Are the National Debt and reducing federal spending the central issues in the 2012 presidential campaign? Are Super PACs a double-edged sword which might actually hurt the candidate they want to help? And what does the collapse of Americans Elect mean about the strangle-hold the Political Establishment has on our political system?

This – and much more – will be discussed by the CAMPAIGN INSIDERS – Pat Caddell, Doug Schoen and John LeBoutillier – live - on Fox News Channel this Sunday afternoon – at 5:25 PM ET.

CAMPAIGN INSIDERS is the only show or segment anywhere on TV that features people who have actually run campaigns and done politics for a living.

So tune into the Fox News Channel at 5:25 PM ET on Sunday and watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS.

Then on Monday morning at 10:30 AM ET – yes, a new time for us - you can see another, full 30-minute live version of CAMPAIGN INSIDERS by going to http://live.foxnews.com/ - with an inside look at the presidential campaign and the week ahead.

And you can read more political analysis at www.johnlebout.com

Is President Obama’s decision to endorse gay marriage a CALCULATED political game-changer? Does it open the way for Mitt Romney to win the general election? And what of the role of the press digging into Mitt Romney’s CHILDHOOD SCHOOL days? Is this fair game?




This – and much more – will be discussed by the CAMPAIGN INSIDERS – Pat Caddell, Doug Schoen and John LeBoutillier – live - on Fox News Channel this Sunday afternoon – at 5:25 PM ET.



CAMPAIGN INSIDERS is the only show or segment anywhere on TV that features people who have actually run campaigns and done politics for a living.



So tune into the Fox News Channel at 5:25 PM ET on Sunday and watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS.



Then on Monday morning at 10:30 AM ET – yes, a new time for us - you can see another, full 30-minute live version of CAMPAIGN INSIDERS by going to http://live.foxnews.com/ - with an inside look at the presidential campaign and the week ahead.



And you can read more political analysis at www.johnlebout.com

Now that Mitt Romney is the certain GOP nominee – and now that the President has officially kicked off his campaign in a poorly-advanced event in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday – we can assess the state of the race six months away from the crucial November 6th presidential election:



• Team Obama is less than stellar. Their advance team should be gutted after exposing the President to the embarrassment of empty seats at his first campaign event. How lazy and over-confident these staffers must be!

• And the Obama TV ads are very, very poor quality. So, too, are his pro-Obama Super PAC ads.

• Mr. Obama’s kick-off speech was amazingly negative. Instead of extolling the audience with the accomplishments of his first term, the President attacked Romney and the GOP. This is highly unusual for an incumbent president. But, of course, other than the Bin Laden take-down, what does he have to talk about?

• Vice President Joe Biden either deliberately or accidentally – and when it comes to him, the accident is very likely – raised the thorny political issue of gay marriage. Why? What is to be gained – especially in the crucial states of North Carolina and Virginia?

• All of the above raises a few questions: does Team Obama know what they are doing? Or are they inept – as perhaps is their Boss?

• As for the GOP, Rick Santorum Monday night – near midnight – endorsed Mitt Romney in the thirteenth paragraph of a Press Release! Talk about a back-handed endorsement!

• Newt, too, endorsed Romney – but with a decided lack of enthusiasm. And these endorsements really don’t matter much – except they mirror a lack of respect, fervency and, most importantly, fear of Mitt Romney among his former rivals. (Back in 1980, his defeated rivals rushed to be embraced by Reagan because they knew he would be running the GOP and they wanted to be “in.”)

• How many voters – even Romney voters – do you meet who enthusiastically like the man? I find many respect his success – but no one can relate to the guy.

• He may win. He may be President next year. Maybe the economy will improve just by voting out Obama. And, if the economy does improve and jobs are created, Romney will – for a while – get the credit. But he will never connect with voters. Ever. He just doesn’t have it.

• Just look at the way he has brought up the automobile bail-out. Talk about politically inept!

• People are so turned off by this Obama vs. Romney choice in 2012 that they prefer to speculate about the 2016 race. Will Joe Biden run? Will Hillary run? Will they form a ticket? And, on the GOP side, who will be the GOP star? Rubio? Ryan? Christie? Santorum?

• With the new Gallup survey showing 61% of the people find Obama likeable and only half – 30% - feel that way about Romney, perhaps this is the narrative for Romney’s campaign to use: President Obama is a nice guy who is in over his head; I made a ton of money because I know how to make the system work and, as President, I’ll make it work for you.

• Hell, it’s better than anything else they’ve tried so far.

• But he still parked his dough in Swiss and Cayman bank accounts – something so politically self-damaging as not to be believed.

• It’s going to be a long six months.

Friday’s disappointing unemployment report fuels Mitt Romney’s argument for a change in the Oval Office – and puts Team Obama on the defensive.




This – and much more – will be discussed by the CAMPAIGN INSIDERS – Pat Caddell, Doug Schoen and John LeBoutillier – live - on Fox News Channel this Sunday afternoon – at 5:25 PM ET.



