74.9% of FReepers said they would support him right before Super Tuesday. IOW, He passed the most conservaitve litmus test there is on the web. Sure it was after Fred and Duncan dropped out but a Bronze medal finish on FR is something to brag about.
The "rumors" are lies. The true sources like Nicolle Wallace were outed here on FR the week before the election. The Spectators source was CNN. Of course the RDS crowd tried to keep the lie going through the election. Their anti-Romney bashing served to keep the anti-Palin story alive and emphasized GOP divisions the last week of the race. The MSM played some FReepers like a fiddle hurting both Palin and Romney at the same time. by keeping the story alive the subject was not how good Palin was but how unprepared. By falsely crediting Romney they also premptively attacked him.
The same thing occurred during the primary with the anti Fred rumors. The MSM attributed them to a former Romney aide. Novak heard the rumor and repeated it. It turned out to be a former McCain staffer Mike Murphy. The MSM kept the lie alive as long as possible. The story had two effects. They could show how terrible Fred was and falsely attribute to Romney.
Mitt is/was a liberal, from a dying strain of Northeast, upper Mid-West, elite prep school liberal Republicans. Even GW bailed out on his father's brand. HW only got elected from the momentum of Reagan and covering his nature. Once exposed as a raising new taxes, bi-partisan, he couldn't beat Clinton.
Now, McCain, another bi-partisan, mish mash economic/liberal put the pillow to conservative enthusiasm. Can you imagine where he would be without Palin?
Real conservative Republicans and even conservative Democrats did well in this election.
Mitt has had one single uninspired term of a decaying, dying leftist state, of which except for Federally funded RomneyCare, he left no impact. None. Zero. Zip.
For Mormons only Mormon voters, their best chance is the more accessible, true conservative Jeff Flake. Mitt's day has come and gone as far as the Presidency is concerned. I do hope is excellent organization skills, true decency and patriotism will be used. There is plenty to do, and not enough people to do it. But I don't see Mitt as a ideological leader of non liberal Republicans.