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With only a couple of weeks to go before several 2012 candidates face off in the Ames Straw Poll, the world is about to see who has best balanced the game of Hawkeye State momentum and expectations. These opinions and predictions have been culled from our staff members, additional state political reporters, party activists, academics, elected officials, political consultants and other insiders. While unscientific, the ranks provide insights that cannot be garnered in traditional polling or from any one pundit as to a candidate’s organizational strength in Iowa.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who’s testifying this morning before the House Financial Services Committee on legislation empowering the White House to take

Although Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, says it’s already happened, as of Wednesday, U.S. combat forces will officially be out of Iraqi

It’s tough for the minority party to pass legislation. The first time the GOP tried to prohibit ACORN from federal funding, the measure failed on a party-line

At the Washington, D.C. office of FreedomWorks, the conservative non-profit that has promoted and trained organizers of anti-tax Tea Parties, no one knew what Gov. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) was going to say.

California gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner is not letting up on fellow Republican Meg Whitman after her partial walkback of her praise (from months before

I have a lot of respect for Michael Scheuer. Scheuer, the first leader of the CIA’s Usama Bin Laden Unit (with the old-school spelling) in the 1990s, knows a

As expected, yesterday President Obama signed a supplemental appropriations bill that prohibits the release of Guantanamo detainees into the United States, and

In Montana, medical marijuana advocates say the passage of legislation which would all but outlaw medical marijuana in the state is merely the beginning of the battle. From The Billings Gazette: Medical marijuana advocates are launching a three-pronged strategy — veto, sue and suspend — to stop the recently passed bill that would impose far greater restrictions on the industry and make it harder for people to qualify for medical pot use.

Today, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its Board of Governors meetings to discuss the United States’ monetary policy in April. In February, all

On Monday, it was Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) unveiling legislation to rein in overdraft fees. Today it’s Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Barney Frank

No one takes greater pleasure in thwarting the progressive environmental agenda than Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.). The self-appointed global warming

Once again, the Iranian opposition demonstrates that it’s comprised of Iranians. From The Times of London’s interview with Green leader Mehdi Karroubi: In a

Charlie Savage digs into the history of a well-remembered visit that Michael Jackson paid to the White House in 1984, and how a 29-year-old associate White

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), one week off of his ACORN forum, tweets proof that the White House served ACORN-shaped treats at a Christmas party last night.

This weekend, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) announced that she has enough votes and support to put an end to secret holds -- an individual senator’s ability

In January of 2007, just days after the Democrats took control of the House for the first time in over a decade, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) vowed to close

Al Franken, soon to be the junior senator from Minnesota, is no stranger to controversy after spending the last eight months fighting Sen. Norm Coleman

I haven’t really followed the aftermath of Weekly Standard blogger Michael Goldfarb, a veteran of the McCain/Palin campaign, claiming that the White House was

A GOP congressman is pushing to put Reagan on the $50 bill. Gay marriage kicks off in D.C. -- and politicos will be among those lining up. Former Intel

A new Current Biology study finds a fetus does not feel pain until 35 to 37 weeks of gestation — yet another piece of evidence that debunks the science behind a set of laws that have made their way through state legislatures that limit access to abortions when the age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more. According to the National Partnership for Women and Children : The findings could shed light on a point of contention in the abortion-rights debate and potentially affect clinical care for preterm infants

The DNC and Organizing for America take on the town hall protests. How did an anti-Obama screed find its way onto the front page of The Washington

In addition to super-accurate presidential and local race polling, Rasmussen Reports traffics in polls that ask unusual questions that have been bouncing around