GOP leaders start to rally around Romney _ sort of

AP via SFGate ^ | 5/6/12 | STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press

[SmithL]

Republican party leaders are starting to rally around Mitt Romney, but it's not exactly a stampede of support for the expected GOP presidential nominee.

With Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich out of the race, Romney is his party's pick to take on President Barack Obama this fall, barring a catastrophe. While Romney talks like the nominee, the former Massachusetts governor has work to do to round up enough convention delegates to make it official.

Romney has 859 delegates, according to The Associated Press count. That's 285 short of the 1,144 he needs to win the nomination. Romney could get about 100 delegates from Tuesday's primaries in North Carolina, Indiana and West Virginia, if he dominates the voting in all three states.

But unless he persuades a lot more Santorum and Gingrich delegates to switch allegiances, Romney might not clinch until the Texas primary May 29. On Sunday, Romney lost at least eight delegates to Texas Rep. Ron Paul when Paul's supporters won control of the Maine GOP convention and elected Paul delegates to the party's national convention.

Romney is "the projected candidate,"...

[dajeeps]

Both Gingrich and Santorum only suspended their campaigns and can still get delegates. No one has to vote Ron Paul to protest Willard. In fact, I’d recommend against it if you’re not interested in what Ron Paul has to say because he can wheel and deal with the delegates he gets and could end up with quite a bit of influence over things that go on in the next term.

[Gator113]

Somebody, please wake me when this nightmare is over.

[Psalm 144]

So, Obama is able to singlehandedly obliterate the United States and destroy us all . . . and that is the face of The One who can stop him.

Riiiiiight.