With Newt’s big win tonight, the glaring weakness of Mitt Romney now stands revealed for all to see. Hopefully including Mitt. Because if this wasn’t a wake-up call for Team Romney, he’s a totally hopeless candidate.
All along, I’ve thought he was a pretty hopeless candidate, with too many weaknesses and very few political strengths. Stripped of his Iowa “win,” his record as a candidate is basically 2–4, with wins as Massachusetts governor and, this cycle, in the New Hampshire primary (as a semi-favorite son), but losses to Ted Kennedy, McCain, Rick Santorum, and now Mr. Newt.
This loss is a bad one. Not only did he blow a sizable (and, as it turns out, illusory) lead, he finds himself right back where he started this campaign, stuck at around a quarter of the vote. If that’s “electable,” the GOP is in serious trouble.
The smart set will be quick to tell you that Romney still has plenty of money and organization. So did Tim Pawlenty in Iowa and Michele Bachmann beat him. Those things may be beloved of the Republican “strategists” — who are, of course, merely tacticians obsessed with Operation Market Garden but who can’t find Berlin on a map — but in a primary campaign that is primarily being waged via the televised debates, they count for much less than they used to.
What counts is passion. The 2010 midterms proved that, but the GOP bonzes seemed embarrassed by the Tea Party’s success. They pushed the “electable” and “inevitable” memes as hard as they could in the service of a milquetoast candidate, and the mainstream media, openly rooting for the other side, was only too happy to help them out. As I’ve been saying, Romney’s been the candidate the Democrats have wanted to face all along, in part because of his glass ceiling. Which is turning out to be a glass jaw.
So Romney has simply got to come up with a more cogent rationale for his candidacy than he has up to now if he has any hope of becoming president. He can’t run for CEO any more.
That Bennett propaganda film may not have been entirely accurate but — and this is the point – it obviously worked. It also clearly disarmed Romney and left him with his guard down when the knockout punch — his taxes — came along. It was obvious all along that his reluctance to release his taxes was based on the fact that he pays capital gains on his income, not “income taxes.” That’s clearly defensible and entirely legal — but the electorate is in no mood for a lecture on the distinction, and it’s terrible in the current political environment.
In an ideal world, Romney would be a strong candidate. But it’s not an ideal world. In fact, it’s a downright mean, nasty, grubby world of imperfect men struggling to confront serious historical and philosophical forces while battling each other for power and prestige. Segments on the right have not entirely digested the notion that Obama and his party are running on a platform of contempt for America and “fundamental change” for the future; it’s like they think the Dems don’t really mean it. And that taking the high road by confining the campaign to “jobs” will appeal to the “real” America somewhere out there in the heartland. And that playing rough is beneath us.
Newt played rough in South Carolina and won big. That ought to tell the GOP something. Whether it will is another story. If this loss tonight makes Romney a stronger, better, more articulate candidate, terrific. But he has to learn from this stunning defeat: The base is itching for a fight with everything the Obama Democrats stand for and they don’t much care who gives it to them, just as long as somebody does. Tonight, that’s Newt.
As the late Al Davis used to say, “Just win, baby.” And, as the Democrats say, “by any means necessary.” It’s high time they got a taste of their own medicine — and understand there’s a lot more where that came from.
We are tabulating the results, and...
Congratulations Michael Walsh! You've just set a new world record for mindless cliche density in a single blog post. Your prize (the complete works of Thomas Friedman) will be in the mail to you shortly.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis must be a joke post. No one is this stupid.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe Michael Walsh commentary is much improved since he let go of the juvenile snark. His insights here are well worth thinking about.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe rationale for Romney is:
1. He's more electable than Newt Gingrich.
2. He's more electable than Ron Paul.
3. He's more electable than Rick Santorum.
4. It's too late for anyone else to get into the race.
I'm confident #1 through #3 are true. I'm not so sure about #4 after tonight.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou hit the nail on the head again, Michael. The state and national GOP party controllers had better wake up before we end up with another John McCain or Bob Dole for our candidate, guaranteeing another loss in the Presidential race. But this time it will be the death knell of the nation, not just the party.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMichael, how did you get so darned smart? You can identrify a problem and state it clearly, and you never fall for that woosie "be nice" stuff becauseyou know how rotten our adversaries are.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI always appreciate your satire, too, but your direct commentary is very powerful stuff. We need more support from the right which does not so beat around the bush that it loses all energy. Let the Dems do their own dirty work. They certainly do enough of it.
Hey....I resent this! Mitt Romney is the best candidate running! He's the only one who can defeat Obama! He looks presidential! He's the true voice of the GOP! He really, really IS a conservative, he just doesn't often sound like one! He really only has ONE problem........
