Winning Ugly, but Winning  —  I don't care if you call it a win or a tie.  In Iowa on Tuesday, Mitt Romney had a performance that looks ugly on the stat sheet , but which accomplished quite a bit when you consider it in its broader context.  —  The two most important things that Mr. Romney accomplished are as follows:

Newt the Destroyer  —  Gingrich is now on a single-minded mission to detonate Mitt Romney's presidential prospects.  Will he blow up the GOP in the process?  —  Newt Gingrich has finally reached his destiny: destroyer of the GOP.  —  In a bitter and spiteful concession speech last night in Iowa …

Ron Paul May Have Secretly Won The Iowa Caucuses  —  DES MOINES — Ron Paul may have officially come in third tonight, but if the campaign's caucus strategy went off as planned, then Paul may actually be the real winner of the first Republican voting contest.

Conservative elites to huddle  —  A group of movement conservatives has called an emergency meeting in Texas next weekend to find a “consensus” Republican presidential hopeful, POLITICO has learned.  —  “You and your spouse are cordially invited to a private meeting with national conservative leaders …

Bachmann Ends Presidential Run — Source  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann is suspending her presidential campaign, said a senior Republican official with direct knowledge of the lawmaker's plans.  The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Minnesota lawmaker, a favorite …

Perry stays in presidential race, says it 'wasn't a hard decision'  —  Gov. Rick Perry said today he will continue his presidential campaign despite a fifth-place showing in the Tuesday Iowa caucuses and serious questions about whether he can continue.  “I re-assessed,” Perry said as he left …

This Race is Far From Over  —  RUSH: I can't tell you the number of people — and I stayed up all the way until they found the votes.  My gosh, I thought I was watching the Democrats last night.  Ninety-nine percent of the votes in and they can't find the votes from two counties.  They couldn't find 'em.

Breaking: Obama also set to make recess appointments to the NLRB  —  It isn't just Richard Cordray.  Obama is also set to use recess appointments to install his picks to the National Labor Relations Board, according to White House officials and others familiar with ongoing discussions.

President Obama defies lawmakers with recess appointments to NLRB  —  President Obama will recess-appoint his nominees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), bypassing a likely filibuster from Senate Republicans to keep the controversial agency operating in 2012.

Reid backs Obama after using pro forma sessions to block Bush  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who previously held pro forma sessions to block recess appointments by President George W. Bush, said Wednesday he supported President Obama's decision to ignore those sessions to push through one of his key nominees.

America's Consumer Watchdog  —  Today the President will appoint Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  He has one important job: look out for the best interest of American consumers.  He'll work on behalf of millions of families across the nation to ensure they're …

GOP blasts Obama for ‘unprecedented power grab’ with appointment  —  Republican leaders in the House and Senate are blasting President Obama's move to recess-appoint a key nominee as an “unprecedented power grab.”  —  Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the president …