Romney’s schedule offers clue about his Iowa expectations—they’re high

DES MOINES, Iowa--Mitt Romney isn't making any predictions about the outcome of next Tuesday's Republican presidential caucuses in Iowa, but his upcoming schedule suggests his campaign is confident he'll do well.

Romney will stay overnight in Iowa next Tuesday after the caucuses, according to a press release sent out by his campaign on Friday. He won't depart for New Hampshire—the next state up in the 2012 presidential sweepstakes—until Wednesday morning.

The schedule gives him enough time to make the rounds of the morning TV news shows—just in case Romney has occasion to take a victory lap in the aftermath of Tuesday's caucuses.

By comparison, Newt Gingrich's campaign announced he'll head to New Hampshire on Tuesday night, shortly after the caucus results are announced.

You could interpret that as a sign that Gingrich, whose poll numbers are in a free fall in Iowa, doesn't feel great about the upcoming vote and wants to hightail it out of town.

Or not. In 2008, Mike Huckabee flew to New Hampshire in the middle of the night, celebrating his Iowa caucus win by bowling oranges down the plane's aisle and schmoozing with reporters and staff. He promptly deplaned and sat for a series of TV interviews that morning.

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