What people don’t seem to get, if if Mitt keeps coming in at one or two, he will win this thing big time. No other candidate is going to do as well across the board.
Mitt is much stronger general election candidate than a republican primary candidate. You had to know he’d get bruised and battered trying to pass the religion test. I think he’s in deep trouble.
More importantly, McCain is simply unpopular among Republicans. Once he leaves his independent enclave of NH, it just gets harder and harder. And McCain has very little cash, while Romney ought to be worth a bundle. Mitt Romney founded Bain Capital in 1984 with $37 million. His first investment? Staples, Inc. Bain now manages $50 billion. So I think Mitt can continue this quest as long as he likes. Also, for what it's worth, his former fraternity buddy at BYU says that Romney is determined to become President to fulfill a Mormon prophecy called "White Horse" which involves a Mormon "saving" the Constitution and establishing a Mormon theocracy. (Take that for what it's worth).