On a night in which he could have lost the presidential nomination, Mitt Romney survived the worst crisis of his campaign by sweeping both the Arizona and Michigan primaries. With polls showing his native Michigan being too close to call, Romney’s 41-38 percentage point win was not impressive, but Rick Santorum lost his one golden opportunity to demolish the frontrunner. Santorum can claim a moral victory of sorts because he managed to come so close to winning in a state in which few gave him a chance several weeks ago.
But Romney’s Michigan win combined with a big victory in Arizona denied his rival the chance to alter the dynamics of the race. A Santorum win in Michigan would have permanently demolished the idea that Romney was the inevitable nominee. Slim though Romney’s margin was, two more states in his column make it highly unlikely anyone else can take the nomination from him.
The Romney win was in no small measure due to Santorum’s gaffes on John F. Kennedy and college attendance as well as the unfortunate focus on contraception that highlighted the Pennsylvania’s unpopular views on the subject. These unforced errors demonstrated Santorum’s poor political judgment and his predilection for outlandish ideology-driven statements. The Super Tuesday primaries and in particular Ohio represent one more big chance for Santorum. But he’ll never have a better opportunity to derail Romney than the one he has just blown in Michigan.
Romney still faces a long, hard slog in the coming months, as the GOP’s delegate allocation rules will prevent him from clinching the nomination for months. That will undermine his chances of winning in November. His inability to close the deal with conservatives and the nasty tone to the Republican race will also make it hard for him to unite his party. Yet, he will wake up on Wednesday firmly in control of the race after spending most of February on the defensive and looking up at Santorum in the national tracking polls.
The battle for the nomination has damaged Romney but if, as seems likely now, he eventually prevails, he will have time to recover before the general election campaign begins. At that point he will be at the mercy of the fates as the economy and possible foreign policy disasters such as Iran will ultimately decide who wins in November. But in order to get to that point, he had to win tonight. Having done so, he can breathe a sigh of relief and move on to the next challenge.
Romney is first and foremost a technocrat. He's campaigning to fix the economy — whatever it takes — not inject dogma into it. The fact that he's not an ideologue rankles the base, who think with their glands instead of their brains. The fact that he's demonstrably a decent family man — an Eisenhower Republican — is not enough for the base. Thus, Mitt must be disingenuous and make animal noises like the others, because those are the only noises the base respond to. Alas, the qualities that make Romney a statesman are the very qualities that redound to his obloquy as a politician. n nAnd Jon, I know all who want to unseat an incumbent are faced with this kind of devil's bargain, but do you really hope for the economy to tank and for a foreign policy disaster over Iran, so you can win in November?
Regardless of what happens in the next several months, If Obama wins, the economy will tank for years to come. So, If the immediate tanking of the economy were necessary to defeat Obama, I think that would be an easy choice. nForeign policy is a little different; it depends on what kind of disaster you're talking about. But the same general equation still holds. It would have to be a pretty bad disaster to be worse than what, based on the record of the last three years, Obama's policies can be expected to bring. nBut the economy and foreign relations are not the only considerations; there is also that of liberty under the rule of law, in which Obama's greatest offenses lie.
I could not agree more. Our task is to unwind ourselves from the disfunctional octopus that is our federal government, and in order to do that, we're going to have to convince people who depend on its largesse and influence to give up what they now have. Because we're out of money. It's that simple but it's going to be very hard. It's a fundamentally conservative task, but nobody way out on the right can accomplish it because they're going to have to work with invested people on the left to get it done. It is most discouraging that Santorum, who purports to run as a person of conscience and principle, is encouraging non-Republicans to vote in the Republican primary essentially as mischief. It's just awful. But it's got to be Romney.
I would suggest that the time for "asking" was long decades ago. n n"Asking" just isn't an option anymore. You don't have to tell someone to quit asking for something that simply is not there. You just say, "Sorry, the Pot is EMPTY! THAT was all there was, or is, and there will be no more of THAT."
I get it. I do. But with all due respect, the idea that we're so right we can simply ride over the people who disagree with us is among the reasons we're in the state we're in. I agree entirely that the welfare state in its current iteration needs to go, but the country is full of people who really don't understand this. For every cynic among them who simply wants to get his nose into the public trough, there is another who's completely convinced that the problem is essentially just one of redistribution. I'm frankly alarmed at the posters who clearly just don't give a damn about anything beyond their own personal bottom line. You can't run a civilization on that basis. This is how we ended up with ObamaCare–people who wanted it simply passed it, essentially without legitimate consent. We can't solve this problem using those methods. The people on the other side of this argument are deeply invested in the status quo and they all have votes. The only way to solve this is to somehow get those people on our side.
The reason we are in this state is because the ones who are right decided to give the WRONG the right to find out how wrong they are AND LET THEM RUN ROUGHSHOD OVER US. Only the PROOF THAT THEY ARE WRONG did not deter them no matter how hard it slaps them in the face, because they don't care. It doesn't matter how WRONG they are to THEM – it only matters how deeply they are the ones IN CONTROL. First thing folks learn when they learn to ride a horse is NOT to let the Horse get the bit in his teeth and fight you for control. nNow, these folks who are in control are NOT the Horse – they don't MAKE anything, they have no power of their own, they are not CONSTRUCTIVE. They are only like a wrecking ball crane that is out of control and rampaging. nAnd we are going to stand here and say "Well, maybe they have a point"?????????
