A couple of unnamed sources close to Sen. John McCain say that he has settled for Mitt Romney as his VP according to Mark Halperin at Time.  

My guess is that the McCain campaign is releasing this information now because it is trying to change the subject from the fact that the Arizona senator is out of touch.   So out of touch that he can’t keep track of the number of houses that he owns and so out of touch that a $3 million dollar income equals middle class. McCains world…party time…Excellent!

Most of us have heard the the rampant speculation about the possibility of John McCain picking a pro-life vice presidential candidate.  The two most popular names being put out there by the McCain campaign are Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge.  However, McCain believes that such a choice would be a suicide move for his candidacy and has no intention if picking Lieberman or Ridge.  Not to mention the fact that the Republican convention would be a disaster with conservatives picketing or not showing up at all.  The McCain campaign knows this.  This is a complete fake-out, bait and switch operation by the McCain campaign.  The murmur within the republican party is that McCain is simply floating Lieberman and Ridge out there so that conservatives will not give him grief for picking Mitt Romney.  The McCain campaign, with the help of some very loud conservative talk radio host, has decided to get conservatives in a feverish tizzy over the possibility of him picking a pro-choice running mate so that Romney as the veep choice will be a huge relief.  Conservatives have issues with Romney because of his flip flop on the abortion issue.  The former governor ran for Massachussetts governor on a pro-choice platform but then changed his mind and became pro-life once he decided to run for President.  So at this point who knows what he believes.  This way McCain has the best of both worlds, a candidate who takes both sides of the abortion issue as well as most other issues. 

Mitt Romney has confirmed that he will endorse John McCain for President in 2008.  This is a surprise because the two have been reported to have a real dislike for each other.  Many believe that Romney’s endorsement may help McCain get right with the right.  The former governor did manage to garner a notable amount of conservative support during his run.  Romney has said that he will ask his delegates to support John McCain, which will bring McCain much closer to the the magic number of 1191 needed to clinch the Republican nomination.  The pundits speculate that the move could put the bostontonian under consideration for the GOP VP spot.  The endorsement will happen today between 3:30 and 4:00pm.

Mitt Romney has just dropped out of the republican race for president of the United States.  Mitt Romney has effectively suspended his campaign.  Two remaining.  I suspect that we will be hearing from Mike Huckabee soon.  Mitt Romney will confirm his decision during his speech today at CPAC . CPAC is the Conservative Political Action Conference and is hosted by the American Conservative Union.  Romney said during his speech that if he were to continue, he would be aiding a Clinton or Obama win.  The former Massachussetts govenor said that he disagrees with McCain on a lot of issues but agrees with him regarding the Iraq war.  Romney then said that in this time of war, he must step aside. My question is…what will Huckabee and McCain do now that they don’t have Romney to pick on?  For now, it seems that Huckabee will continue his campaign and will speak to CPAC tomorrow morning in an attempt to convince it that he is the viable conservative candidate.  

McCain is scheduled to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference today in Washington DC. The Arizona senator, and recently self-proclaimed frontrunner for the GOP nomination, has decided that it’s time for the his conservative detractors to “calm down” and rally around the inevitability of him as the GOP nominee.  Several conservative talk radio personalities, namely Rush Limbaugh, have attacked the Senator for his refusal to always fall in line with conservative dogma.    It is believed that his speech today is an attempt to begin to bridge the divide between him and the far right, an essential voting block for any GOP candidate seeking the White House.  McCain has been labled a rebel with his own cause. This does not sit well with the far right.  According to reports, McCain ”blew off” last years gathering.  One of the nation’s most influential conservative organizations, the American Conservative Union, hosts the event.  The very high profile attendees are a virtual who’s who of the republican party. Others scheduled to be in attendance are Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Ron Paul.  Mitt Romney is also scheduled to speak today.

The polls closed at 8pm in several of the Super Tuesday states.  McCain won Illinois, New Jersey, and Connecticut.  McCain’s effort to beat Romney in Romney’s home state of Massachusetts failed, to Romney’s relief.  Romney won his home state and is now anxiously waiting for the California results.

