain on the table if Iranian leadership insists on threatening Israel with annihilation.

The former Massachusetts governor also blasted Obama for doing to much to accomodate Palestinian leadership in the pursuit of a peace process, while also placing an undue burden on Israel, "America's most ardent ally in the Middle East."

"The notion that Hamas and violent jihadists are motivated by 'shared interests' and 'common goals' is naïve in the extreme and dangerous to the entire free world," Romney said.

Sen. John McCain is holding a rally with Bob McDonnell on Saturday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – As one of only two statewide campaigns in the 2009 election cycle, the Virginia governor's race has seen a parade of national political stars make the trip to the Old Dominion.

Late Friday, Creigh Deeds' campaign announced that President Obama would join the Democratic candidate on the trail at the end of the month. Obama's 2008 presidential rival will get there first: On Saturday, Sen. John McCain will make his second trip to Virginia on behalf of Republican candidate Bob McDonnell. McCain, a decorated Navy hero, will help McDonnell make a closing pitch to veterans at a rally in Hampton Roads, a region of the state with a heavy military population.

McCain isn't the only high-profile Republican who has stumped for the former Virginia Attorney General: Two other former presidential candidates - former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee - have twice visited the state twice to campaign. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani also raised money for McDonnell.

Along with Romney and Huckabee, McDonnell has welcomed a number of top Republicans who may run for president in 2012. That list includes Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele campaigned with McDonnell in May.

Creigh Deeds, who spent the first half of the year in a three-way fight for the Democratic nomination, hasn't had an army of national figures campaign with him. But several prominent Democrats have chipped in to help.

On Friday, former Vice President Al Gore held a fundraiser for Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds. And next week, former President Bill Clinton will appear at a rally for Deeds along with longtime Clinton friend Terry McAuliffe, who sought the Democratic nomination before losing to Deeds in June.

The party's leader, President Obama, will make his second trip to Virginia to lend a hand, the Deeds campaign announced Friday. The visit will be Obama's second on the trail for the gubernatorial candidate: he campaigned for Deeds and hosted a fundraiser for him in August Vice President Joe Biden and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, have both stumped for Deeds.

For a campaign thought by many to be a referendum of the Obama presidency, the election will largely turn by local issues - specifically transportation and the economy. Deeds has also tried to make the race about women's issues by highlighting a conservative thesis written by McDonnell in which he called working women "detrimental" to families.

Entering October, McDonnell held a significant cash advantage, with $4.5 million on hand to Deeds' $2.7 million.

– CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby contributed to this report

Toomey has not always had a warm relationship with Romney.

(CNN) - Mitt Romney is set to officially endorse Pennsylvania Senate candidate Pat Toomey Tuesday in Philadelphia, a move that marks the progress Romney has made in shoring up bonds with some key conservative constituencies.

Just over two years ago, with Romney's presidential effort in full swing, Toomey raised questions about the former Massachusetts governor's record on fiscal issues.

"Governor Romney's economic record contains a mixture of pro-growth accomplishments and some troublesome positions that beg to be explained," the then-Club for Growth president said in a statement, listing the group's concerns but giving the presidential candidate his conditional approval.

Still, in February of last year, after it became clear McCain had effectively beaten Romney to capture the GOP presidential nomination, Toomey penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed naming solid economic conservatives he thought the Arizona senator should consider as his running mate. Not on that list: Mitt Romney.

Romney also made effort on behalf of another Northeast Republican Monday night, attending a fundraiser for New Jersey's GOP gubernatorial candidate, Chris Christie.

– CNN's Rebecca Sinderbrand contributed to this report

Romney hits New Jersey tonight, Pennsylvania tomorrow.

(CNN) – Mitt Romney, continuing to lay the groundwork for a possible 2012 presidential run, will officially endorse Pennsylvania Senate candidate Pat Toomey Tuesday in Philadelphia.

It's a move that marks the progress Romney has made in shoring up bonds with some key conservative constituencies. Just over two years ago, with Romney's presidential effort in full swing, Toomey raised questions about the former Massachusetts governor's record on fiscal issues.

"Governor Romney's economic record contains a mixture of pro-growth accomplishments and some troublesome positions that beg to be explained," the then-Club for Growth president said in a statement, listing the group's concerns but giving the presidential candidate his conditional approval.

Still, in February of last year, after it became clear McCain had effectively beaten Romney to capture the GOP presidential nomination, Toomey penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed naming solid economic conservatives he thought the Arizona senator should consider as his running mate. Not on that list: Mitt Romney.

Monday night, Romney will make an effort on behalf of another Northeast Republican, attending a fundraiser for New Jersey's GOP gubernatorial candidate, Chris Christie.

Follow Rebecca Sinderbrand on Twitter: @sinderbrandrcnn

The former Massachusetts governor will be the keynote speaker Friday night at the Nebraska Republican Party's biennial Founders' Day event.

(CNN) - Mitt Romney is lending a helping hand to Nebraska Republicans, the latest in a string of political favors as the 2008 presidential candidate surveys the 2012 landscape.

The former Massachusetts governor will be the keynote speaker Friday night at the Nebraska Republican Party's biennial Founders' Day event in Omaha.

Romney may make another run at the GOP presidential nomination next cycle, but an adviser says right now the former Massachusetts governor's concentrating on helping fellow Republicans in the next election.

"Gov. Romney is traveling the country, speaking to Republican organizations, raising money for candidates, and doing what he can to strengthen our party going into the 2010 elections," says Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom.

Romney has been a vocal critic of President Barack Obama, particularly his handling of foreign relations. At the recent Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island, Michigan, Romney said that the president is "above" the world stage and acting too much as a "neutral arbiter."

Last month, Romney also criticized Obama on national security matters at the Value Voters Summit, an annual gathering of social conservatives held in the nation's capitol.

Founders' Day is a significant fundraiser for the Nebraska GOP, and is held in appreciation of party activists and volunteers for their hard work to help candidates and the party.

All of the state's top elected Republican officials will also be at the dinner, including Gov. Dave Heineman, who is up for re-election next year. Party officials say the event is sold out, and will produce a record turnout.

Romney visited Utah and Arizona earlier this week.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Mitt Romney has spent much of 2009 raising money for other Republicans, but the former Massachusetts governor is also working hard to keep his own coffers flush.

Romney collected over $200,000 during a two-day Western swing this week, according to an aide - a total that includes $85,000 raised at a Wednesday event in Phoenix co-hosted by his former Republican presidential primary opponent John McCain.

McCain and his fellow Arizona senator Jon Kyl headlined the event at Chase Bank Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Romney also took in $125,00 from a $1,000-a-plate dinner in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.

The money will go to Romney's "Free and Strong America" political action committee, which allows him to maintain a national profile by traveling the country in support of other Republican candidates as he mulls a second presidential bid in 2012.

UPDATE: McCain was not at the Phoenix event but lent his name to the invitation.

Mitt Romney says he wants to return to Iraq & Afghanistan.

(CNN) – Mitt Romney says he wants to return to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Eric Fehrnstrom, an adviser for the the former Massachusetts governor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate, tells CNN that "we are working through the appropriate channels to make this happen."

"I'm going to Afghanistan and Iraq in a couple of months," Romney declared in an interview published Sunday in the Washington Examiner. "I'll get an assessment of what's happening there and what the prospects are. But I certainly would support our troops with the additional troops which are being called for by General McChrystal, and provide the equipment and the manpower and the budgetary support which our troops deserve."