CAMPAIGN INSIDERS is the only show or segment anywhere on TV that features people who have actually run campaigns and done politics for a living.



So tune into the Fox News Channel at 5:25 PM ET on Sunday and watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS.



Then on Monday morning at 10:30 AM ET – yes, a new time for us - you can see another, full 30-minute live version of CAMPAIGN INSIDERS by going to http://live.foxnews.com/ - with an inside look at the presidential campaign and the week ahead.



And you can read more political analysis at www.johnlebout.com

Is President Obama exploiting the one-year anniversary of the Osama Bin Laden take-down for political purposes?




Is staging an NBC interview in the Top Secret Situation Room going too far?



This – and much more – will be discussed by the CAMPAIGN INSIDERS – Pat Caddell, Doug Schoen and John LeBoutillier – live - on Fox News Channel this Sunday afternoon – at 5:25 PM ET.



CAMPAIGN INSIDERS is the only show or segment anywhere on TV that features people who have actually run campaigns and done politics for a living.



So tune into the Fox News Channel at 5:25 PM ET on Sunday and watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS.



Then on Monday morning at 10:30 AM ET – yes, a new time for us - you can see another, full 30-minute live version of CAMPAIGN INSIDERS by going to http://live.foxnews.com/ - with an inside look at the presidential campaign and the week ahead.



And you can read more political analysis at www.johnlebout.com

With yesterday’s clean sweep of five more Republican primaries, Mitt Romney has clearly secured the GOP presidential nomination. And – for the first time – even previously-cynical members of the Republican Establishment now believe Romney has a real chance to defeat President Obama in November.



Thus pressure is being exerted on all the remaining candidates, i.e. Newt Gingrich – and just-exiting candidates, i.e. Rick Santorum – to embrace Romney and get everyone on the same page. So it was no coincidence that yesterday morning it was announced that Santorum and Mitt would be meeting next Friday, May 4th, for their first sit-down since Santorum suspended his campaign. And last night on Piers Morgan ON cnn, a clearly still-reluctant Santorum, with his wife by his side, was almost bullied into endorsing (sort of!) Mitt Romney.



Next comes the vexing case of Newt Gingrich who, it was leaked, would reconsider his status if he lost Delaware yesterday. Indeed, he was soundly defeated by almost 30 points.



His money long ago dried up. His lone Super PAC supporter long ago signaled that he would stop writing multi-million dollar checks. So, in effect, Newt has been reduced to a candidate-in-name-only status. The spotlight he craves has dimmed and the media contingent that follows legitimate candidates has disappeared.



The GOP Establishment has begun to exert pressure on the former Speaker to drop out and endorse Romney. Party unity is being pushed as a precursor to waging an all-out, unified Republican and conservative assault on President Obama. But they can’t do this if a candidate is still in the race carping at Romney and attracting attention away from the main message.



Newt knows it is all over. But he has a hard time at the age of 68 giving up the spotlight as a presidential candidate; it is virtually certain that he will never again be a national political candidate. Plus he is angling for post-election speaking fees and maybe a TV gig to replace the Fox News contributorship he lost last spring when he began his campaign. Rumor has it he is talking to CNN.



On the other hand, inside-the-DC-Beltway think tanks and big GOP donors can dangle attractive monetary inducements in front of Newt in order to get him out of the race and singing a harmonious pro-Mitt song.



With the GOP on the verge of unity, the focus on how to amass 270 Electoral votes has begun. It remains a daunting task. Contrary to close national polls, the actual race is leaning heavily for Obama as of today. He is within striking distance of the 270 needed to win and has many routes to that total.



Governor Romney has a more difficult path including Ohio, which he almost must win but trails by 6 points. That is why Ohio Senator Rob Portman is the leading candidate to become Romney’s running mate.



With six months to go, the GOP now believes Romney has a real chance to defeat Obama in a race none of them thought winnable a year ago.



Now it is up to Team Romney to run a campaign against a powerful president - and his allies in the so-called mainstream media - who will do anything to hold on to the Oval Office.

Are we headed to a 1980-type scenario – where the GOP challenger trails during the entire campaign until the dam breaks right before Election Day and the tide rolls over an unpopular Democratic incumbent?




This – and much more – will be discussed by the CAMPAIGN INSIDERS – Pat Caddell, Doug Schoen and John LeBoutillier – live - on Fox News Channel this Sunday afternoon – at 5:25 PM ET.



CAMPAIGN INSIDERS is the only show or segment anywhere on TV that features people who have actually run campaigns and done politics for a living.



So tune into the Fox News Channel at 5:25 PM ET on Sunday and watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS.



Then on Monday morning at 11 AM you can see another, full 30-minute live version of CAMPAIGN INSIDERS by going to http://live.foxnews.com/ - with an inside look at the presidential campaign and the week ahead.



And you can read more political analysis at www.johnlebout.com