Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Romney Hard To Beat - after back to back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, it is clear Mitt Romney will be difficult to beat in the race for the Republican Party nomination for President. On top of a solid (39%) win in New Hampshire, the Romney campaign reported raising 25 million in the last quarter of 2011.

While Romney is downplaying his chances of winning the next Republican primary in S. Carolina, reminding everyone he came in fourth there last time, all of the other candidates staying in the race will benefit Romney.

Santorum's hope for a bounce after a close second showing in Iowa turned out to be a thud as he finished fifth (9.3%) in New Hampshire finishing closely behind Newt Gingrich (9.4%) as they battle for the conservative mantel.

Texas Governor Rick Perry should have stuck with dropping out after Iowa, finished with less than 1% of the vote, banking on a good showing in S. Carolina.

Huntsman finished a weak third with 17% and should have dropped out. Instead, he said the showing was a "ticket to ride" to S. Carolina, where he is likely to fare as Perry did in New Hampshire.

Ron Paul, by finishing second with 23% continues to be an annoyance, who has no chance of securing the Republican Party nomination.

If, Romney wins conservative S. Carolina on the 21st, it will be hard to stop him. At this point, none of the other candidates are positioned to stop Romney, leading the anti-Romney folks to scramble for another candidate.

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign is smiling.

Stay Tuned....

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Obama Hosts "Insourcing Jobs Forum" - today, at the White House, President Obama will hold a forum with business leaders and experts to discuss what can be done to insource jobs to America. WhiteHouse.gov has more here.

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Maryland General Assembly Opens Session - away we go on a 90 day session sure to garner the attention of voters. Raising taxes, especially the gas tax and Democratic Governor O'Malley's push to pass gay marriage in Maryland will surely catch the ire of some voters in the state. Also, the controversial PlanMaryland, implemented by the governor by executive order along with proposed limits to home construction with septic systems will also receive discussion. The Washington Post has a good preview of the session here.

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First Lady Denies White House Feuds - in response to a book out by NY Times reporter Jodi Kantor who wrote Michelle Obama was often at odds with advisers to the president. She said she is tired of being portrayed as "some kind of angry black woman". The NY Times has more here.

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Car Bomb Kills Iran Nuclear Scientist - Iran has blamed Israel for the attack, ratcheting up the tension surrounding the fear Iran is developing a nuclear arms program. Reuters.com has more here.

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Pakistan Fires Defense Minister - adding to the turmoil in this nuclear armed country. Tensions between the army and government remain high as parliamentary elections in March near. You can read more here.

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Arab Monitor Resigns and Leaves Syria - expressing his dissatisfaction of the monitoring process. You can read more here.

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