Breaking: 5 Things About The Iowa Caucuses

Twenty-five delegates are at stake in Iowa, out of 1,144 needed to win the Republican nomination in August. The delegates are not assigned until the state Republican convention on June 16.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann all trailed the top three Iowa candidates. Gingrich on Monday went so far as to predict his own defeat, and Paul said he does not envision himself in the White House.

But Gingrich was on the attack Tuesday morning, calling on Romney to "just level with the American people" about his moderate political views. Asked on CBS television if he was calling Romney "a liar," the former House speaker replied, "Yes."

Gingrich criticized Romney for negative television ads that have hurt his standing in the polls, saying Romney has been disingenuous about the large sums of money that an independent super political action committee has been spending on his behalf for the ads.

Neither Santorum nor Paul is likely to be as serious a challenge to Romney nationally as would Perry and Gingrich, who have both fallen in polls in recent weeks.

Romney faces the same challenge he did in 2008: winning over a conservative base that's uncomfortable with his moderate past. In 2008, socially conservative voters denied Romney a first-place finish, contributing to his eventual defeat.

This time, Romney's trying to win Iowa by arguing he's the most electable candidate against Obama — a pitch that's winning over conservatives who desperately want to beat the president.

Obama wasn't ceding the stage to the Republicans on Tuesday. The president, fresh off a Hawaiian vacation, planned to host an evening web chat with supporters in Iowa as the caucuses were under way.

After Tuesday's vote, Romney, Gingrich and Santorum planned to leave for New Hampshire. Romney holds a commanding lead in polls there and will be in a strong position to win in the state's Jan. 10 primary. Paul plans to join his rivals in New Hampshire later in the week.

Perry and Bachmann don't plan to compete in New Hampshire, instead heading straight from Iowa to the first-in-the-South primary, set for Jan. 21 in South Carolina. Romney also plans to visit South Carolina this week.

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[tommyk40]

News Tsar did you forget Ron Paul we jump from Romneys Interview to Santorium Ron Paul is polling 1st and 2 nd Can we trust this channel for truth and accuracy ?

[Revolution15now]

we can trust Ron Paul