Republicans

The 1950s game show To Tell the Truth asked a panel to discover which of three nearly identical candidates was the person they all claimed to be. The Republican race is not much different. The question seems to be: "Would the real conservative please stand up?"

The January 3 vote in Iowa produced several surprises, among them a near-win by social conservative Rick Santorum. He equated the Democrats' support of a social-welfare system and a right to health care with Mussolini's Italy, which his grandfather left in 1925.

It's a well-known technique: just stare at someone long enough, and that person will accept anything you say. Michele Bachmann does this to prevent interviewers from questioning her often bizarre statements. Bachmann left the race after a disappointing finish in Iowa.

"I'm someone [who] believes that you approach issues using faith and reason," says former US Senator Rick Santorum. "If your faith is pure and your reason is right, they'll end up in the same place." Read more about the candidate in our Special Report on Election 2012.

Newt Gingrich is an expert on American history — some of which he helped to write. As Speaker of the House of Representatives, he attacked Bill Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky affair. Could Gingrich be the next US president? Read more in our Special Report.

Jon Huntsman is the smart kid in the class who is rarely called on because he always knows the answer. The few answers he has given at the presidential debates have been insightful — and unusual. Huntsman left the race after a poor finish in New Hampshire.

If George W. Bush were allowed to serve a third term in the White House, would he do better? If Rick Perry were to be elected, we'd have the answer. Perry is Bush: his appearance, voice and body language are strikingly similar. Perry left the race in January.

Ever see one of those movies in which the protagonist discovers that the world we live in is based on an illusion, and that it's really controlled by the Matrix, the Illuminati or the number pi? Ron Paul is that guy. Read more in our Special Report on Election 2012.