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Sarah Palin may be dominating the news right now, what with her odd career choices and op-eds and constant tweeting and loquacious ex-almost-son-in-law, but it's the far quieter Mitt Romney who may be the man to beat for the 2012 Republican nomination. Not only is he besting Palin (and Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, and everyone else) in a poll of GOP voters and GOP-leaning independents, but he's also raising much more cash than Palin, albeit apparently from far fewer individual donors. Another caveat, though, is that the Gallup poll results show that Americans overall have a higher opinion of Romney now than they did at the end of his campaign in February 2008 — you know, when they were faced with actually seeing him, hearing him, and experiencing his generally off-putting personality.

Romney Edges Palin, Huckabee in Early 2012 GOP Test [Gallup]
Romney PAC raises $1.6M in six months [Political Ticker/CNN]