McChrystal is the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. He said Sunday that he wants more troops and a new strategy - but most importantly, he wants to win the battle for the hearts and the minds of the people in the war-torn country.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Sunday that the administration is in the process of evaluating its Afghanistan strategy, and once it is confident the strategy is right, it will address the question of additional resources.

Romney, along with two other governors, visited Iraq and Afghanistan in May of 2006, as part of a Department of Defense sponsored trip.

This past weekend Romney, who may make another run at the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, had sharp words for President Barack Obama's handling of foreign relations. At the biennial Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island Michigan, Romney said that the president is "above" the world stage and acting too much as a "neutral arbiter" who uses only words to tell other nations what's right and what's wrong.

The previous weekend, Romney also criticized Obama on national security matters at the Value Voters Summit, an annual gathering of social conservatives held in the nation's capitol.

MACKINAC ISLAND, Michigan (CNN) – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had sharp words for President Barack Obama's handling of foreign relations Saturday, saying that the president is "above" the world stage and acting too much as a "neutral arbiter" who uses only words to tell other nations what's right and what's wrong.

Referring to the first months of Obama's presidency, the former Republican presidential candidate said there's been a "dramatic shift," with that shift going in the wrong direction.

"America has always been a ardent supporter of democratic efforts and protecting and defending American values and western values," Romney said, "but this president seems intent to step back to - if you will - lift himself above the world stage and say we're not a player down there with everybody else between the democracies and the autocracies."

"Instead we're going to become the neutral arbiter," Romney continued. "We're going to be above everybody. Almost like the United Nations, sort of telling people what's right and what's wrong, instead of coming down firmly, solidly, and vehemently in favor of democracy."

Romney pointed to Obama's handling of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya's return to Brazil last week to illustrate one example of the president's poor judgment when it comes to world affairs.

"Honduras…tosses out their president who's trying to violate the constitution," Romney began. "This was a person who was a pro-[Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, anti-American president. And then they installed instead an acting president [Roberto Micheletti] who will follow a democratic process, [a] pro-U.S. individual. Barrack Obama comes out for the pro-Chavez president and says put him back in charge."

Romney was speaking at the biennial Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Romney has been widely suspected to be laying groundwork for another run at the White House.

A few of his comments were aimed at the specific economic woes of Michigan - a state Romney's father governed.

Romney, and his wife Ann, heaped love on the state, saying he was "heartbroken" to see so many people out of a job but that it "doesn't have to be that way." He said one of the first things needed is a "Giuliani-style" cleanup of Detroit

One of the bigger applause lines of the night came when Romney said the state should do a few things to help attract more business folks, including lowering business taxes.

"Another thing to do would be to say we're going to make this a state which is a right to work state," he said to thunderous applause. "Of course the most convincing thing you could do would be to throw the democrats out of [the capital city of] Lansing."

McCain and Romney were at times bitter rivals during the 2008 campaign.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. John McCain is co-hosting a fundraiser for his former 2008 Republican primary rival Mitt Romney next Wednesday in Phoenix.

McCain and his fellow Arizona senator Jon Kyl will headline the event at Chase Bank Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The fundraiser will benefit Romney's Free and Strong America PAC, and features a $3,000 per person VIP reception along with a $300 per person luncheon.

Romney helped Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell raise $100,000 Monday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A Capitol Hill fundraiser hosted by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Monday night raised $100,000 for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, a campaign official told CNN.

The fundraiser was held at the American Gas Association, a trade group representing the gas industry.

The event capped off a busy weekend for Romney, who also hosted fundraisers for himself and two other Virginia Republicans in between appearances before the Values Voter Summit and the Foreign Policy Initiative, a neoconservative think tank.

Monday's cash haul was yet another dose of national money for McDonnell, who has also received financial assistance from John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin. Monday was the second time Romney has helped McDonnell raise money. In addition, the Republican National Committee has committed to spend $7 million on the Virginia governor's race - $2 million more than the Democratic National Committee has promised to Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds.

Deeds, however, has seen the momentum shift in his favor. A New Washington Post poll released over the weekend showed that McDonnell's once commanding lead has dwindled to just four points, thanks largely to revelations about the Republican's 1989 master's thesis, which described working women as harmful to families. Sensing a chance to further cut into McDonnnell's lead among women and independents, the Deeds campaign launched two new television ads on Monday highlighting the thesis.

That news prompted McDonnell campaign manager Phil Cox to e-mail supporters late Monday asking for their help raising money, knocking on doors and calling voters.

"With six weeks to go until Election Day, a lot hangs in the balance," Cox wrote in the e-mail. "While we always expected this race to tighten in the final weeks, we didn't expect Creigh Deeds would sink to such incredible lows."

Romney is considered an early frontrunner for the White House race in 2012, according to recent polls.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A day after former Baptist minister and likely presidential rival Mike Huckabee offered a withering critique of Mitt Romney's record, Romney made his pitch to the same group of religious conservatives – a voting bloc that could be key to any future White House bid.

The former Massachusetts governor appealed to attendees at the Values Voters Summit in Washington Saturday, using a speech that drew heavily from his address to social conservatives at the same hotel earlier this year. "Putting such a spirit-crushing, back-breaking debt burden on our children is unworthy of our national character," he said. "That is why I believe that this spending and borrowing is not just economically irresponsible, it is morally wrong."

He blasted the Obama administration's financial track record, and its decision to consider prosecuting intelligence agents who violated government protocols on the interrogation of prisoners. "(Obama) can spin a speech, but he can't spin his record," said Romney. "And I'll bet you never dreamed you'd look back at Jimmy Carter as the good old days."

Despite the makeup of the crowd, the speech was relatively light on social issues, focusing instead on economic and security policy.

The former Republican presidential candidate, widely considered a likely 2012 contender, is on the ballot for the gathering's 2012 presidential straw poll, along with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

(Updated with DNC response after the jump)

Just four of those prospective GOP standard-bearers spoke at the three-day conference: Romney, Pence, Huckabee, and Pawlenty. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who will speak later Saturday, earlier asked that his name be removed from the straw poll ballot.

Romney has eked out several victories in similar recent measures of conservative presidential preference, including the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll earlier this year, and the last Values Voter Summit contest, held two years ago. He narrowly defeated Huckabee that year in a vote that was open to voters who cast their ballots over the Web. This year's vote is limited to conference attendees.

The Mormon Romney – who battled Huckabee for evangelical support during the 2008 Republican primary season – drew a polite, though not overwhelming, response from activists Saturday. He continued to make a bid for social conservative support, taking aim at Obama's address to the nation's schoolchildren earlier this month: He backed the president's decision to speak to students, but slammed him for failing to focus on the challenges of single parenthood and out-of-wedlock births.

Romney's efforts to reform health care in Massachusetts have come under fire from Huckabee, who told the summit Friday that the former governor's plan would bankrupt his former state. "In fact, the only thing inexpensive about Massachusetts' health care bill is that there you can get a $50 abortion," Huckabee said, drawing instant pushback from the Romney camp.

On Saturday, the former Massachusetts governor continued the defense of the health care overhaul launched during his tenure, and criticized President Obama's health care plan. "…This Republican worked to reform health care in my own state," he said. "Not every feature of our plan is perfect, but the lesson it teaches is this: you can get everyone insured, without breaking the bank and without a government option. There is no government option in my Massachusetts reform. The right answer for health care is not more government, it is less government."

