role of politics and human tears. we start with mitt romney going for the kill. howard fineman is 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. 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 to 23. four points up from earlier this month, however. ron paul's a close second, he's up a couple points. rick santorum is on the rise more dramatically, jumping nine points into third place. and he's apparently still rising. and newt gingrich has continued