Business Secretary Vince Cable is in a political stand off after his nomination for the university access chief was turned down by MPs.

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Cable stands by fair access chief

If the former governor wins the nomination.

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Gingrich Donor Will Support Romney

As New Hampshire voters began to cast ballots on Tuesday, the Republican candidates sought to slow Mitt Romney’s march to the nomination, branding him as a corporate villain.

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Voting in N.H. Opens as Romney Fends Off Attacks

Don't get too riled up over tonight's results. Since 1976, only three people who won the Iowa caucuses ended up winning the nomination: Gerald Ford, Bob Dole, and George W. Bush.

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Notes on Iowa Caucuses Past

DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Republican presidential candidates opened an intensive week of campaigning in wide-open Iowa Tuesday with the embattled Newt Gingrich casting rival Mitt Romney as an establishment defender of big government and accusing Romney’s supporters of lying about his record. Gingrich, who has fallen after holding the lead a month ago, went to work trying to limit the damage done by the millions of dollars’ worth of negative ads aimed at him in recent weeks and counter the growing impression that Romney is suddenly well-positioned to win in Iowa and consolidate a grip on the nomination. Read full article > >

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Gingrich fights back, aiming at Romney as Iowa caucuses heat up

As the first votes in the Republican presidential race approach, Rep. Ron Paul has become a serious force with the potential to upend the nomination fight and remain a factor throughout next year’s general-election campaign. Although few think the congressman from Texas has a realistic shot at winning the GOP nod, he has built a strong enough base of support that he could be a spoiler — or a kingmaker. Read full article > >

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Ron Paul becoming serious contender in Republican presidential race

If neither Newt Gingrich nor Mitt Romney locks up the nomination early, Mr. Gingrich might need to survive a war of attrition of the sort for which he is unprepared at the moment.

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Gingrich Surges, but Romney Organization Is Stronger

Four years ago, Mitt Romney was done in when he ended up fighting a multi-front battle against different opponents. This year, it has been his lucky fate to escape any real battles from any specific opponent. That will soon change. Romney’s 2008 strategy, built on the assumption that someone not nationally known could take the nomination only by winning early and often, was based on some sound assumptions. What he didn’t anticipate was how the campaign would unfold against him. Read full article > >

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After 2008, Romney works a very different campaign

The (re)rise of former House speaker Newt Gingrich in the 2012 Republican presidential race has re-started a debate over his at-times-tumultuous personal life and how much it could — or should — impact his chances of winning the nomination. The facts are these: Gingrich has been married three times. He and his first wife, Jackie, divorced in 1981. (The circumstances surrounding the split up — including a debate about whether Gingrich informed his wife of his plans during a time when she was hospitalized — remain a point of debate.) Read full article > >

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Newt Gingrich’s marriages: Should they matter?

Don’t laugh too hard at Rick Perry for his mortifying episode of brain-lock at Wednesday’s GOP presidential candidates’ debate. His opponents managed to remember their lines but didn’t do any better at making sense. OK, I understand, the Perry Meltdown is hard to resist. There are three reasons why the Texas governor needs to pack it up and head back to Austin: He’s embarrassing himself; his plunging poll numbers give him little chance of winning the nomination; and, um, let’s see, the third reason, wait a minute, it’ll come to me. . . . Read full article > >

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In GOP debate, Rick Perry wasn’t alone in not making sense

For months, Herman Cain languished on the margins of the Republican presidential campaign. But in the past few weeks, something happened that even Cain did not see coming. He became a front-runner for the nomination. The Atlanta businessman has shot up in the polls and become a ubiquitous presence on national television. His “9-9-9” plan to reform the tax code has become a household term. His sense of humor and upbeat style have injected a bit of light into a campaign that has centered on the gloom of the economy. Read full article > >

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Herman Cain’s surprising rise to GOP front-runner

Forget the sound bites from the stage. Some of the most memorable moments from a series of Republican presidential debates have come not from the candidates competing for the nomination but from the intensely partisan audiences there to appraise them. In four of the most recent debates, assertive audience members have managed to make their mark on the proceedings. They have elevated the profiles of second-tier candidates, such as Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain , with their uproarious applause, and they have taken Texas Gov. Rick Perry down a few notches by loudly booing his record on illegal immigration . Read full article > >

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Republican debate audiences provoke controversy

In an annoyed New York Times op-ed today, MIT professor and Nobel Prize-winning economist Peter Diamond withdrew his nomination to the Federal Reserve. Obama nominated Diamond in April 2010, and several times since, but Republicans repeatedly blocked…

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Fed Nominee: ‘Nobel Prize Isn’t Enough’

HANCOCK, N.H. — Jon Huntsman Jr. staged a political coming-out party here this weekend with the kind of robust schedule that suggests he is close to becoming a full-fledged candidate for the 2012 Republican nomination. He stepped more gingerly when it came to explaining just where he stands on the issues. There is considerable interest in Huntsman’s prospective presidential candidacy, which befits a truly fresh face in a party where many voters are less than overwhelmed by their choices. But with a fresh face come questions, which Huntsman began to confront as he introduced himself. Two broad concerns could determine his success in the nomination battle. Read full article > >

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Huntsman tests the waters carefully