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I’m no fan of his but I will say that he is the most conservative of those in the top tier. It’s not much but I could probably hold my nose and vote for him over anyone else in the top 4.
...and because, darnit, he's the most attractive presidential candidate practically ever.
Hunter is my first choice, but Romney is my second choice. I would take either one.
I think “Mutt is great” may not be a satisfactory explanation in full.
It might be that he has had a full press on the citizenry for the last 2-3 months. It is non-stop Mutt on the radio. I got two mailings yesterday, and almost everyday something shows up. Phone calls are weekly.
Mclame has had some campaigning, but nothing like Mutt. I probably have gotten 1 call about a Mclame event, as opposed to a couple dozen Mutt autocalls.
Thus far, no one seems to be competing with him here in Iowa. It just aint all Mutts charisma and charm—it is more he has saturated the place with propaganda.
Romney is my third choice IF I can convince myself that his sudden conversion to social conservatism late last year is genuine, which I’m having my doubts about. Still, he’s better than Rudy and McCain, but he’s also no Thompson/Hunter.
Being ahead in polls in IA and NH at this point means little. He’s been pouring tons of money into those states and noone else has. When the others (Fred included) start putting in similar amounts of advertising money, we’ll see Mitt drop to about where he’s at nationally, i.e. second tier.
That's great, but the majority of the voting public will never have the opportunity to meet the man personally. They'll rely on stereotypes and media bias (most likely unfavourable) to define him. That's quite unfortunate, but we need to face the prospects of a Romney candidacy realistically.
Mitt's greatest strength is when he talks in front of people, he doesn't sound like he came from another planet. He speaks in full, coherent sentences.
His biggest problem is going to be going to Washington. How does a Mormon attend cocktail parties? The press is going to rain scorn on him if his parties don't serve alcohol. The press knows this and they will wage a bitter campaign against him.
Mitt Romney is a very “attractive” candidate. Its his conservatism that is in question. Romney remains a political centrist at best. Its critical for Romney -— and all the candidates for that matter -— to get his message out. So far he hasn’t done that. What are his signature issues and his policy agenda?
The GOP candidate field is weak for 2008, without a true standout that appeals to conservatives. Fred Thompson could change all that real soon.
If Romney wants to win the nomination he’ll have to influence conservatives and communicate what he wants to do as POTUS.
I agree - plus the fact that this guy does more for real family values than the others put together - and his wife is also a class act, the perfect First Lady. Compare that with Fred ‘chaser’ Thompson and his current wife (was she date #1022”?) ...enough said.
Sorry, I don’t care to meet him nor support him. He can’t support my right to keep and bear arms, why should I give him the time of day?
Were he a true 2nd Amendment supporter, I’d probably vote for him, but...
Mike
Bears repeating.
This is great news. (Nevermind the anti’s.)
It’s Romney vs Fred Thompson. Rudy and McCain are toast.
I'm very interested to see what happens in the fall when Petraeus issues his report. You know I'm in Mitt's corner, but its hard to read the tea leaves on how Iraq will impact this election. I don't think that there is consensus in the party about Iraq, especially now that Bush has turned against the base with immigration.
I suspect that Petraeus will argue for continued military support, but with much fewer troops, and that all Republican candidates will be in agreement, given the public's weariness of war. If no clear leader emerges by January, I predict that Thompson will win as the "safe" choice, and will run an uninspired campaign and lose to Hillary or Gore. Hillary will take the country left for 4 years, preside over an awful recession, and Romney the businessman will ride a wave in 2012.