DAILY NEWS: Mitt Romney presidential nomination announcement

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Mitt Romney makes his official bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination at Bittersweet Farm, New Hampshire

11.35am ET: In case you think Bittersweet Farm is a strange place to announce his bid for the nomination, the farm has a long tradition of hosting Republican events thanks to its owners, who are also Romney supporters.

Seacoast Online reports more background:

Bittersweet Farm has been the site of many Republican rallies and events over the years. The Scammans have hosted former President George W. Bush, former New Hampshire Governor John H Sununu and his son, former US Senator John E Sununu.
The aide said Romney appreciates the farm's "rich political history" as well as the traditions of the New Hampshire primary and the state's role in picking a presidential nominee.
The formal announcement will come during a noon cookout featuring hamburgers, hot dogs and chili made using the recipe of Romney's wife, Ann. All proceeds from the sale of food will go toward the American Legion Post 35's global war on terror memorial fund.

And anyway, Michele Bachmann is going to make her announcement in the Iowa town of her birth: Waterloo. Talk about optics – although of course the British have good memories of Waterloo.

11.30am ET: The big question of course is: can Mitt Romney win the Republican nomination? And the answer isn't clear.

Although polls regularly show Romney as the leading candidate among Republicans, polls taken this far out from the start of the primary season – which doesn't start until February 2012 with the Iowa caucuses – are worse than useless. Polls taken at this point in 2007 confidently predicted that Hillary Clinton would be battling Rudy Guiliani for the presidency in 2008. And in 2003 the polls unanimously decalred that Howard Dean would be the Democratic nominee.

On Intrade, the financial-style predictions market, Romney is also the clear front-runner with a 29% rating – well ahead of his major rivals Tim Pawlenty (19%) and Jon Huntsman (16%).

But below the top three sits Sarah Palin on a mere 6.5% – but the uncertainty over Palin's plans is keeping that number low. Should Palin announce it would surely shoot up.

Preamble: Can you feel the Romentum? After months of gearing up, today Mitt Romney officially throws his hat into the ring for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, with an announcement at 12 noon (5pm BST) in the crucial first primary state of New Hampshire.

We'll be following the announcement here live – but there's no doubt that Romney is intending to run, as he has made clear by his actions ever since the 2008 election.

Romney's announcement remarks will take place at Bittersweet Farm in Stratham, about an hours drive outside of Manchester, New Hampshire. Will it be a bittersweet moment for Romney and his supporters?

If you want to watch the event live on your computer, Romney's campaign website will be offering a video stream from 12 noon ET.

Richard Adams

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Maev Kennedy 02 Jun, 2011

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/richard-adams-blog/2011/jun/02/mitt-romney-presidential-announcement-live
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