Romney conceded Friday that he's in a tight race with Newt Gingrich for today's South Carolina primary in a Republican campaign suddenly turned turbulent.
It's "neck and neck," Mitt Romney declared, while a third presidential contender, former Sen. Rick Santorum, swiped at both men in hopes of springing another campaign surprise as he did in Iowa.
Several days after forecasting a Romney victory in his state, Sen. Jim DeMint said the campaign's first Southern primary was now a two-man race between Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who has struggled in recent days with questions about his personal wealth and taxes, and Gingrich, the former House speaker who has been surging in polls after a pair of well-received debate performances but criticized over his romantic affairs.
A victory by Romney would place him in a commanding position heading into the Florida primary Jan. 31. If Romney stumbles in South Carolina, it could portend a long, drawn-out battle for the nomination. And that could further expose rifts inside the party between those who want a candidate who can defeat President Barack Obama more than anything else and those whose strong preference is for a solid conservative.
Like Gingrich, some questioned whether Romney has something to hide.
Perhaps the most intriguing theory came from Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, co-authors of a new book on Romney called "The Real Romney."
During an interview on CNN, Kranish said a Romney family member told the authors that Romney's cautious manner while campaigning -- which can make him seem distant and stiff -- partly reflects a lesson he learned from his father.
George Romney was a chairman of American Motors and a Michigan governor. As a presidential candidate in 1968, he supported the Vietnam War but became an opponent of it after visiting Vietnam with several congressmen.
George Romney later said during a TV interview that his earlier position was the product of "brainwashing" by generals and others who backed the war.
The comment sunk his bid for the Republican nomination, which was won by Richard Nixon.
"That one sentence pretty much exploded his presidential ambitions," Kranish said. "And Mitt Romney has taken a lesson from that. ... As a result, Mitt is more careful, more scripted in what he says because one sentence could perhaps end (his) campaign as it did his father's."
Kranish added that within his circle of trusted advisers, Romney is "very warm."
With the general public, however, "it could be a hard connection to make, especially given his great wealth ... and trying to make that connection to the average person."
Kranish added that Romney could use more of the "free-flowing nature that his father had."
It's "neck and neck," Mitt Romney declared, while a third presidential contender, former Sen. Rick Santorum, swiped at both men in hopes of springing another campaign surprise as he did in Iowa.
Several days after forecasting a Romney victory in his state, Sen. Jim DeMint said the campaign's first Southern primary was now a two-man race between Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who has struggled in recent days with questions about his personal wealth and taxes, and Gingrich, the former House speaker who has been surging in polls after a pair of well-received debate performances but criticized over his romantic affairs.
A victory by Romney would place him in a commanding position heading into the Florida primary Jan. 31. If Romney stumbles in South Carolina, it could portend a long, drawn-out battle for the nomination. And that could further expose rifts inside the party between those who want a candidate who can defeat President Barack Obama more than anything else and those whose strong preference is for a solid conservative.
Like Gingrich, some questioned whether Romney has something to hide.
Perhaps the most intriguing theory came from Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, co-authors of a new book on Romney called "The Real Romney."
During an interview on CNN, Kranish said a Romney family member told the authors that Romney's cautious manner while campaigning -- which can make him seem distant and stiff -- partly reflects a lesson he learned from his father.
George Romney was a chairman of American Motors and a Michigan governor. As a presidential candidate in 1968, he supported the Vietnam War but became an opponent of it after visiting Vietnam with several congressmen.
George Romney later said during a TV interview that his earlier position was the product of "brainwashing" by generals and others who backed the war.
The comment sunk his bid for the Republican nomination, which was won by Richard Nixon.
"That one sentence pretty much exploded his presidential ambitions," Kranish said. "And Mitt Romney has taken a lesson from that. ... As a result, Mitt is more careful, more scripted in what he says because one sentence could perhaps end (his) campaign as it did his father's."
Kranish added that within his circle of trusted advisers, Romney is "very warm."
With the general public, however, "it could be a hard connection to make, especially given his great wealth ... and trying to make that connection to the average person."
Kranish added that Romney could use more of the "free-flowing nature that his father had."
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