The editor of the Des Moines Register “regrets the missteps” in handling a column that called for “[tying] Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, our esteemed Republican leaders, to the back of a Chevy pickup truck and drag them around a parking lot until they saw the light on gun control.”

Strangely, the columnist did not mention Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, rated “B” by the NRA, which the columnist said should be designated a “terrorist organization.”

The columnist now laments the number of threatening phone calls he’s received since publishing the column; he also insists it was satire, and compares himself to Jonathan Swift.

This is the front page of the Des Moines Register this morning. It’s fairly sporting of the paper to put Huntsman among all the others, considering how he has skipped the state.

I notice the front-page includes a “What Is a Caucus?” explanation. Remember, one of the reasons Iowans give for their first-in-the-nation standing is because they take their duties so seriously and are so well-informed about the issues.

In the past few days, Mitt Romney has won the endorsement of Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, the editorial board of the Des Moines Register, and Bob Dole.

Take that, critics who say he’s too establishment!

Next up: Charlie Crist, Arlen Specter, and the senators from Maine!

(Okay, he was also endorsed by Nikki Haley and Christine O’Donnell.)