Holly Bailey

View high resolution

Mitt Romney campaigning with his mom, Lenore, during her Senate campaign in 1970 (via Time LightBox)

View high resolution

Noted: Tim Pawlenty hearts Dylan McKay sideburns. (via @RachelSB)

The GQ Tumblr: Wash Post on Young Mitt Romney At Prep School →

gq:

Today’s other big politics story, from the excellent (and occasional GQ contributor) Jason Horowitz at The Washington Post. The dumb crap you do in high school doesn’t, and almost always shouldn’t, matter in a presidential election. Especially when it was a half century ago. All the same… Wow.

View high resolution

President Obama steps off Air Force One in rainy Albany, NY. (Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

View high resolution

The Times’ Mark Leibovich has an excellent profile of Vice President Joe Biden, who is apparently in the dog house (again) with senior aides to President Obama for essentially telling the truth about his position on gay marriage. (“Not helpful” is how one senior Obama aide describes Biden’s comments to “Meet the Press” that he is “absolutely comfortable” with same sex marriage.)

The irony about this controversy—as with any “there Biden goes again” flap in Washington, which is a constant storyline—is White House officials gave the story oxygen by essentially freaking out about the VP supposedly committing a huge gaffe, calling attention to the subtle differences between how Biden has spoken about the issue vs. Obama. But does anyone really believe Obama’s position is that different from Biden’s?

The West Wing has always been a little snooty about Biden—my last cover story for Newsweek was on this very topic. That’s largely because the VP’s propensity to speak off the cuff is something they still haven’t quite learned how to control. But maybe they should stop trying to control it—or at least stop acting like Biden is SO embarrassing. As any reporter who has covered Biden will tell you, the VP’s willingness to speak his mind is refreshing and, unfortunately, very rare in Washington. Since when is being candid a bad thing for the public? (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

View high resolution

“I am not totally certain I’ll get to the moon colony,” Newt Gingrich said, as he officially suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Still, he called his 2012 bid a “truly wild ride” full of “astonishing” and “amazing” moments. (Photo by Evan Vucci/AP)

View high resolution

Spotted in Virginia: Orange juice, donuts and Romney bumper stickers (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

View high resolution

timelightbox:

Gregory Bull—AP

February 14, 2012. Callista Gingrich meets with Republican supporters at a Smashburger restaurant, in San Diego.

With Newt Gingrich leaving the presidential race, LightBox looks back on Callista Gingrich’s now-famous Swoosh, which seemed to captivate photographers all along the campaign trail. See more here.

View high resolution

So President Obama wandered into a bar in Boulder, Colo., and this Instagram happened. (via @madloid55)

Newt Gingrich won’t quit the Republican presidential race tonight, but safe to say, it will probably happen soon. And while, barring a last minute miracle, he’ll come up short in his bid for the GOP nomination, Gingrich is (as I’ve said before) is the far and away winner when it comes to hilarious political photo-ops this election.

Who else would have posed, arms extended, in front of a giant rocket or campaigned at nail salons and candy stores? And we haven’t even talked about his tour of the nation’s zoos—though his campaign blew a good opportunity there by not taking his traveling press along. All this to say: I’ll really miss those hilarious Newt photos.

(Photos: top and left by Evan Vucci/AP and, right, Charles Dharapak/AP)