Romney's one front war

By Conn Carroll | Senior Editorial Writer

Supposedly, next Tuesday's primaries in Arizona and Michigan were supposed to be a battle between Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich for the title of top anti-Mitt Romney contender. Santorum chose to campaign only in Michigan leaving Gingrich to devote his resources to Arizona. Each candidate, in theory, would therefore have an opportunity to take Romney on one-on-one. The candidate that did best head-to-head, would be THE anti-Romney.

Problem is, Santorum is winning by TKO.

In Michigan, the race has evolved into a tight battle between Santorum and Romney. Real Clear Politics' polling average of the state has Santorum currently up by just five. But in Arizona, Gingrich is nowhere to be found. Two recent polls both have Romney up an average 5 percent over his nearest competitor … Rick Santorum. Gingrich is trailing far behind Romney, by at least 20 points, in both polls.

Romney's Super PAC is expected to spend $6 million in the final two weeks before the February 28th primaries. Whether it is spent in Michigan or Arizona, the target will definitely be Santorum.

Campaign 2012
Poll: A new USA Today/Gallup poll finds that a majority of Republicans, 66 percent to 29 percent, say it would be better if one of the four candidates now running managed to secure enough delegates to clinch the nomination. A slightly smaller majority, 57 percent, believe the primary is not hurting the party.

Arizona: Mitt Romney has a narrow 36 percent to 33 percent lead over Rick Santorum among Arizona Republicans according to Public Policy Polling's latest survey.

Texas: A new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll shows 45 percent of Republican voters want Rick Santorum as their nominee, compared to only 16 percent for Mitt Romney.

Oklahoma: Rick Santorum is beating Mitt Romney 39 percent to 23 percent according to a new SoonerPoll.com poll of 278 Oklahoma Republican voters.

Romney: Mitt Romney's campaign raised $6.5 million in January, but they only have $7.7 million cash on hand. They had $19 million at the end of December.

Gingrich: Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson tells Forbes he may spend $100 million on Newt Gingrich or any other Republican.

Daniels: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels confirmed he is receiving more calls to enter the presidential race. But he tells the Indianapolis Star that his answer is still 'no.'

Obama: President Obama's decision to actively raise money for his Super PAC came after campaign manager Jim Messina informed David Axelrod that his Super PAC raised only $59,000 in January.

Around the Bigs
The Los Angeles Times, Surging gas prices threaten to derail economic recovery: The price of gas is rising rapidly nationwide and could reach $5 a gallon by April. In California, where regulatory-compliant refineries are in short-supply, gas is already averaging $4 a gallon, up 5 percent in just the last week.

The Houston Chronicle, U.S. oil gusher blows out projections: The United States' rapidly declining crude oil supply has made a stunning about-face, shredding federal oil projections and putting energy independence in sight of some analyst forecasts.

The New York Times, Some Doubt a Settlement Will End Mortgage Ills: Housing advocates and homeowners are skeptical that the Obama administration's foreclosure fraud settlement will help anyone avoid foreclosure.

The Wall Street Journal, Fed Writes Sweeping Rules From Behind Closed Doors: The Federal Reserve, which is responsible for writing many of the Dodd-Frank financial regulations, is operating in almost complete secrecy. Other federal agencies must comply with formal rule making procedures when writing their Dodd-Frank regulations.

The Wall Street Journal, Renewed Iran Threat Rattles Oil Markets: Iran threatened to per-emptively cut off oil supplies to the European Union yesterday, sending oil prices to a nine-month high.

The New York Times, Europe Agrees on New Bailout to Help Greece Avoid Default: European finance ministers agreed to a second-round of bailouts for Greece. The new $172 billion package contains even higher losses for private holders of Greek debt.

Righty Playbook
The Heartland Institute has issued a press release responding to global warming promoter Peter Gleick's confession that he is the source of the stolen and forged Heartland documents circulating on the internet.

The Washington Examiner's Tim Carney notes that neither The New York Times nor MSNBC has ever reported that Duke Energy has given the Democratic National Convention a $10 million line of credit.

At The Corner, Ramesh Ponnuru says it is time for Mitt Romney to campaign on real tax reform.

Lefty Playbook
The New York Times Andrew Revkin says Peter Gleick's admitted theft and suspected forgery Heartland documents "has destroyed his credibility and harmed others."

Talking Points Memo's Sahil Kapur claims that Republican's are both "backing off" Rep. Paul Ryan's, R-Wis., and have doubled down on it.

The Washington Monthly's Ed Kilgore says the Catholic vote is a myth.