He doesn't win elections....
HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Just win, baby"?
Romney has the highest favorability of any Republican candidate. Gingrich has the highest unfavorability. It looks as though Gingrich is perfectly willing to "McCain" the right in 2012.
Newt Gingrich Favorable: 27 Unfavorable: 56
Mitt Romney Favorable: 45 Unfavorable: 38
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Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRomney really only has ONE problem...He doesn't win elections.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRegistered voters, not likely voters. And thus worthless when we're talking about electability.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse...and yet, Mitt- with his high "favorability ratings"- can't even carry a third of his own party, in three tries.
Maybe this favorabilty thing doesn't mean whay you think it means.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWe don't have to like him, as long as he is going to beat Obama.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRe: Newt's favorability/unfavorability. You are behind the curve. GOP voters don't care about low favorability. In fact, Newt's nastiness works in his favor this time 'round. These voters want a "bad to the bone" kind of guy to take it to the Dems. I'm a Dem, and I'm scared of Newt's "bad."
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRomney only needs to ask one question of the voters. Do you really want president Newt Gingrich?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"What counts is passion. The 2010 midterms proved that." Well, Barry Goldwater and George McGovern disproved it. If it's Newt, the race will be about Newt. It it's Mitt, the race will be about Obama. Which of those do you want? Your reasoning sounds more like "better to have loved and lost" than "just win, baby."
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseY'all, this goes to prove the truth of Jeremiah 10:23. Mitt can't direct his steps, couldn't even defeat EgoMcCainiac, aka McLame in 2008. All politicians are very disappointing, even hopeless. And R's don't lie as well as D's.
Can Newt win? Does it matter? America has gone over the edge, and Obamacare hasn't even kicked in yet. Repeal? With Beener?
Stop trusting politicians. Trust God because there is no other choice.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNo doubt people like Joel5 will continue to defend Romney's strengths (such as they are) while ignore the fact that he just ISN'T WINNING.
In Iowa when Cain, then Newt, then Santorum were ascendant, these people complained about the primary process and ignored Romney's weakness. In South Carolina, they are on other posts calling SC voters idiots and religious bigots. Anything but confront the fact that whether it is in the midwest or the south, Mitt just can't get people to pull the lever for him.
I've been saying for months that there is something wrong with Romney that prevents people from signing on with him. As he unleashed attack dog after attack dog on each candidate to threaten him, he could tear down others but could never improve his own standing.
And now, like a grief-stricken survivor mired in denial, Romney and his bots are moving onto Anger. See K-lo's post last night about how we are finally seeing the Romney with passion who will fight for his nomination. But Romney doesn't have passion problem, but rather an authenticity problem. Nobody questions his willingness to fight. They question what he is fighting for. Fairly or unfairly, people see Newt fighting for an Ideal, and they see Romney fighting to be elected.
And sadly that is something that Romney cannot cover up or smile away. He's been on his track to be President for 20 years, and he just cannot hide that.
(Note: I'm not arguing that Newt is pure as the driven snow here- though I'm sure many people will come to argue about his faults. If the Romney Bots want their candidate to win, they need to realize that it doesn't matter how much they tear down their opponents, the problem is ROMNEY.)
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Fairly or unfairly, people see Newt fighting for an Ideal, and they see Romney fighting to be elected. "
I think that sums up the whole situation very well.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWell said. Romney can't connect with conservatives because he doesn't understand them. The day after his South Carolina defeat Romney went on the attack. Unfortunately he went on the attack against Newt rather than Obama. Does he seriously think that by calling Newt a "disgrace" he will endear himself to conservatives? More likely conservatives will see Romney as a rule or ruin guy. If he can't win he will happily ruin the prospects of anyone who outpolls him. The average conservative does not have as his or her 2012 objective the destruction of Newt Gingrich. They want Obama exposed as the incompetent he is, and removed from office. To the extent that Romney attempts to personally destroy a primary opponent rather than attack Obama, he will only earn the scorn of the conservative base. If Romney would like to win the Republican nomination he should focus his ire on Obama and not on other Republicans. Perhaps this is why Romney has lost so many elections.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt's fun mocking Romney's lack of ability to win elections but it leads to one serious point...I wonder if the consultants running Romney's campaign have more in common with Tim Geitner or the Tea Party? Seriously...I think his consultants are ruining the Republican primary because they actually have contempt for conservatives. Maybe Romney should have randomly selected some Tea Partiers to run his campaign, because THESE consultants are managing him into the history books as a non-candidate.
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