Obama up 5 on Romney nationally  —  PPP's first national poll of 2012 finds Barack Obama with his best standing against Mitt Romney since last May, right after the killing of Osama bin Laden.  Obama leads Romney 49-44.  —  It's not as if Obama's suddenly become popular.

Romney Admits His Tax Rate Is About 15 Percent, Lower Than Many Middle Class Families  —  Citizens for Tax Justice a few months ago estimated that Mitt Romney, due to most of his income coming from investments, pays a tax rate of around 14 percent, a far cry from the 35 percent top income tax rate.

Mitt Romney to release tax returns, estimates rate at about 15 percent  —  FLORENCE, S.C. — Bowing to pressure from his Republican rivals as well as the Democrats, Mitt Romney told reporters here Tuesday that he plans to release his federal income tax returns this spring and estimated his rate at about 15 percent.

Romney, Dewhurst lead in Texas  —  Rick Perry's Presidential campaign is doing about as bad in Texas now as it is everywhere else in the country.  When PPP last polled the state in September he was at 49%, leading Mitt Romney by 39 points.  Now Perry's support has declined by 31 points, leaving him in 3rd place at 18%.

Turkey responds angrily to Perry remarks  —  Istanbul (CNN) - Most of Turkey was fast asleep when Republic presidential candidates engaged in a spirited debate in South Carolina Monday night.  —  Turkish newspapers had already gone to print by the time Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared …

Will frontrunner Romney keep debating?  —  MYRTLE BEACH, SC — After a debate in which Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney faced attacks from all sides, the Romney campaign says it has not yet accepted invitations to participate in two high-profile debates leading up to the January 31 Florida primary …