Romney Beginning to Look Like GOP Front-Runner

Deseret News ^ | 5/27/07 | Steven Thomma

[Reaganesque]

WASHINGTON — Just a few weeks ago, advisers to Mitt Romney spoke about a steady, gradual climb from obscurity to the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. Mitt Romney, speaking in Lakeland, Fla., Thursday, appears to have momentum on his side among GOP presidential contenders.

Now, Romney has rocketed from behind and is leading the race or is neck and neck for the lead in the pivotal states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

The road to next January's voting still is marked by numerous potholes, including persistent charges that he's a flip-flopper without conviction, a Mormon faith still unfamiliar and perhaps suspect to some voters as well as potential new competition from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Sen. Fred Thompson.

Also, his rapid rise may say as much about the fickleness of Republicans this early in the campaign as it does about the former Massachusetts governor.

But for now at least, Romney enters the summer astride the top tier and within reach of being able to claim that he's the front-runner for the nomination.

"He clearly has the three M's: media, money and momentum," independent pollster John Zogby said.

Romney led the field in fund raising in the first three months of this year. Yet until now, he trailed in popularity well behind Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain in most polls, either nationally or in early voting states such as Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina.

However, a poll in Iowa by The Des Moines Register last week found Romney leaping ahead with the support of 30 percent of likely attendees at January's precinct caucuses, well ahead of McCain's 18 percent and Giuliani's 17 percent.

In another new Iowa survey by the Republican public relations firm Strategic Vision, Romney led with 20 percent, up sharply from 8 percent the month before. He was followed by Giuliani with 18 percent and McCain with 16 percent. (A third poll showed McCain with 18 percent, Giuliani with 17 percent and Romney with 16 percent.)

Romney surged in New Hampshire as well. A new Zogby poll there found he had the support of 35 percent of likely primary voters, up from 25 percent the month before. That was well ahead of Giuliani and McCain, each with 19 percent.

Analysts and insiders pointed to three reasons for the Romney rise:

• Good reviews from party members and pundits for his performance in the party's first debate, May 3 in California.

• Unusually early television advertising in Iowa and New Hampshire. Romney has been advertising there for weeks, boasting about his record as a business executive and governor. A new ad Thursday bragged that he cut spending and taxes as governor and "enforced immigration laws, stood up for traditional marriage and the sanctity of human life."

• His rivals are in trouble with the party's conservative base. Giuliani's support for abortion rights was highlighted in the first two debates, a problem in a party that still opposes abortion rights. McCain stood with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., on an immigration bill widely reviled by conservatives as amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Romney's criticism of the immigration proposal — which is similar to one he supported a year ago — drew a sharp rebuke from McCain.

That, conservative strategist Greg Mueller said, was a mistake that helped elevate Romney as THE conservative critic of the unpopular proposal among the presidential candidates. "The McCain attack is the best thing that's happened to Romney since the day he got in," Mueller said.

He still faces formidable obstacles.

Foremost is the charge that he's a campaign convert to conservatism after running as a more moderate or liberal candidate in Massachusetts. Notably, he supported abortion rights when he ran for the Senate against Kennedy in 1994 and now opposes them.

"That could be his Achilles' heel," said David Johnson of Strategic Vision, which found in its new poll that Romney loses 4 percentage points of his support when voters are reminded that he supported abortion rights and gay rights in the 1990s.

"That's the one reluctance about Mitt Romney among conservatives," Johnson said. "They don't know if he's a true conservative."

The other potential challenge is his Mormon faith. In Iowa, the recent Register poll found that 1 out of 5 Republicans said they were less likely to vote for Romney because of his faith. But Mueller suggested that social conservatives eventually would care more about what Romney would do in the Oval Office than what he would do in church.

"Is there an undercurrent out there nervous about the Mormon thing? Sure. But they really want to know where he stands on the issues they care about," Mueller said.

Romney's campaign aides say he can answer the flip-flop questions by pointing to his record as governor.

"The only position he's ever changed is on life, and he changed in the right direction," Romney's campaign spokesman Kevin Madden said. "It was a matter of him recognizing he was wrong in the past and now he's right on the issue."

Madden also said that Romney's faith faded as an issue when people met the candidate and realized that he "shares the same hopes and aspirations that Americans of many faiths do."

In the end, those close to Romney tamp down any talk of his being the front-runner, perhaps fearful of raising expectations too high and setting him up for a fall if and when the polls in those early states change again.

"It's still fluid. I expect they will change," Madden said.

But he said the key to Romney's success of recent weeks and his hopes for the coming months were the same: that people get to know him and his record — and that they like him.

[TAdams8591]

I have been following the news and Mitt is moving on up. I hope his success continues right into the presidency.

[MHGinTN]

No worries, I'm 'only following' Mormonism threads. To read some of these Mormonism Apologists' posts, I've abandoned my pro-life 'one note Johnny' defense of the alive unborn little ones to attack Mormons. :-)

[TAdams8591]

Did you ping Saundra to post #57?

[kidd]

Also, his rapid rise may say as much about the fickleness of Republicans meaninglessness of election polling this early in the campaign as it does about the former Massachusetts governor realization the Rudy does not represent the conservative base.

I FRixed it.

[Cyber Liberty]

And so merely to bring up the faith is "bigotry?"

The Democrats and MSM will bring it up during the campaign for the General Election. Count on it. My fear is that he might be inclined to believe that answering the bigoted remarks from the Democrats is somehow "beneath him."

[MHGinTN]

I forgot to, but then you just did.

