Outside the Beltway

Mitt Romney decided not to run in 2016 but he’s very much in the race.

The highest court in New York state has ruled that an undocumented immigrant brought to the U.S. as a child can be admitted to practice law.

The Iowa Straw Poll seems to be dying, and that’s a good thing.

Another step forward toward ending a U.S. policy regarding Cuba that was outdated twenty years ago.

The race for the Republican nomination is as tight as ever, and so far nobody seems to be emerging as a clear front-runner.

Rand Paul is out with one of his more forceful attacks on Republican hawks to date.

Hillary Clinton is a deeply flawed candidate who might not even make a very good President. But that doesn’t matter in the race for the Democratic Nomination, and she’s probably going to be the next President anyway.

With 14 candidates vying for the Republican nomination, TV execs are scrambling to make the debates watchable.

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry is going to be looking for that elusive second act in American politics.

Iraq seems to becoming a political headache for yet another member of the Bush family.

Jeb Bush will not participate in this year’s version of the Iowa Straw Poll.

A Judge in New Jersey has ruled that the twin children of a New Jersey woman were in fact fathered by two different men.

A new poll has some bad news for Jeb Bush in the Hawkeye State, which leads to the idea that maybe he shouldn’t waste too much time there to begin with.

Mike Huckabee’s back, but the 2008 magic is gone.

Aides to Governor Chris Christie apparently think there’s still a way he can run a credible campaign for President, but it seems unlikely.

Two of Chris Christie’s closest aides were indicted in connection with the Birdgegate scandal today, a third plead guilty, and Christie’s Presidential ambitions are pretty much dead.

Rand Paul bucks Republican orthodoxy on Iraq, Libya, and negotiations with Iran.

Even for political junkies, the thrill seems to be gone.

Less than two weeks after entering the race, Florida Senator Marco Rubio is at the top of the GOP field in a new poll.

WaPo’s “Top Christie ally defects to Bush” buries the lede.

The GOP race remains tight, but some candidates have benefited from their entry into the race more than others. Overall, though, Hillary Clinton continues to dominate.

The “racism” debate brought about by Barack Obama in 2000 is getting a spin-off.

Pundits and political scientists agree that, if the 2016 presidential election were today, we’d have a much better idea who would win.

When it comes to marijuana policy, Chris Christie is stuck in the past.

Marco Rubio is the first Republican in the race who actually has a plausible chance to win the nomination, but it’s not going to be easy.

His poll numbers are down, the GOP base is not hospitable, but Chris Christie still seems to be thinking about running for President.

Jeb Bush is leading the latest poll of the 2016 Republican race and Ted Cruz has surged since he entered the race, but the race is just beginning.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is getting ready to jump into the race for President, but he has an uphill fight ahead of him.

A brutal assessment of Chris Christie’s presidential chances.

Despite the ongoing email controversy, Hillary Clinton remains well positioned heading into 2016.

What reporters see as stonewalling may be shrewd clock management.

Hillary Clinton’s use of email while Secretary of State pretty much violated every Federal law and regulation on the issue.

Rand Paul is carrying on a family tradition, winning the CPAC straw poll won many times by his father Ron.

The debate over whether kids need to be vaccinated against communicable diseases baffles me.

Scott Walker surged to the top of a new poll of Iowa Republicans, but Iowa is not a very good predictor of success in the race for the GOP nomination.

Mitt Romney is set to make an announcement at 11 Eastern today. [UPDATE: He’s out!]

Conservatives finally seem to be waking up to the truth about Sarah Palin.

Advantage: Hillary.

The Tea Party may be the most vocal wing of the GOP but most Republicans seems to favor candidates that aren’t quite so right wing.

Some are criticizing the President for not going to Paris for yesterday’s rally.

He’s tan. He’s rested. And, apparently, he’s ready. Mitt Romney seems very interested in 2016 all of a sudden.

Rand Paul is one of the few Republicans who seems to be evaluating the new policy toward Cuba through something other than an outdated Cold War perspective.

Also: charting the rightward shift in the GOP.

The GOP donor class would like the 2016 race to be short and sweet, but that’s unlikely to happen.

The numbers don’t lie, Mitt Romney remains popular among Republican voters.

When push comes to shove, top Republicans may still try to make Mitt Romney happen.