And So It Begins...

What a week.  On January 3rd, in the state of Iowa, the Plymouth Rock of the primary season was found; the Iowa Caucus.  Republicans met and cast ballots simply to help their candidate gain some serious momentum going into the January 10th primary in New Hampshire.  Analysts expected Rick Santorum to surge into the top tier of candidates, and he certainly did.  After polling in the single digits for most of his declared candidacy, Rick Santorum received 25% of the vote, narrowly losing to frontrunner Mitt Romney by only eight votes.  Iowa's Caucus not only shaped the far future of the primary season, but it also immediately impacted the Republican field.  After a crushing loss, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann announced that she would be suspending her race and dropping out of the election.

With a shrunken field, the Republicans met for two debates in New Hampshire, and there were no punches held.  Congressman Paul attacked Former Speaker of the House Gingrich for not entering into the military when he was younger.  Rick Santorum and Ron Paul also got into several feuds in the first debate.  At one point, Ron Paul blatantly accused Rick Santorum of corruption during his time in the Senate.  Newt Gingrich fired back that Ron Paul is known to say "inaccurate" things all the time.  Some candidates sought to build themselves up by comparing themselves to the entire field.  Governor Perry stated that he is the "uncorrupt outsider" that the nation is looking for as President.  Jon Huntsman stated that his tenure as ambassador to China makes him the most experienced candidate with international relations.  However, with all this attacking and comparing, one man left the debate relatively unscathed.  Frontrunner, Mitt Romney, was rarely attacked, and when he was the attacks could never stick.

Almost like President Reagan's Teflon syndrome, the attacks on Romney seemed to just fall away.  With Romney leaving the first and second debate relatively unscarred, many news analysts are saying that the entire GOP Field has just coronated Romney as the party's nominee.  However, things could definitely change.  The Republicans during this cycle have been giving every candidate a chance in the spotlight, and with Huntsman's recent gain in polls, many speculate he may be the next person to challenge Romney for the title of frontrunner.

Baskin Robbins has nothing on the various flavors of the Republican Party this election cycle.  However, the Republican Party has stayed consistent on one thing—their favorite flavor is NoMoreObama, and they are trying to get a heaping helping of that this November.