Romney's criticism of the president's health care plan drew a muffled shout of "He lied!" from a man in the audience, followed by a round of laughter and applause from the crowd.

The Democratic National Committee - which blasted Tim Pawlenty after his conference speech Friday - also slammed Romney's remarks Saturday. "If Mitt Romney thinks pandering to the far right is a winning strategy, that's his choice," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Hari Sevugan. "Of course, it didn't work out so well for him last time. Maybe that's because given how often he changes his position on issues he has no credibility with the right. And given how often he's misrepresenting the truth he doesn't have much credibility with anyone else either."

Conference breakout panels Saturday afternoon are slated to include Global Warming Hysteria: The New Face of the "Pro-Death Agenda"; Obamacare: Rationing Your Life Away; Activism and Conservatism: Fit to a (Tea) Party; and Thugocracy: Fighting the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy. The summit's straw poll results - an early look at the state of the 2012 race - are scheduled for release mid-afternoon.

Follow Rebecca Sinderbrand on Twitter: @sinderbrandrcnn

Mike Huckabee took aim at the health care system in Massachusetts that was implemented in 2006 by then-governor Mitt Romney.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – An old rivalry flared up again at the annual Values Voter Summit on Friday, when Mike Huckabee took aim at the health care system in Massachusetts that was implemented in 2006 by then-Gov. Mitt Romney.

Huckabee - who did serious damage to Romney's presidential hopes last January by winning the Iowa caucuses and has made clear his disdain for the former Massachusetts governor - told the crowd at the conservative conference that the Bay State health care system is a model for the kind of government-run health care President Obama wants to implement.

"It's going to bankrupt their entire budget," Huckabee said of the Massachusetts system, which requires residents to purchase health care or risk tax penalties. "In fact, the only thing inexpensive about Massachusetts health care bill is that there you can get a $50 abortion."

"Frankly if that's where we're headed with the public option and government run health care, thank you but no thank you, our wallets and our babies will be better off without it," Huckabee said.

Romney's spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom quickly shot back, calling the claims "not true."

"The cost of our health reforms is roughly 1.5 percent of $27 billion state budget, hardly a budget buster," Fehrnstrom said. He said the health care law doesn't mention abortion, "but court precedents in Massachusetts require government-subsidized plans to offer it."

Ferhnstrom also argued that the Massachusetts law proves that health care can be fixed without a government intrusion.

"The lesson from the Massachusetts experience is that you don't need to create a new government insurance option to get more people covered," he said. "What Governor Romney did was to strengthen our private market system."

Both Huckabee and Romney are considering repeat presidential bids in 2012.

But Huckabee isn't the only potential GOP contender to criticize "Romneycare" - in July, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty made a series of critical statements about the system, saying that costs turned out to be higher than expected, resulting in higher taxes and fees.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will speak at the conference on Friday evening.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Conservatives will descend upon the nation's capital Friday for the 2009 "Values Voter Summit," the fourth annual gathering of like-minded political activists who will plot 2010 strategy and hear several potential presidential prospects discuss the GOP's future.

In-between speeches, attendees will also participate in forums with titles ranging from “Thugocracy: Fighting The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy” to “Global Warming Hysteria.”

Perhaps the most anticipated event of the weekend will be "2012 Presidential Straw Poll," the results of which are scheduled to be announced Saturday.

The potential Republican candidates on the ballot are: former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

Romney won a similar straw poll in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference, which was held at the same hotel and featured many of the same speakers. Romney also won the last Values Voter straw poll - in October 2007 - when he narrowly defeated Huckabee in a vote that was open to both attendees and people who signed up to vote on the internet. This year’s survey will only be open to conference-goers.

Just four of the Republicans on the ballot will actually attend the event. Pence, Huckabee and Pawlenty will address the conference on Friday morning, while Romney will deliver remarks on Saturday.

Palin was invited to the event, but according to organizers, the former GOP vice presidential nominee never confirmed she would attend.

Among the other conservative luminaries slated to speak: Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Georgia Rep. Tom Price, New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Miss California Carrie Prejean.

Romney said the administration's missile defense plan is 'wrong in every way.'

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum - two of the Republicans thinking about challenging President Obama in 2012 - are savaging the administration's plans to scrap a planned missile defense shield in Europe.

The Bush administration had wanted to install the shield in eastern Europe to protect against the threat of long-range missiles from Iran, but the Obama administration said Thursday it will instead pursue a scaled-back program that would focus on short-range missiles. The U.S. reversal is likely to please Russia, which had fiercely opposed the Bush-era plans that would have placed missile bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, called the move a slap in the face to eastern Europeans "who have stood so valiantly with America and who took political heat for backing the missile-defense system" and accused the president of caving to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Romney, who is scheduled to deliver a high-profile foreign policy speech in Washington next week, said it's risky to tinker to with defense plans when American intelligence regarding Iran's missile capability is murky.

"President Obama has made a dangerous and alarming decision to shelve our missile-defense system in Europe," Romney said in a statement. "His decision is wrong in every way, despite his rationale."

Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, said the president is spurning European allies in order to "appease" Russia - "a potential foe."

"The Poles and the Czechs have a legitimate fear of a re-emergence of the Russian threat to their security and are desperately seeking closer ties to the West," Santorum said in a statement to CNN.

"It appears we have not learned from the mistakes made with respect to these allies from World War II and the Cold War," he said. "Repeatedly turning our backs on our friends will only serve to weaken our alliances and embolden our foes."

Romney is considered an early frontrunner for the White House race in 2012, according to recent polls.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has planned a flurry of appearances in the Washington area this weekend, an indicator of the kind of hectic schedule he's been keeping as he looks ahead to a possible presidential bid in 2012.

His D.C. itinerary will be dominated by fundraisers, but Romney has planned a pair of high-profile speeches to conservative groups that are sure to draw attention: On Saturday he is slated to address the Values Voters Summit, and on Monday he'll deliver remarks to a luncheon at the Foreign Policy Initiative, a neoconservative think tank founded by William Kristol.

The former Massachusetts governor has four finance events planned - including a Thursday night gathering dubbed "Sundaes with Mitt" that will benefit his own political action committee, Free and Strong America PAC. The confab will held at the Washington home of Charlie Spies, who was Romney's top money man during his presidential bid.

He'll also raise money for three GOP candidates in Virginia. On Friday he's hosting a fundraiser in Alexandria for Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, now running for re-election. On Sunday, he heads to Great Falls to help former campaign staffer Barbara Comstock, who is seeking a House of Delegates seat in Virginia.

Romney's visit to the area will be capped off on Monday, when he will host a fundraiser for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell at the American Gas Association, a trade group representing the gas industry. The event is expected to pull in $100,000 for McDonnell.

Romney last raised money for McDonnell in May.

Mitt Romney ran against Kennedy for Senate in 1994.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Responding to speculation that Mitt Romney might be looking at Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, a Romney spokesman said Thursday the former Massachusetts governor isn't interested.

"Governor Romney's focus right now is on helping other Republicans run for office, and that is how he will be spending his time," Romney aide Eric Fehrnstrom said in an e-mail to CNN.

Romney mounted a challenge to Kennedy in 1994 but lost by 17 points. The former GOP presidential candidate referred to the race in a statement he released on Wednesday after Kennedy died.

