Amazingly, Mitt Romney is in the lead according to a recent poll by the Des Moines Register, going into Tuesday’s caucuses, but the lead is slim. And the configuration of the field seems at least a little stable. The CNN poll of December 28th shows this pattern:

Mitt Romney 25
Ron Paul 22
Rick Santorum 16
Newt Gingrich 14
Rick Perry 11
Michele Bachmann 9
Jon Huntsman 1

… and the Des Moine Register poll shows this pattern:

Mitt Romney 24
Ron Paul 22
Rick Santorum 15
Newt Gingrich 12
Rick Perry 11
Michele Bachmann 7
Jon Huntsman 2
Not Sure 7

Interestingly, according to the Des Moines Register poll, Santorum and Perry share a 15 point lead for “second choice” and have relatively low numbers for the “Like Least” category. They are followed by Not Sure (14) with Romney coming in at 13 for the Second Choice category. The most “lease liked” is Rick Perry (15) with Romney (13) and Bachmann (12) close behind.

In some ways, this is the most interesting part of the poll:

Gingrich is the most knowledgeable by far. I guess that is because he is a professor. Bachmann is the least knowledgeable but not by as much. I guess that’s because she’s a moron. Paul wins for reducing debt and having the smallest ego.

Romney leads the back by a large margin in being the “most electable” and Bachmann and Paul are almost tied for “lease electable.”

Interestingly, Huntsman is very ver ylow on “the most consistent” rating while Romney is fifth from the bottom. That surprises me. Otherwise, most of this makes sense except the part about Ron Paul’s ego.

What do you think?

OK, that’s all funny and everything, but I’m very disappointed in both the producers of this piece and in some of the attitudes associated with it.

First, where the hell is Michele Bachmann? Michele produces a “Greatest Moment” every time she opens her mouth! Has Bachmann’s ever flowing river of crazy become the new normal, so that it isn’t even noticed by political satirists anymore? That, my friends, is exactly what I warned about when she first started running. Well, I said that mainly in my own head, but I’m sure you figured it out too. Bedtime for Bonzo isn’t just a think you say when it is bed time. Its a movie starring the man considered by the majority of Americans to be the greatest president who ever existed in the United States of America.

The second thing that is somewhat disappointing is, of course, the polarization. The woman commenting on Gingrich’s child labor remark expressed my feelings exactly. Gingrich’s suggestion to enslave the poor children of the inner cities to clean toilets is a bad idea, but one that can be transformed into a good one. A youth jobs program is a great idea. They used to be more common, and have often been part economic stimulus. But not like Gingrich says. More like the lady in the video says.

And finally, since Michele Bachmann was left out of this video, here’s a makeup video, with Sarah Palin:

I love the Boston Accent on Paul.

Go over to YouTube and Vote It Up!!!! It has only had about 300 views so far.

Now, go to YouTube and DISLIKE IT. He’s got over 300K dislikes so far. Join in the fun kicking Rick Perry’s Video in the teeth while its down!

#DOWNVOTEPERRYNOW

When asked by the AP if he felt this event would affect his campaign, he answered “Oh, shoot, no … this ain’t a day for quitting nothing.”

By the way, the third department he wanted to eliminate was the Department of Energy.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sarah Posner, author of God’s Profits: Faith, Fraud, and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters, has this to say:

In last night’s debate, Rick Perry, stumbling over his answer denying the science of climate change, opined, “Galileo got outvoted for a spell.” Of course Galileo, considered the father of modern science, wasn’t “outvoted” by other scientists, he was subjected to an inquisition by the church for being a heretic.

That post is here, but also look at this post.

You all know that Texas had a messy Board of Education fight over whether to teach good science or something else (creationism) in Texas schools. You also know by now what Texas Governor Rock Perry, whom we count as a presidential contender, made the statement in public that “we teach both creationism and evolution in our public schools — because I figure you’re smart enough to figure out which one is right.” (This is totally incorrect, of course.)

Perry is now raising funds in Texas for his run at the Oval Office, and there is a fundraiser coming up hosted by wealthy Texan and former GOP gubernatorial nominee Clayton Williams. It turns out that Williams was concerned some time back about the effects of hitching the statewide Republican Platform to the anti-science unicorn, and told Perry this in a letter, which said:

“If Texas enters into a debate on the teaching of fundamental religious beliefs in public schools, it will tarnish our strong academic reputation, set our ability to attract top science and engineering talent to Texas back decades and severely impact our reputation as a national and global leader in energy, space, medicine and other high tech fields … Governor, this is a very important issue for Texas. I urge you to quell this issue quietly, firmly and permanently.”

Perry ignored this advice.

The story is here. That news site allows comments, so you may consider taking the opportunity to put a word in for science!