Well did you think McCain would win the nomination last time around?
True. McCain came from nowhere to win the nomination. Of course, he benefited from an unusually weak field. However, it demonstrates that a leftist Republican still has a chance in this GOP.
I honestly did, even when he was almost politically dead, and especially after Thompson's campaign fell absolutely flat.
If Romney couldn't pull it out last time around - with the backing of Limbaugh, Levin and Coulter - to say nothing of his own money, then there's NO WAY he can do it this time around.
I know the conventional wisdom is that the GOP always nominates the guy that almost got the nomination last time. I don't think that convention works this time, for a number of reasons. And, even if it did, Romney got beat by McCain AND by Huckabee.