"In 1994, I joined the long list of those who ran against Ted and came up short," Romney said. "But he was the kind of man you could like even if he was your adversary. I came to admire Ted enormously for his charm and sense of humor - qualities all the more impressive in a man who had known so much loss and sorrow."

Romney is widely believed to have his eyes set on a bigger prize than a U.S. Senate seat, and is considered likely to seek the presidency again in 2012. Another statewide run might also pose a tougher challenge for Romney than he faced when he last won office as a pro-choice candidate, in a state Barack Obama won by 25 points last November.

"You don't have to have a public option," Romney said. "You don't have to have the government getting into the insurance business to make it work."

Three years after enacting its own version of reform, Massachusetts now has near-universal coverage.

Taxpayer watchdogs say it's affordable.

"There is this widespread assumption, that is treated as fact, that it's breaking the bank in Massachusetts ... it's not breaking the bank at all." said Michael Widmer of Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

And health care experts say it's popular.

"Seven in 10 people in the state support the program, and no more than one in 10 would repeal it." said Robert Lendon with the Harvard University School of Public Health.

Unlike Democratic proposals that would give Americans the choice of joining a government-run health care plan, Massachusetts has no public option. Instead, people in the state are required to buy private insurance, and the poor get subsidies.

Analysts say "Romney care" is basically "Obama care" minus the public option.

Full story

Romney is considered an early frontrunner for the White House race in 2012, according to recent polls.

NEW YORK (CNN) – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has signed a deal with St. Martin's Press to publish his new book, the publishing company announced Tuesday.

Romney, also a former contender for the Republican presidential nomination, has already written the book, called "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness." In the book, set to come out in March 2010, Romney discusses his "vision of a renewed America" and lay out his views on the economy, health care, energy and education, according to St. Martin's Press.

Romney is considered an early frontrunner for the White House race in 2012, according to recent polls, and raised $1.6 million through his political action committee in the first half of this year.

Mike Huckabee trails Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney in fundraising through the first half of 2009.

(CNN) - Recent polls show he is among the early frontrunners for the 2012 GOP presidential bid, but when it comes to fundraising this year, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee trails well behind his chief rivals.

The former Republican presidential candidate e-mailed supporters Thursday night announcing he has raised a little over $300,000 in the first six months of the year, a cash haul that is only about 20 percent of the $1.6 million former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney took in the same period.

It's also about a third of what former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has raised since January. Her political action committee, SarahPAC, reported raising $730,000 through July 1, but a spokeswoman for Palin said the Alaska Republican took in an additional $200,000 in the early days of July after announcing she was stepping down as governor.

Several recent surveys - including one from CNN/Opinion Research Corp. – show Huckabee is roughly tied with Palin and Romney in an early assessment of where the 2012 Republican presidential race stands.

Pawlenty is wading into the national health care debate.

(CNN) - One day after assuming a leadership post in the Republican Governor's Association, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is staking his opposition to the congressional Democrats' health care reform plan while taking an indirect swipe at a potential future presidential rival.

In a letter to the entire Minnesota congressional delegation, Pawlenty urges the three Republicans and seven Democrats to vote against the measure in its current form, saying the plan won't contain health care costs or improve quality of care.

"Focusing only on access while neglecting cost and quality would be a dramatic mistake," Pawlenty said in the three-page letter. He added that the legislation "levies a huge new tax structure on an economy that is already struggling with the worst recession since World War II."

"The proposed tax increases do not come close to paying for the proposal, and assertions that the remaining costs will be covered by unspecified 'reductions in waste, fraud, and abuse' are simply not reliable," the Minnesota Republican also wrote.

Pawlenty, widely believed to be considering a run for president in 2012, also sharply criticized the health care plan enacted in Massachusetts three years ago under then-Gov. Mitt Romney, also widely considered a future White House hopeful.

Equating the congressional Democrats' plan to the Massachusetts program, Pawlenty said the latter has succeeded in expanding the ranks of the insured but has raked up much higher than expected costs in the process and resulted in higher taxes and fees.

"That state's experience should caution Congress against this approach," Pawlenty wrote.

Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom disputed Pawlenty's contention. "The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation recently reported that the cost to taxpayers of achieving near-universal coverage has been relatively modest and well within initial projections of how much the state would have to spend," he said in an e-mail.

Last month, Pawlenty raised speculation he is considering a presidential bid when he announced he would not seek a third gubernatorial term in 2010. The 2012 talk has only increased as other potential GOP candidates have been sidelined by scandals or embarrassing missteps.

The Minnesota Republican is also set to address GOP leaders and activists at the party's summer meeting in San Diego later this week.

Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee appear to be locked in a three-way race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

(CNN) – The Republican presidential primary process doesn't kick off for more than two years, but perhaps it's never too early to take a measure of where a race that's far from starting stands.

It appears to be a three-way race between former White House hopeful Mitt Romney, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee - also an ex-presidential aspirant. Romney stands at 26 percent in the new survey, compared to 21 percent for Palin, and 19 percent for Huckabee.

But the poll, which surveyed 455 Republicans and Republican-leaning voters between July 10-12, carries a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, meaning all three are essentially locked in a dead heat.

Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker and current conservative commentator stands at 14 percent while Tim Pawlenty and Haley Barbour - the governors of Minnesota and Mississippi respectively - are each in low single digits.

The Gallup survey shows similar results to those of a recent CNN poll that also indicated the same three Republicans are locked in hypothetical race for the party's nomination.

But while Romney, Palin, and Huckabee are clustered on top, the survey shows voters hold a much higher favorability rating of the soon-to-be ex-Alaska governor than the other two Republicans. Palin scores a 72 percent approval rating compared with Huckabee's 59 percent and Romeny's 56 percent.

Though Palin, who has firmly remained in the headlines since she was tapped to be the party's vice presidential candidate last August, appears considerably better known than both men: only 7 percent of Republicans have no opinion of her compared to 28 percent who said the same of Romney and 25 percent who lacked a view of Huckabee.

Of course, polls more than two years before an election are far from predictive: A Gallup survey in 2005 showed Hillary Clinton would win the 2008 Democratic nomination over John Kerry while Rudy Giuliani would edge out McCain on the Republican side. President Obama was not included in the poll.

Mitt Romney's Free and Strong America PAC announced Thursday that it has raised $1.6 million during the first six months of this year.

(CNN) - Former Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has bested fellow Republican Gov. Sarah Palin in the fundraising race in the first half of the year, a very early indicator of potential strength in the 2012 GOP presidential race.

Romney's Free and Strong America PAC raised $1.6 million in the first six months of this year, according to a statement released by the political action committee Thursday. (updated Thursday: a Romney aide has provided CNN with a total number of donors, both itemized and unitemized, for the first half of the year.)

Romney's take is more than twice the roughly $730,000 raised in the same period by Palin's SarahPAC - but the Alaska governor's political action committee has pulled in an additional $200,000 since she announced July 3 that she would be leaving office by the end of the month. Romney and Palin each received funds from more than 11,000 contributors.

Romney's PAC had roughly $841,000 in cash on hand as of June 30. It said Thursday it had contributed about $36,000 to federal candidates and political action committees and nearly another $27,000 to state candidates.

