The young 2012 campaign is starting to get into full swing, with the GOP field mostly set and mounting their campaigns in earnest. Of course, we're still many, many days away from the Ames Straw Poll. So what's a GOP candidate for President to do in the meantime?

Michele Bachmann claimed the lion's share of the 2012 newshole this week after announcing her candidacy for President in Waterloo, Iowa. Of course, sh...

Poll after poll indicates that GOP voters are not particularly happy with the field of candidates that are vying for the 2012 GOP nomination. But how ...

Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) may be staff-sharing, Obamacare-repealing BFF's in the House of Represent...

So, humanity's first "Twitter town hall" is now in the books. Was it everything you hoped it would be? My wish is that if we all agree to behave ourse...

Tim Pawlenty needs to do something to win a news cycle, if not the Ames Straw Poll, so maybe coming out as a fan of Lady Gaga will help? I don't know. Just try anything, Tim.

A few weeks ago, we delved into the world of pledges that the members of the GOP field were being pressured into signing. Turns out we should have hel...

Jonathan Chait is right that the recent numbers from Public Policy Polling should alert everyone to the fact that Michele Bachmann's campaign could do...

Now, you wouldn't think that there would be much affinity between the Kochs and the establishment Democratic Party. But you'd be wrong!

"It's a big day for early Pawlenty obituaries," wrote Ben Smith, citing articles from Neil King and our own Sam Stein/Jon Ward tandem, all of whom pro...

The Family Leader's "Marriage Vow" pledge asks a lot of the presidential candidates who sign it. You better not like gay people, for instance! Porn is...

Your big 2012 election news of the day comes out of Iowa, where a poll conducted by TheIowaRepublican.com has placed Michele Bachmann at the top of the pack. This poll, of "likely Iowa caucusgoers," found 25 percent of respondents favoring Bachmann's bid, with Mitt Romney in second place, with 21 percent. Aside from Bachmann and Romney, the most significant shifts signaled by this poll involve Tim Pawlenty and Ron Paul. Pawlenty's third place finish, is a lifeline to a campaign that was circling the drain last week.

That "Family Leader" pledge may have won the enthusiastic endorsement of Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, but former New Mexico Governor and long-s...

Here's a chart that explains all of modern politics -- and especially the debt ceiling debate.

If you were wondering how Newt Gingrich was going to handle The Family Leader's "Marriage Vow" pledge -- with its fun references to "quickie divorces"...