The first primary decision of the day is Mike Huckabee takes West Virginia.  After the first round of the caucus in West Virginia, Romney led.  However, at the second round, McCain voters gave Huckabee their support thereby giving Mike Huckabee the win. 

A large group of American voters will decide who they think can best bring the change that America needs in these very turbulant times.   However, as far as the democrats are concerned, chances are that the decision will not be definitively decided today.  Last I checked, the democratic race was a dead heat.  In the national polls, Obama has steadily closed in on Clinton’s lead.  In the USA Today/Gallup poll, Hillary is at 45% and Obama is at 44%.  CNN/Opinion Research shows Obama leading Clinton 49% to 46%.  The ABC  World News poll shows Clinton leading 47% to Obama’s 43%.  Finally, the latest Reuters/CSPAN/Zogby poll show Obama with a slight lead in key Super Tuesday states such as California, Georgia, and Missouri.  As a side note, when the California results are in and the public begins to evaluate the outcome of the California democratic race, the public should keep in mind that California voters have been mailing in their ballots since January 7th when Clinton was ahead in California by double digits.  End of side note.  However, considering the tightning of the Obama-Clinton race and the fact that Obama is now slightly leading in California, undoubtedly demonstrates that Obama’s message is resonating with California voters.  On the republican side, McCain has an average 16 point lead over the other republican candidates.  As a caveat, now that I have flooded you with polling information, after what happened in New Hampshire, my faith in the polling system is considerably diminished.  So don’t rely on the polls to make your choice for President.  Okay…back to the Super Tuesdays states.  Georgia will probably be the first big decision of the night.  California will probably be the last big decision of the night.  However, the most important decision is yours.  The best way that voters can make certain that their will is reflected in Super Tuesday, and in Washington DC in November, is to make sure that they get out and vote for the candidate of their choice.  Change begins with YOU.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, will endorse John McCain.  The California governor is expected to make the official announcement tomorrow.  If the endorsement of Florida governor Charlie Crist is anything to judge by, Romney needs to ramp it up a notch!

John McCain takes Florida and is awarded a whopping 57 delegates!  This has been a pivotal race for all of the republican candidates due to the significant amount of delegates at stake.  Before the Florida primary, the total delegates for each candidate were: Romney 59, Huckabee 40, McCain 36, Paul 4, and Giuliani 1.  With the Florida win, McCain now has a total of 97 delegates. This is also a big win for McCain for other reasons.  Because McCain’s campaign is reported to be running on fumes, this win will provide enormous fundraising potential for the candidate.  Now that McCain has demonstrated that he can win a closed republican primary, as opposed to an open primary where republicans and independents are permitted to vote, republicans are a bit more convinced about his candidacy.  This will provide a much needed boost for McCain into Super Tuesday.  However, the republican race is far from over.  Because it was such a close race, Romney will most likely continue through Super Tuesday.  Both candidates are preparing for the California debate, which is the final debate before Super Tuesday.

The republicans are battling for delegates in Florida.  McCain and Romney are currently neck and neck in the polls.  Currently McCain is polling at about 33%, Romney at 31%, Giuliani at 14%, and Huckabee at 13%.  A million people in Florida have already voted.  Voter turnout is expected to be about 2 million. Whichever candidate wins the Florida primary will receive a huge boost of momentum going into the Feb 5th primaries, i.e. Super Duper Tuesday.  Most are speculating that whomever wins Florida will most likely win the nomination.  In terms of delegates, unlike in the Democratic primaries, in the Republican primaries, the winner takes all.  This is a huge deal for the Republican candidates and the two front-runners, McCain and Romney, are not holding any punches.  Both  candidates have accused each other of being the “L word,”  that would be liberal.  Both McCain and Romney are laying it all the line for what is turning out to be a crucial win.

Liz Cheney, the daughter of vice president Dick Cheney, has joined the Romney campaign as Romney’s senior policy advisor.  Cheney has previously and most recently worked on Middle East affairs for the current Bush administration State Department.  This is probably well received by many conservatives.