so far. the statements that really tell us more about the candidates that even they ever intended to tell us. finally, let me finish with the role of politics and human tears. we start with mitt romney going for the kill. howard fineman's an msnbc political analyst and "the huffington post" media group editorial director. and susan page is the washington bureau chief for "usa today." well, here we are at java joe's, ground central, on a quiet little street in des moines, that just happens to come alive like brigadoon every four years, and we're all here. i think we're part of the brigadoon characters. this town is always here. we just show up. we're the characters out of that play. >> that's right. >> let's take a look at the latest nbc news/marist poll. mitt romney leads the pack, but still at that ceiling of 23. that weird number keeps popping up like on a roulette wheel, like in "casablanca," it keeps coming up at 23. four points up from earlier this month.