Romney's PAC contributed $5000 each to South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt, and to Jim Tedisco, who mounted an unsuccessful bid in New York's 20th Congressional District during a special election earlier this year. The PAC also contributed $1000 each to a group of Republicans who were targeted in a Democratic ad campaign because of their opposition to the $787 stimulus bill passed soon after President Obama took office.

Romney's PAC contributed to four Republicans in Virginia running for state offices, as well as to Chris Christie who is running against New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine in 2010.

The New Hampshire affiliate of Romney's federal PAC also contributed $10,000 to the New Hampshire Republican Party, according to Thursday's statement.

(updated to reflect additional information from the Romney team)

In a speech Monday, former Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney criticized President Obama's approach to foreign policy and defense spending.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took aim at President Obama's foreign and national security policy Monday, criticizing the commander-in-chief's message abroad as a "tour of apology" and calling plans to trim the missile defense budget a "grave miscalculation" that puts the nation at risk in the face of urgent threats like North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

"Arrogant, delusional tyrants can't be stopped by earnest words and furrowed brows," Romney told a conservative crowd at a speech sponsored by the Heritage Foundation in Washington. "Action - strong, bold action coming from a position of strength and determination - is the only effective deterrent."

Nearly two weeks after former Vice President Dick Cheney took on President Obama's national security policy, Romney delivered the latest in a string of tough critiques of the new administration - including a bruising take on Supreme Court pick Sonia Sotomayor - that have made the former Massachusetts governor a conservative favorite in the first months of the new administration, even as he carefully avoids the kind of incendiary attacks and media overexposure that could threaten mainstream appeal he'd need to reach the Oval Office.

Romney argued Monday that the defense budget had been short-changed, and the nation's military readiness has been endangered, because of the president's call to increase spending on domestic programs.

"None of that [new spending] was spent on increasing the defense modernization budget - a failure that history will never understand or excuse, in my view," he said.

The nation's military readiness, Romney argued, was also threatened by the overall economic decisions the president has made.

"At the most fundamental level, our military might depends on the long term strength of our economy," he said. "The president's planned budgets and multitrillion-dollar deficits, financed by a level of borrowing never before attempted by any nation in history, puts our whole economy in jeopardy."

Romney predicted the president's actions "may take us past that proverbial tipping point" and spark a crippling crisis of confidence in the dollar.

Romney, who ran the investment firm Bain Capital before entering politics, often touted his business and managerial experience as a presidential candidate. But he had limited experience with national security matters - a shortcoming that his rival John McCain eagerly highlighted during the primaries.

Since the 2008 election, Romney has re-emerged as a vocal critic of Obama's security agenda, and has made a series of public statements aimed at raising his profile in the foreign policy arena.

In April, he blasted Obama in The Weekly Standard for not objecting when Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega criticized the United States at the summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.

"President Obama shrank from defending liberty here in the Americas," Romney wrote.

Last month, when Obama and Cheney presented dueling speeches on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists, Romney defended the former vice president and said that the president's speech "was more tortured than the enhanced interrogation techniques he decries."

Romney has said he will not hesitate to praise the president when he agrees with him. At an April fundraiser for Senate Republicans, for instance, Romney applauded Obama for taking the right steps in Iraq and Afghanistan. But despite those kind words, Romney has so far been more critical than supportive of the administration's foreign policy agenda.

A disciplined politician, Romney is quick to say he's not a presidential candidate. But his schedule seems to be a bit off-message.

Earlier this year, he got a hero's welcome at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where more than a few attendees insisted his economic credentials might have nabbed him the Oval Office if the economic crisis had hit before the Republican Party had decided on its standard-bearer.

On Friday, he was the keynote speaker at the Virginia GOP's Commonwealth Gala dinner in Richmond. On Sunday, he weighed in on his party's future on Fox News.

Romney is making appearances as a key member of the National Council for a New America - the move, led by House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia, to re-brand the GOP. Meanwhile, Free and Strong America PAC - Romney's political action committee dedicated to supporting conservative candidates - is helping him build the national network of party loyalists he'd need to clinch the nomination.

On Sunday, the 2008 presidential contender denied reports he was planning to move his permanent residence to New Hampshire in advance of a repeat run for the nation's top spot. But he was more equivocal on the overall question of a 2012 bid.

"I'm not going to close that door," he told Fox - although he added, "I'm not going to walk through it either."

"[T]he action that I'm going through right now is trying to help people who I think would make a difference for the country and, frankly, also help some people who helped me," he said.

Romney's reinvention hasn't come without a few false steps. Supporters of Newt Gingrich, another Republican leader whose name is regularly mentioned as a possible presidential candidate, complained last month that the former House Speaker was initially prevented from joining the NCNA by the former governor's team - a charge that Romney's aides, and Cantor representatives, strongly denied.

And after he weighed in on behalf of New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie, supported by the Free and Strong America PAC, Christie's primary rival Steve Lonegan fired back with a salvo aimed squarely at Romney's chief vulnerability last cycle: the sense by some movement conservatives that the Massachusetts resident was more moderate than he would like Republicans to believe.

"Mitt Romney was rejected by Republican Primary voters because he was a moderate trying to pass himself off as a conservative just in time to win an election," Lonegan said in a statement released by his campaign.

It's the kind of reaction that helped cost him the nomination last cycle - and the sort of response his team would like to banish long before the next race takes shape. But Romney's not counting on immediate rewards on his long journey back to the campaign trail.

"We have plenty of time to decide what the future holds," he told Fox on Sunday. "It's very early, five months into the president's term. We'll see how he does, and we as a party are going to come back stronger, more vibrant, and more committed to following the principles that have always been at the base of our party."

Romney will deliver a speech focused on missile defense on Monday.'

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Mitt Romney, eyeing a run at the presidency in 2012, is taking another step in fleshing out his foreign policy portfolio with a Monday speech to the conservative Heritage Foundation on the topic of defense spending.

According to excerpts of the speech provided to CNN, Romney will call the Obama administration's plan to trim more than $1 billion from missile defense programs a "grave miscalculation" that will put America at risk, especially given North Korea's nuclear provocations.

Romney says that Obama should push for "comprehensive, regime-crippling sanctions" against North Korea and "immediately reverse his recent decisions and strongly support completing our ballistic missile defense system."

In the speech, entitled "The Care of Freedom," Romney will also call on the administration to increase the modernization budget by $50 billion per year and to lock in total defense budgets at no less than four percent of GDP. But the military budget has been endangered, Romney argues, by the administration's domestic spending programs.

"Over the last few months, it has passed measures that will add almost $4 trillion to the national debt in the short term and then over $3 trillion over the next ten years," Romney will say. "None of that money was spent on increasing the defense modernization budget - a failure that history will never understand or excuse."

The former Massachusetts governor is urging pro-defense members of Congress to hold firm against further cuts. He plans to say that "depleting the defense budget to fund new social programs, particularly in the face of global turmoil, would put America and Americans at risk."

"At the most fundamental level, our military might depends on the long term strength of our economy," he will say, according to the excerpts. "The President's planned budgets and multi-trillion dollar deficits, financed by a level of borrowing never before attempted by any nation, puts our whole economy in jeopardy."

Romney, who ran the investment firm Bain Capital before entering politics, often touted his business and managerial experience as a presidential candidate. But as a former governor, he had limited experience with national security matters - a deficit that his rival John McCain was eager to highlight during the primaries.

Since the 2008 election, Romney has re-emerged as a vocal critic of President Obama's security agenda, and has made a series of public statements aimed at raising his profile in the foreign policy arena.

