[livius]

I don’t think Trump would have been more than a flash in the pan if he had gotten into the race - people would have been amused, but that would have been it - and he realized this. He cited Romney’s electability but I think he’s reading the Wall Street Journal script...even if you look at the GOP primaries so far, nothing gives the impression that Romney would get more voters, because his numbers simply haven’t changed, even $20 million later. Nobody really wants Romney, and if it weren’t for the fact that Romney can pay for his campaign staff out of his own pocket, he probably wouldn’t have any campaign staff.

Trump will attract a few people because he’s flaky and likeable, and Romney is seriously lacking on the likeability quotient.

Romney appeals mostly to elderly ladies who think he’s such a nice young man and reminds them of the Mormon missionary who came to their door and just wore the nicest white shirt...the fact that he had that nutty look in his eye and couldn’t give a straight answer to a single question is lost on people like her, unfortunately.

[wolf78]

I don’t think Trump would have been more than a flash in the pan if he had gotten into the race - people would have been amused, but that would have been it - and he realized this.

I totally agree. And I don't think Trump has more voter potential than e.g. Ron Paul. But a number of polls have shown that many primary voters don't really like any of the candidates. And as long as there was / is the possibility of another (third party?) candidate (Donald, Sarah) entering the race, they will not commit to one of the existing choices. This kind of limbo IMHO tends to help Romney, who is probably maxing out his voter potential. So I think that every additional "closing door" helps the conservative alternative, which right now appears to be Newt.