Romney a Lock - You Can Put it On the Board YESSSS!!

There are a lot of people who probably don't "approve" of the job that Obama is doing, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to vote for Romney.

 

Who did Rasmussen predict would win McCain/Obama?

I looked it up myself, and he nailed it.

 

Mitt Romney is a good man - a very good man

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/03/04/romney-good-man/

 

Here's Romney's big money problem for the general. In competitive races, he wins because he (and his SuperPAC) can far outspend opponents (and their SuperPACs). In Ohio, it's 3-to-1 over Santorum, though that's actually less of a ratio than Michigan.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/02/usa-campaign-money-idUSL2E8DR8UL20120302

While it sounds like sour graps, Santorum may well be right that if it weren't for Romney's money advantage, Romney wouldn't be the leading Republican. Of course, as my father used to say, if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle. Anyway, in the general, Romney won't have that advantage over Obama. Romney and his SuperPAC can spend a lot of money and go negative, and I'm sure the Koch Brothers and the like will do their own ads, as well. But Obama can match them -- and even beat them -- dollar for dollar, especially with Obama having told downticket candidates not to expect any cash from him. (I presume that could change if Obama opens up a big lead.)

 

"Company Newsletter Praises Boss"

 

Romney may win some independents, but he still has a real "base" problem. Conservatives really don't like him, and as Bob says, his money isn't going to help him in a general election.

I think he's about as exciting to Republicans as John Kerry was to Democrats.

 

He may very well be a good man. I think, even with all of the criticism you see thrown at the guy, I don't think you see much suggesting that he's not a good person, but he so closely resembles the stereotypical CEO that very few people can relate to. If he loses (probably), that will be the main reason why.

 

Once he gets the nomination, the base shouldn't be too much of a problem. Will the base vote for Obama? I doubt that...

I think Romney will do better with Independents and the undecided members of both parties than Gingrich or Santorum would, but I don't see him beating Obama with that group.

 

I know they won't vote for Obama, I guess I'm just wondering whether any of them would abstain from voting at all. Of course as of now, there's no alternative attractive third party candidate to draw their votes...

 

The base may still vote for Romney, but that doesn't mean they love him enough to man phone banks, go door knocking, jawbone co-workers and all the other things that go into GOTV.

And I wish our primary was further back. All the other state and local races have primaries next week also, and there's been next to zilch attention paid to them.

 

You may very well be right. The problem is, the more Romney tries to relate to people, the more he tries to pull off the folksy, "guy you'd want to have a beer with" act that Bush II and Reagan mastered so well, the more awkward and out of touch he sounds. So he should stop trying to be that way.

Rather, his pitch should go something like this:

"We don't need another likeable President who can give riveting speeches and who you'd want to have a beer with. We've seen the results of that. What this country needs now is competence, someone who knows how jobs are created, and someone who knows what government should and should not do to allow jobs to be created. If you want better competence, leadership and prosperity than you have right now, I'm your guy."

This is how Chris Christie got elected as a conservative Republican Governor in an otherwise deep blue state. He knew he didn't offer charisma and pizazz. What he offered was superior competence and leadership (or at least the perception of it) compared to the incumbent at a time when New Jersey needed both. He got elected, and barely two years later conservatives were practically begging him to run for President.

 

I agree with you with one (perhaps big?) asterisk, and it's the same one that Chris Wallace noted: How can anyone put their family dog in a crate on the roof of their car and drive for hundreds of miles -- so long that the scared dog shit in fear?

Other than that, I applaud Mitt's charity and his family life. But then again, I wasn't laid off and lost my pension after Mitt bought my company.