presidential race

Mitt Romney, a former one-term Republican governor of Massachusetts, officially entered the 2008 presidential race Tuesday, suggesting that his record of leadership inside and outside government uniquely positions him to tackle the country's challenges.

While LGBT citizens and supporters were rejoicing at the Connecticut supreme court's Friday decision to legalize same-sex marriage, others were already weighing what effect the ruling might have on this year's marriage amendment battles in California, Arizona, and Florida as well as the presidential election.

Mitt Romney is the target, abortion is the issue, and the $100,000 ad buy will change the tone of the Iowa and New Hampshire presidential primaries. This weekend marks the first negative TV advertising in the two early voting states as campaigns headed into the critical weeks before the first vote, with an independent group's claim that the former Massachusetts governor has flip-flopped -- a sometimes crippling charge in presidential politics. Analysts say similar negative ads are likely to air against Romney's chief GOP rival, Rudy Giuliani, whose positions on gun control and immigration are markedly different from those he espoused as New York City mayor.