In April, he blasted Obama in The Weekly Standard for not objecting when Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega criticized the United States at the summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago. "President Obama shrank from defending liberty here in the Americas," Romney wrote.

Last month, when Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney presented dueling speeches on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists, Romney defended Cheney and said that Obama's speech "was more tortured than the enhanced interrogation techniques he decries."

Romney has said he will not hesitate to praise the president when he agrees with him. At an April fundraiser for Senate Republicans, for instance, Romney applauded Obama for taking the right steps in Iraq and Afghanistan. But despite those kind words, Romney has so far been more critical than supportive of the administration's foreign policy agenda.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Mitt Romney, disciplined politician, is quick to say he's not a presidential candidate. It's Mitt Romney's schedule that seems to be a bit off-message.

Earlier this year, he got a hero's welcome at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where more than a few attendees attendees insisted his economic credentials might have nabbed him the Oval Office if the economic crisis had hit before the Republican Party had decided on its 2008 standard-bearer.

On Friday, he was the keynote speaker at the Virginia GOP's Commonwealth Gala dinner in Richmond. Yesterday, he weighed in on his party's future on Fox News, Sunday. The former Massachusetts governor's making appearances as a key member of the National Council for a New America - the move, led by House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia, to re-brand the GOP. Meanwhile, Free and Strong America PAC - Romney's political action committee, dedicated to supporting conservative candidates - is helping him build the national network of party loyalists he'd need to clinch the nomination, if he decides to run again.

And today, nearly two weeks after former vice president Dick Cheney took on President Barack Obama's national security policy before a think-tank crowd in Washington, Romney is scheduled to give his own take - laid out in a speech called "The Care of Freedom" - to a Heritage Foundation audience, assessing the new administration's response on North Korea and other foreign policy challenges.

It's slated to be the latest in a string of tough critiques of President Obama - including a tough take on Supreme Court pick Sonia Sotomayor - that have made him a conservative favorite in the first months of the new administration, even as he carefully avoids the kind of incendiary attacks and media overexposure that could threaten mainstream appeal he'd need to reach the Oval Office.

On Sunday, the 2008 presidential contender denied reports he was planning to move his permanent residence to the Granite State in advance of a repeat run for the nation's top spot. But he was more equivocal on the overall question of a 2012 bid. "I'm not going to close that door" he told Fox - although, he added, "I'm not going to walk through it either."

"[T]he action that I'm going through right now is trying to help people who I think would make a difference for the country and, frankly, also help some people who helped me," he said.

Romney's re-invention hasn't come without a few false steps. Supporters of Newt Gingrich, another Republican leader whose name is regularly mentioned as a possible presidential candidate, complained last month that the former House Speaker was initially prevented from joining the NCNA by the former governor's team - a charge Romney's aides, and Cantor representatives, strongly deny.

And after he weighed in on behalf of New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie, supported by the Free and Strong America PAC, primary rival Steve Lonegan fired back with a salvo aimed squarely at Romney's chief vulnerability last cycle: the sense by some movement conservatives that the Massachusetts resident was more moderate than he would like Republicans to believe.

"Mitt Romney was rejected by Republican Primary voters because he was a moderate trying to pass himself off as a conservative just in time to win an election," said Lonegan in a statement released by his campaign.

It's the kind of reaction that helped cost him the nomination last cycle - and the sort of response his team would like to banish long before the next race takes shape. But Romney's not counting on immediate rewards on his long journey back to the campaign trail.

"We have plenty of time to decide what the future holds," he told Fox on Sunday. "It's very early, five months into the president's term. We'll see how he does, and we as a party are going to come back stronger, more vibrant, and more committed to following the principles that have always been at the base of our party."

Mitt Romney says he finds some of Sonia Sotomayor's past statements 'troubling,' but that he will give her a chance to explain her views.

(CNN) - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said Thursday he's keeping an open mind when it comes to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, but added he finds some of her past statements "troubling."

"There are some things she said that are troubling for those of us who believe that the job of a justice is to follow the law and the constitution, not to create law," said Romney during a forum with business leaders in Washington, DC. "But let's give her the chance to explain her views, to describe her record, and to be party to a full and complete and fair process. And let's do it in a very civil and respectful manner."

Romney's comments are in line with the majority of Republicans on Capitol Hill, who have expressed reservations about President Obama's pick for the high court but have said they will withhold final judgment until her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"I think our process in giving the justice – or the nominated justice – an opportunity to state her case, to describe her judicial philosophy, to take us through the decisions she's made in the past, and to have a complete and thorough review, should be a process which is carried out in depth," said Romney, who sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. "It should be a civil response to her position."

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney issued a statement Tuesday on Sotomayor's nomination:

"The nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court is troubling. Her public statements make it clear she has an expansive view of the role of the judiciary. Historically, the Court is where judges interpret the Constitution and apply the law. It should never be the place "where policy is made," as Judge Sotomayor has said. Like any nominee, she deserves a fair and thorough hearing. What the American public deserves is a judge who will put the law above her own personal political philosophy."

Steele said Romney lost the GOP nomination because the party's base rejected him.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – In an unusual move for the person tasked with being his party's top cheerleader, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele is shining a light on the political vulnerabilities of one of the GOP's top figures and a likely frontrunner for the 2012 Republican nomination - former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Now Romney's team is hitting back.

Steele, guest-hosting on Bill Bennett's radio show Friday, cast doubt on Romney's conservative bona fides and blamed the Republican base for rejecting Romney last year because "it had issues with Mormonism" and was unsure of Romney's commitment to opposing to abortion rights. Those comments aren't sitting too well with Romney's political team.

"Sometimes when you shoot from the hip, you miss the target," said Romney spokesman Eric Ferhnstrom. "This is one of those times."

A Romney aide noted that the former Massachusetts governor won the Conservative Political Action Conference's annual straw poll the past three years, won 11 presidential primaries and caucuses, and earned 4.2 million votes by the time he left the race in February of last year.

The RNC chairman made the comments when responding to a caller who claimed that Romney, if he was the nominee, would have been a stronger candidate against Obama than John McCain. The caller argued that Romney never got a chance to be the nominee because "liberals" and the media pushed hard for McCain to win the Republican nomination.

But Steele disagreed.

"Remember, it was the base that rejected Mitt because of his switch on pro-life, from pro-choice to pro-life," Steele told the caller. "It was the base that rejected Mitt because it had issues with Mormonism. It was the base that rejected Mitt because they thought he was back and forth and waffling on those very economic issues you're talking about."

"So, I mean, I hear what you're saying, but before we even got to a primary vote, the base had made very clear they had issues with Mitt because if they didn't, he would have defeated John McCain in those primaries in which he lost," Steele concluded.

Audio of the exchange was captured by the liberal blog ThinkProgress.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney says Republicans must lead the American Revolution.

ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) –  Three prominent GOP leaders kicked off a campaign Saturday to reshape their party's image, gathering at a restaurant in Northern Virginia for the first of a series of town hall meetings.

The goal of the initiative, called the National Council for a New America, is to connect Republican leaders with voters across the country to help get the party's electoral fortunes back on track.

"Certainly our party has taken its licks the last few cycles, but that's why we're here," said House Minority Whip Eric Cantor. "The reality is the prescriptions coming out of Washington right now are not reflective of the mainstream of this country."

