Presidential races

The Mississippi governor said the women, sentenced to life terms for armed robbery, no longer pose a threat to society.

Republican candidates’ creativity will be tested with their decisions on how to tell the world they want to defeat Obama.

Sarah Palin’s former staff has requested another delay in releasing e-mails from her time as governor of Alaska.

Several news organizations requested the information more than two years ago, just after the relatively unknown Palin was chosen as the 2008 vice presidential nominee.

But staff in the Alaska governor’s office have asked for their 15th delay, this time for another five months, which would put the release date at May 30, 2011.

MSNBC, one of the news organizations that requested the e-mails, notes that if the delay is approved, the request will have been pending for 986 days.

Palin was governor of Alaska for 966 days.

Officials said there are about 25,700 e-mails, which include anything sent to or from the governor or her husband, Todd Palin, either from their government or private accounts, to the government accounts of 53 staff and aides.

The requests were made by several news organizations, including NBC News, MSNBC.com, The Associated Press, Mother Jones, Pro Publica and the Juneau Empire, according to The New York Daily News.

Some of the e-mails could be withheld because of public record exemptions. State regulations allow the attorney general to approve a delay if the released information would hurt the office of the governor.

The AP notes that, under a new plan, the Alaska Department of Law will assign two people to review the records full-time at a cost of around $120,000.

Herman Cain hasn't gotten much national attention, but he's visiting early-voting states and courting Tea Party voters.

Seventy-eight percent of Democrats want President Obama renominated for a second term.

Alaska Republicans rate their former governor less favorably than do GOP voters in other states.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a potential 2012 presidential candidate, is scheduled to visit the home state of one of his potential rivals early next year.

Thune will headline the Minnesota GOP's Lincoln-Reagan dinner on Feb. 25, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Minnesota is the home of Tim Pawlenty (R), the state's outgoing governor and a potential presidential candidate.

The South Dakota senator, who became famous for unseating former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) in 2004, said in September that he will decide whether or not to run for president "early next year."

Pawlenty recently expressed regret for not seeking a third term as governor, considering the GOP picked up the majority in the state's legislature. Democrat Mark Dayton defeated Republican Tom Emmer for governor in November.

But he is still planning to go ahead with his national exposure campaign, and is preparing to launch his book tour. 

h/t TPMDC

The Independent Vermont senator said he's flattered by the suggestion he should jump in, but won't take the bait.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), a potential 2012 presidential candidate, said this weekend he has no regrets about expressing his desire for a "truce" on social issues during the next presidency.

Daniels, a noted fiscal hawk, reiterated that social issues are of secondary concern to the country, behind the economy and national security. He first made his comments in June in a profile in the conservative Weekly Standard.

"No," Daniels told the Indianapolis Star in an interview when asked if he has changed his mind. "I say that with enormous respect for the people who want to see gay marriage legalized or who have a strong view on some other such question and want to see 'Don't ask, don't tell' go away."

The Indiana governor took flak from some social-conservative groups, and some observers predicted that his comments could hurt him if he decides to run for president. 

But Daniels said those people might think differently if an enemy army threatened to invade the U.S.

"If there were a foreign army massed at our border right now, I think most Americans would rush to do what they could to help defend the country and they'd find themselves figuratively in the trench next to people that are very different from them and that held different views," he explained. "If the threat were defeated, we might go right back to our disagreements. That's all I'm saying."

Daniels — who served as budget director under President George W. Bush — has said he will not decide to enter the race until April and recently said that other potential candidates' stance on the national debt could sway his decision.

He said that, although he wished for an end to the conflict over social issues, he respects people who disagree with him.

"Believe me, I completely respect, in fact I share the depth of feeling on some of these questions with some people," he said. "I'm just looking at, Shouldn't we save America first, while there's time?"

H/t GOP12

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) said a lot remains unclear about the stable of potential GOP candidates facing President Obama.