(Image source: MittRomneyCentral)
BY BLAKE HANSON
The GOP presidential race is heating up -- but wait -- where has Mitt Romney been? The former Massachusetts Governor is starting to get attention for avoiding attention. NPR has more...
"Romney this year has been doing his best to fly under the radar," says political scientist Andy Smith, who directs the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. "He's been leading in polls for two-plus years, he's been the most popular candidate, he's had the highest favorability ratings," says Smith. "And I think what he's doing is essentially playing a game of running out the clock here."
"Romney's tally of "20-plus" town hall meetings pales in comparison to a candidate like Rick Santorum, who has 15 public events between Friday and Monday, including eight town halls."
The Romney campaign has denied claims that it is lying low. But, will the strategy of fewer appearances than other candidates work? The Hill offers this analysis...
“Slow and steady might just win the race for Mitt Romney … While Romney inches forward, his opponents, one by one, have shot ahead of him, only to flame out and fall back. It happened with former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.), then Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas).”
Conservative Talker Rush Limbaugh says, either way, Romney has the nomination on lock.
“Have you noticed that there's one Republican who constantly escapes any of this media anal exam, escapes all of this vetting, and that's Mitt Romney?”
“All of this is just a waste of time, everybody knows when it's all over Romney is gonna be the nominee, right?" Well, Romney is the one guy the media is not vetting.”
Stil, new poll numbers suggest Romney doesn’t have it all in the bag just yet. The LA Times writes...
“Newt Gingrich is riding a wave that has yet to show signs of cresting. And now one poll says that he's within striking distance of Mitt Romney in New Hampshire, the one state that Romney was thought to have locked down.”
With Gingrich inching ever-closer, there’s news that Romney is stepping up efforts in Iowa. Here’s MSNBC....
“Other news out of the Hawkeye state. NBC News has learned Mitt Romney will soon set up a campaign office there. That leads to speculation the Massachusetts Governor is preparing to launch a stronger Iowa Offensive.”
Though he’s not stepping into the limelight just yet...
“But Romney has decided to skip the socially conservative family leader forum, it’s tonight in Des Moines.”
The most recent poll from the New Hampshire Journal puts Romney at 29% and Gingrich close behind at 27%.
