really tell us more about the candidates than 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 an msnbc political analyst and "huffington post" immediate can a group editorial director and susan page is the washington bureau chief for "usa today." and here we are, at java joe's, ground central -- 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. we're part of the brigadoon characters. this tune is always here. we just show up and we're the characters out of that play. mitt romney leads the pack. still at that ceiling of 23, that weird number that keeps popping up on a roulette wheel like in "casablanca" the one that's fixed. keeps coming up from 23, four points up from earlier this month. ron paul is a close second, up a couple points. rick santorum is on the rise