"It's time for us to listen a little bit, learn a little bit," said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who advised Republicans to work on the party's message and "not be so nostalgic."

"I would say you can't beat something with nothing. The other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it," said Bush, who repeatedly praised President Obama's tactical approach to politics, and commended his 2008 campaign as "forward-looking."

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney compared the GOP to Americans fighting the British during the Revolutionary War. "We are the party of the revolutionaries, they [Democrats] are the party of the monarchists," he told the overwhelmingly Republican crowd, saying the Republicans needed to "once again lead the American Revolution."

He blamed Washington for setting in motion policies that led to the collapse of the housing market, and painted his party's current minority status as a boon.

"We have an advantage," said the former Republican presidential candidate. "When a party has the White House, communication comes [from the] top down, and there's a strategy that everyone has to march behind." Instead, he said, the GOP had the option of drawing its strategy from the grassroots.

"We don't have to come up with all the answers today. Thank goodness, we have a little time," he said. "Certainly by 2010, we better."

The venue - a packed pizzeria in an Arlington strip mall - had the feel of a small-town campaign stop Saturday morning, with a supportive crowd tossing friendly questions at the panel. But outside the front doors of the establishment were twin reminders of the challenges facing the party.

The parking lot out front, even with the heavily Republican crowd inside, was dotted with Obama bumper stickers. Northern Virginia has shifted solidly Democratic in recent elections, and surrogates for John McCain's campaign made a series of statements late in the race that acknowledged the party had all but conceded the area.

But the handful of peaceful protesters out front weren't Democrats - they were conservatives upset over the new group's agenda and leadership. They brandished signs criticizing McCain, calling the NCNA "RINOs" - Republicans in
Name Only - and urging them to push for stricter immigration enforcement.

McCain is prominently featured in materials for the new group.

Health care, education and small business growth were all major topics of discussion Saturday - but immigration was one entry on a long list of potentially divisive social issues that went unmentioned.

Cantor told journalists that the group was not avoiding any topic, although the group's Web site and YouTube video released did not mention abortion, same-sex marriage, or any of the hot-button issues vital to the social conservatives that form a
significant part of the party's base.

"Any topic will be included in the national dialogue," he said. "There are no limits."

(CNN) – Mitt Romney went on the offensive Tuesday, slamming President Obama's foreign policy initiatives and calling the president a "timid advocate of freedom."

In an op-ed in the National Review, the former Massachusetts governor accused Obama of going easy on dictators and passing blame for the actions and policies of former administrations.

"As American soldiers sacrificed blood in Afghanistan and Iraq to defend liberty, President Obama shrank from defending liberty here in the Americas," Romney wrote. "Vice President Biden was right that the new president would be tested early in his administration. What the world learned was not good news for freedom and democracy. The leader of the free world has been a timid advocate of freedom at best. And bold action to blunt the advances of tyrants has been wholly lacking."

The former candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination said Obama may have failed in his early foreign-policy tests, but that he hopes the president will offer more than "silence, smiles, and a handshake" when dealing with foreign nations and leaders in the future.

"We are still very early in the Obama years – the president will have ample opportunity to defend America and freedom, and to deter nuclear brinkmanship. I am hoping for change," he wrote.

Michael Steele is one of several Republicans criticizing the Iowa Supreme Court ruling.

(CNN) – Republicans are sharply criticizing the Iowa Supreme Court ruling Friday that reverses the state's 11-year-old ban on same-sex marriage.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele:

"The Iowa Supreme Court's decision today to reverse an 11 year old state law outlawing same-sex marriage is sadly another example of judicial activism currently threatening family values in America. While I respect an individual's right to live his or her life as they see fit, decisions like this are better left in the hands of legislators and governors."

"I firmly believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman. A state's autonomous nature allows it to change its laws as the citizenry sees fit, but it should be done by the people, not through judicial decree."

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney:

"I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman and the definition of marriage should be left to the people and not to activist courts."

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (via Twitter):

"Iowa Sup. Court dec. to allow same sex marriage is disappointing. All Iowans should have a say in this matter, not legislative judges ... must fight to preserve family and amend the Constitution of the United States to define marriage as one man and one woman."

South Carolina governor Mark Sanford:

Joel Sawyer, a spokesman for Sanford, did not react to the Iowa ruling specifically, but said the governor is "against same-sex marriage." Sawyer pointed out that "South Carolina passed a same-sex marriage ban last year, and the governor was supportive of it."

Alaska governor Sarah Palin:

Bill McAllister, a spokesman for Palin, said that as of this morning, "we haven't discussed it." Palin has said she opposes defining marriage as anything but between a man and a woman.

Romney is a possible 2012 contender.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is “keeping active politically,” according to an aide, and on Wednesday his busy travel schedule brought him to Washington to help raise money for Senate Republicans hoping to gain leverage against President Obama in the 2010 mid-term elections.

But in a speech to a fundraising dinner for the National Republican Senatorial Committee that raised over $2 million, Romney often struck a bipartisan tone in front a crowd that might have been expecting a heavy dose of rally-the-troops conservatism.

“I also think its important for us to nod to the president when he’s right,” Romney said, after chiding the president’s budget. “He will not always be wrong, and he’s done some things I agree with.”

Romney said he’s pleased with the president’s plans to “finish the job” in Iraq and Afghanistan – lines that drew cheers from the GOP audience - and he applauded the president for standing up to the auto industry.

“I hope he continues to be tough and shows some backbone because that industry is not going to make it unless we have real backbone and get those guys to fundamentally restructure all of their obligations,” said Romney, who could challenge Obama for the presidency in 2012.

The former businessman even offered some faint praise for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, saying that after a series of initial missteps, “I think he’s finally getting close to the right answer.”

Romney, speaking without notes or teleprompter, ultimately drew a familiar line in the sand between Democrats, who he said favor heavy-handed government, and Republicans, who prefer individual freedom and free enterprise. The language was reminiscent of his campaign stump speech from 2007 and 2008.

“I think the American people are seeing through what’s happening,” he said. “The Democrats are trying to use this crisis as a way to advance their philosophy of the supremacy of government, and I don’t think they’re being fooled.”

Romney claimed the president “incorrectly believes that the 2008 elections settled the great issues that divide America. I don’t believe that’s the case. I watched the debates. The great issues were rarely discussed at all.”

Twenty-six GOP senators attended the dinner, which was held at the Newseum and set under a massive projection screen bearing the slogan: “Republican senators vow to regain majority in 2010.”

Romney’s former rival for the Republican presidential nomination, John McCain, was not among those attending. Even though he’s up for re-election in 2010 and may need an assist from the NRSC, an aide to McCain said he was working late on his proposed alternative to the president's budget.

(CNN) - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney - still among the most visible faces in the Republican Party - isn't ruling out another White House run in 2012.

"I love what Yogi Berra said - I can't get it exactly right, but it's something like this: 'I don't like forecasting, particularly if the future is involved,'" said Romney on CNN's American Morning.

Romney's continued fundraising prowess, active political action committee, and presence on the cable news circuit have led many political observers to speculate he is laying the groundwork for another presidential run.

Romney has been lending his support to Republicans around the country.'

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Mitt Romney will headline a gala at the Virginia Republican State Convention in May, state GOP officials said Friday.

