With just over seven weeks to go until voters in Iowa caucus on January 3, Republicans are still battling over who will be the best candidate to take on Mitt Romney for the GOP Presidential nomination.
Romney has succeeded in staying near the top of the Republican field by in part doing well at the recent flurry of GOP debates – this past Wednesday night was no different – as he seems to often skate in the background while others make news good or bad.
There has only been one debate where Romney got flustered – that was last month in Las Vegas, where he tangled with Rick Perry and got defensive on certain points.
Romney made sure there was no repeat of that this week, as he let others make the news.
While Herman Cain tangled with the CNBC moderators over sexual harassment allegations, Romney sidestepped an opportunity to criticize Cain.
While Rick Perry took lots of flak for his Brain Freeze, Romney stayed in the background and let Perry flail around like a fish out of water.
Yes, Perry still has big money. And yes, Perry has a sense of humor as evidenced by his appearance on David Letterman’s “The Late Show” – but Romney definitely has the edge at this time.
Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich meanwhile continued their unconventional campaigns, as both men stumped for votes in Michigan, a state which has a non-binding preference primary in late February, but doesn’t actually choose delegates until May.
The eight major GOP hopefuls will all be down in South Carolina for a debate Saturday night; there is another debate in Iowa a week after the South Carolina gathering – a debate that Mitt Romney has suggested he might skip.
One odd point about Romney and the GOP is that when all voters are included in recent polls, Romney does the best of any Republican candidate against President Obama.
But when you limit the surveys to just GOP voters, then Herman Cain leads Romney.
Will it be Cain, Gingrich or Perry as the main challenger to Romney?
