Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that won’t necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* Newt Gingrich said yesterday of his chances in Iowa, “I don’t think I’m going to win.” A few hours later, he reversed course, saying, “We may pull off one of the greatest upsets in the history of the Iowa caucuses.”
* Mitt Romney, meanwhile, is feeling nothing but confidence, boasting yesterday he is going to “win this thing.”
* Gallup reported yesterday that the 2012 race for the Republican presidential nomination is “the most volatile … since pollsters first started tracking front-runners decades ago.”
* Campaigning in Iowa yesterday, Rick Perry complained about “the Bridge to Nowhere in Arizona.” The bridge in question is actually in Alaska.
* Rupert Murdoch relied on Twitter yesterday to say very flattering things about Rick Santorum, calling him, among other things, the “only candidate with genuine big vision” for the United States. News Corp confirmed that Murdoch’s Twitter account reflected the media mogul’s personal sentiments.
* Rep. Steve Austria, a two-term Republican from Ohio, will retire at the end of the year, rather than face one of his House colleagues in a post-redistricting primary.
* Speaking of Ohio, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, after considering moving to the state of Washington to remain in Congress, will instead run against incumbent Rep. Marcy Kaptur in a Democratic primary latter this year.
* And speaking of redistricting, the fact that an independent overseer will draw Connecticut’s new district lines is a win for Republicans.
* With Sen. Ben Nelson (D) retiring in Nebraska, will former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D) launch a comeback bid in the Cornhusker State? He expects to make a decision within the next two weeks.