Romney becomes the latest big-name Republican to join in the effort to help Bob McDonnell take back the Virginia governor's mansion from Democrats. The visit will also give Romney a chance to build support among party members in a battleground state as he moves towards a possible second run at the White House in 2012.

The former Massachusetts governor has been keeping a packed schedule of late, along with making TV appearances and writing op-eds about the economy.

Next week, he will headline a fundraiser in Chicago for Illinois state senator Dan Rutherford. Romney then travels to Washington on April 1 to speak to the National Republican Senatorial Committee annual fundraising dinner, followed by a trip to New York City the next day to raise cash for the New York County Republican Party.

"He is staying active politically and doing what he can to help Republican party organizations and individual candidates as we head into the critical 2010 elections," said Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. "His visit to Virginia is on behalf of the entire Republican ticket there, including the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Bob McDonnell, and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling."

Bolling, who is seeking re-election, chaired Romney's Virginia campaign operation in 2008 and announced the upcoming visit in an e-mail to supporters.

"Gov. Romney knows more about the economy, creating jobs and building businesses than almost anyone in American politics today," Bolling said.

Romney is slated to speak to the convention's Commonwealth Gala on May 29.

Other high-profile Republicans - including John McCain, Fred Thompson, Bobby Jindal and Rudy Giuliani - have already raised money for McDonnell's campaign as the GOP sets its sights on a symbolic off-year victory this November.

Mitt Romney said President Obama's 'Tonight Show' appearance wasn't the right timing.

(CNN)– Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, but John McCain snagged the nomination.

This businessman and politician is keeping a critical eye on how things are shaping up in the presidency he wanted, and he shared his views on Thursday night's "Larry King Live." He gave a sharp critique of President Obama's performance and shared his thoughts on Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and stem-cell research.

The following transcript is edited for brevity and clarity:

Larry King: Some are seeing a problem with the president doing the "Tonight Show," the first sitting president ever to do a late-evening [talk] show. Do you have a problem with it?

Mitt Romney: Well, this probably isn't the right time for it. I line up with Warren Buffett on this. I prefer to see the president focusing all of his time and energy on the economy.

Full Story

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the straw poll for the third year in a row.

(CNN) - One day after delivering a forceful campaign-style speech to the conference of conservative activists, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won his third straight CPAC Straw Poll on Saturday, earning 20 percent of the vote on a ballot that included nine other Republicans who could seek the party’s presidential nomination in 2012.

Romney’s straw poll win at the 2007 Conservative Political Action Conference helped to elevate Romney from a little-known governor to a bona fide presidential frontrunner, and his narrow victory in last year’s straw poll reaffirmed his support among conservative voters. But Romney failed to win the Republican nomination, which was eventually won by Arizona Sen. John McCain.

In the 2009 poll, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal came in second with 14 percent of the vote, while Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Texas Rep. Ron Paul tied at 13 percent. Jindal and Palin did not attend the conference.

Rounding out the straw poll results were former House speaker Newt Gingrich at 10 percent, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at seven percent, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford at four percent, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani at three percent, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty at two percent, and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist at one percent. Nine percent of poll participants were undecided.

The straw poll was conducted over two days and surveyed 1,757 of the party activists who descended on Washington for the annual conference. More than half of the conference attendees this year were college students, and nearly 60 percent of the straw poll participants were between the ages of 18 and 25.

Romney ended his presidential bid at CPAC last year.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Mitt Romney may not officially be running for any office right now, but the former Massachusetts governor returned to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday and sounded an awful lot like the presidential candidate who ended his campaign here last February.

Romney delivered a speech that resembled, in both style and substance, his campaign stump speech of 2007 and early 2008, detailing his opposition to liberal judges, jihadists and higher taxes.

And in criticizing President Obama and House Democrats on a number of issues, Romney - often interrupted by standing ovations - made clear that he intends to remain a player in Republican politics as he eyes a potential presidential bid in 2012.

He opened his speech with a cheeky nod to one potential rival who didn't make the trip to the annual gathering of conservative activists - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

"There's a rumor that she has been offered an 11 million dollar book contract," Romney said. "My publisher has been talking to me about an 11 millon dollar deal as well. I'm just not sure I can come up with that kind of money."

Though Romney said he would support President Obama when the two men agreed on an issue, he disparaged as "awfully vague" some of the plans the president outlined in his address to the nation this week and in his new budget, and said that proposals for universal healthcare and universal pre-school would lead to "universal government."

"I'm afraid I know where the liberal Democrats want to take us," Romney said. "And as they try to pull us in the direction of government-dominated Europe, we're going to have to fight as never before to make sure that America stays America."

Romney also targeted Attorney General Eric Holder for his recent remarks that America is "a nation of cowards" when it comes to discussing race.

"To those who question the character of our country, including the new attorney general, let us remind them that America has never been, is not now, and will never be a nation of cowards," he said, prompting a roar from the crowd and chants of "USA!"

He broke with other Republicans at the conference, including Mike Huckabee, who blasted the federal bailout of the financial industry as something akin to socialism. Romney argued that the legislation was necessary to infuse the market with currency in order to "prevent a cascade of bank collapses." But the Detroit native admonished the Bush administration for using federal funds to bail out domestic automakers.

Romney won back-to-back victories in the CPAC Straw Poll in 2007 and 2008, wins that helped him shore up support among the party's base as he campaigned for president. He is on the ballot once again this year, with the results due Saturday afternoon.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin leads in a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Friday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – As the the first unofficial ballots are cast in the next race for the White House, a new national survey of Republicans indicates that the GOP doesn't have a clear presidential frontrunner - but does have a clear gender gap.

Twenty-nine percent of Republicans questioned in a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday say they are most likely to support Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. Right behind the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, and well within the poll's 4.5 percent sampling error, is former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Twenty-six percent of those questioned say they are most likely backing the former, and possibly future, Republican presidential candidate.

Twenty-one percent of Republicans polled say they most likely would support former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, another GOP hopeful from the last campaign who may put his hat into the ring again.

Nine percent say they would probably back Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who is considered a rising star in the GOP. On Tuesday, Jindal gave the Republican response to President Barack Obama's prime time address to a joint session of Congress. This poll was conducted before that speech, which drew some critical reviews.

"Since the poll was taken before Jindal's widely-panned speech, his low support is not a reflection on his performance on Tuesday night and is most likely due to the fact that he is not as well known as Palin, Huckabee or Romney, all of whom ran national campaigns in 2008,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

Ten percent of those questioned say they would most likely support some other candidate.

The poll's release comes as conservatives from across the country are gathered in the nation's capital to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference. Those attending the meetings are voting in a straw poll of their favorite candidate for the next Republican presidential nomination. The results will be released Saturday.

While the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll doesn't indicate a clear frontrunner, it does suggest there's a gender gap among rank-and-file Republicans.

"Among GOP men, the same pattern emerges - no clear advantage for Palin, Huckabee or Romney,” says Holland. “But among Republican women, it's a different story. Palin has a 10-point edge among Republican women, winning 32 percent support among them to 22 percent for Huckabee and 20 percent for Romney. With the sampling error, that's not enough to say for sure that Palin is in the lead, but it does indicate that if the primaries were held tomorrow, Palin would have a good chance of being the favorite among GOP women."

But the 2012 campaign is still a long, long, long way away.

"So many things will happen between now and 2012 that this poll has no real predictive value," says Holland.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey was conducted February 18-19, with 429 Republicans questioned by telephone.