[redgirlinabluestate]

From Matt Romney's Five Brothers Blog

A Little R&R and a Fundraiser in San Diego:

My mom and dad came to stay with me and my family in San Diego this weekend. We got a small amount of R&R (they come in minutes for my dad these days, not hours) but mostly watched my dad pop from one event or meeting to the next. Right when we got home from a fundraiser in Rancho Santa Fe, CA, my little boy, Nick, asked “Mamie” and “Papa” to read him a story.

Here’s a picture of Papa reading to Nick.

http://fivebrothers.mittromney.com/blog/

Speaking of San Diego....

Romney leads in dash for San Diego cash

Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts who leads Republican presidential contenders in raising money, is also the top cash collector in San Diego County. Romney, who has raised $23 million nationwide, has gathered $430,800 from San Diego county residents, according to the Center for Responsive Politics at www.opensecrets.org.

Romney, whose son, Matt Romney, works for a real estate firm in San Diego, surged past the previous leader, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois. While Romney holds the top spot, the next three spots are all held by Democrats: Obama is second, followed by Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York and former North Carolina senator John Edwards. San Diego’s homegrown candidate, U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, is in seventh place. He’s collected $141,750 from San Diego County residents. http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/news/breaking/2007/05/romney_leads_in_dash_for_san_d_1.html

[COgamer]

I’ve been very impressed by Romney. We’ll have to see if he continues to say the right things, and if he can convince enough folks that he’s sincere about it. I can see Romney as president, but it’s too early for me to make a solid decision, with the door still open for other candidates to enter the race.

[colorcountry]

Touching photo op. Isn’t it great to tug at the heartstrings of America. Nothing like the good old fashioned PR of a picture with a baby or a youngster at the knee.

And so what? We aren’t electing a grandfather-in-chief. I’m sure Jimma Cahtah is a wonderful grandfather too.

[redgirlinabluestate]

We aren’t electing a grandfather-in-chief

Oooops. Sorry. Forgot that he's running for pastor-in-chief. ;o)

[Plutarch]

I didn't assert any such thing. I simply responded to a post about Deseret News ownership.

The post you were responding to stated:

I like Mitt and all, but Deseret News isn’t exactly a non-biased source here...

Since you responded to a comment about Deseret News bias with information of its ownership, it appears you were making a connection between the newspaper's reputed bias and its LDS ownership. So, I asked you whether you thought there the article was biased, and you haven't answered.

[MHGinTN]

Actually, based upon Mormonism doctrine, he’s running for god-in-waiting in chief.

[colorcountry]

That would be Bishop-in-chief....and that is precisely why I answered you in that way. I’ve heard that line many times in the past,...”We aren’t electing a ______(religious leader) in chief.

So, red, what are we allowed to base our vote upon?

His hair?
His smile?
His public actions?
His private Life?
The beauty of his wife?
His five sons?
His record of pandering?
His unusual religious practices?
His secret ceremonies?
His underwear?
His dentistry?
How much money he has?

Yes! To all of those things. We are allowed to make our decision based upon all of the above and then some. Romney has a cute grandson and beautiful wife. He is wealthy and can raise money. He has been successful in the business world (I still don’t understand how, perhaps having a father who is governor and Presidential contender helped). And he believes is a specious religion who’s founder claimed many fantastical things that most Americans reject.

I vote No to Romney. I think he is a pandering RINO. That many Republicans can’t see that frightens me. I pray about it daily.

[Plutarch]

What is also interesting is that when information is posted regarding the LDS church that doesn't thrill the mormon apologists at FR,

So, are you referring to others at FR, or me in particular? What in my post, or any of my posts, is mormon apologizing?

...their first response is to denigrate the source trying to discredit the information.

Did I denigrate anyone? I wasn't aware that I had. Please point out where the denigration occurred.

The seond response is generally to try to discredit the poster. "Bigot and "hate" are favorites.

Did I call anyone a bigot? I didn't call anyone any names, not even mormon apologist.

If you want to vent on others at FR, do it in response to their posts. If you have anything in particular with my posts you object to, please point it out.

[restornu]

His underwear?
His dentistry?

How did dentistry get into this?

And do you CC have poper stain in your panties?

[colorcountry]

I, in fact, choose not to read the Deseret News and haven’t formed an opinion about this piece. Like I said I simply responded with information about the ownership.

For all I know Mitt is leading the race (and he may as well since I cannot in good conscience support any of the top three, it matters not at all to me.)

I support Duncan Hunter. At this point he is the best man for the job who has entered the race. I’ll vote for the best man in the primaries and woun’t be guided by popularity. I will be included in the Utah straw poll as a Republican Delegate on June 9th. Since I am in Utah, I’ll be outvoted for sure. Just thought I’d let you know how I feel.

[colorcountry]

I don’t wear any. :-)

And my teeth are crooked. My hair is curly and I’m twenty pounds overweight. Darn it. The world is bigoted against women like me.....oh yeah, and I’m a woman too.

LOL

[Liz]

Presidential ================= Post-menopausal.

[redgirlinabluestate]

He is?! Does everyone else know what they are competing for?

You people should really keep your religious issues on RELIGION threads and refrain from hijacking every Romney thread with your personal "issues." Most of us are very comfortable in our own faith and are not threatened by someone else's beliefs. That is... unless they are a jihadist Muslim.

There is no evidence Romney used his religion as a tool or weapon while governor and nothing indicates he would do so as president.

First and foremost he will act as a "Civic Christian." Romney often refers to a philosophy taken from Lincoln:

"I subscribe to what Abraham Lincoln called America's political religion. The Constitution and the rule of law are the highest promises I would make in taking the oath of office." ~~Mitt Romney

[restornu]

I don’t wear any. :-)

Just incase anything should fall out!:)