Samuel Adams: If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen. n nSamuel Adams: The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.
We have to make up our minds to do whatever it takes to protect ourselves from those who have shown they don't care how much proof is out there slapping them in the face with HOW WRONG THEY ARE. They aren't fever going to be on your side, they have overwhelming evidence they are wrong and the evidence the major destruction they have caused, is only making them happier and happier. Our side has to decide that "BEING RIGHT" – NO!!! NOT MERELY "BEING RIGHT" but the HAVING of the good healthy communities and knowing what it takes to have them – a nurturing and nourishing environment for Posterity – that must be worth fighting for, and not only swinging a few punches but RESOLVE TO DO WHAT IT TAKES to overthrow DESTRUCTIVE OPPRESSION by a SMALL minority. nNobody will rush to help if you are just going to have a fit. When you are ready to "GIT 'ER DONE!" then millions will show up to DO IT. nRESOLVE will bring them. Half measures and still letting them get by with bleeding us all to death, there is nothing in that to fight for. nIf you aren't going to do ENOUGH to to all it takes to GIT 'ER DONE".. Then sit in your seat and ride to the Dictatorship in style. Take part in the Inauguration of Dictators, if you are not going to PREVENT it. nAnd a bunch of protesters waving signs on the sidewalk don't stop an inauguration from taking place. n nPatrick Henry: Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined…. O sir, we should have fine times, indeed, if to punish tyrants, it were only sufficient to assemble the people! n
Well, okay… You're going to create a nurturing and nourishing environment for Posterity by swinging a few punches? I'll hold your coat, but I have to tell you, I don't think the people who want the status quo to continue are a small minority. At this very moment, there are more net beneficiaries than net contributors. As in, more than half. Not a small minority. A small majority. Seriously. And yelling doesn't work either.
Ibjack – can you really think to DENY the ALREADY tanked economy and the EXISTING foreign policy disaster that Obama created all by himself? AFTER BUSH??? n nSo LOL! n nYou cannot fool the folks in the South along the Mexico border. nYou cannot fool the Military. nYou cannot fool the folks who buy gas and pay utility bills. nYou cannot fool the folks that owned a house 3 yrs ago. nYou cannot fool the folks who lost half their IRA's here a while back – overnight. nYou cannot fool folks who had investments in Las Vegas Convention Business. nYou cannot fool folks who had investments in Private Business Jet Planes, and the Auto Industry. nYou cannot fool people who had investments in Oil and Gas and Power Plants. nYou cannot fool people who had JOBS a few years ago. nYou cannot fool people who have been abused by OWS, and SEIU thugs. nYou cannot fool people who are directly affected by Dim scams such as Stimulus, and Pigford 2 class action lawsuits, and the like. nYou cannot fool people who fly Commercial flights. nYou cannot fool people who lost everything they had due to Obamacare being passed. nYou cannot fool people who had REAL and needful shovel-ready jobs that were told Stimulous was going to fund – and didn't. Or the people who lost everything they had when so much crashed because of the Stimulous scam. n nGee, I could go on for a thousand issues and more. And that will amount to millions and millions of VOTERS that will never be fooled by Dims again.
Rick Santorum was mostly right about JFK's Baptist minister speech and college education in modern day America. But so what? These are themes that require long explanations—and are also serve as a distraction to voters focussing on economic issues and Islamic extremism.
Yes, Romney only managed a narrow victory in a state that not too long ago was considered a lock, but keep in mind that he was running against both Santorum and the U.A.W. In the coming days, analysts are going to uncover the extent of Democrat efforts to cause mischief in Michigan by encouraging their people to cross over and vote for Santorum. Naturally, Santorum helped these efforts along with his ad buys, which may cause some bad feelings among Republicans in the future. n nRemember, for all the talk about Michigan being Romney's home, it is a "severely" blue state, and many of the people who voted for Santorum yesterday will be pulling the lever for Obama in November. Mitt did just fine.
I am not a supporter of president Barack Obama. I wonder if the author of this article Jonathan S. Tobin is..if so fine. These pejorative comments about the gaffes of Mr. Santorum, are seemingly directed at the Christian evangelical as well. n nThis shows his complete misunderstanding, or simple disdain of the First Amendment. Mr Santorum states only what our Founders stated, that people of of religion will always have a stand in our public debate. Mr. Tobin apparently believes only the atheist/agnostic has such room in the public square–the same thing our current administration believes. n nMr. Tobin, you and the mayor of NYC are identical twins in your apparent dislike for people that have the Christian worldview. Neither of you though, have the courage or perhaps the argument to meet us head-on. instead you take these snarky sophomoric pot-shots, and then you act like you just were driving on by a as neutral viewer…hey I find your commentary lamenting. n nI frankly don't know what advantages Mr. Podhoretz see's in having you aboard, unless its to draw out folks like me to point out your circularity and to help shape you into a man who sees the Christian worldview as reasonable and as a virtue instead of a vice…I too have my own issues–one is being patient with liberals like yourself…which I suppose I better, because long ago I was stuck in that same gerbil cage as well. n n n
Gee, Rose, nice laundry list of lies and delusions or axes to grind for bad investment decisions or complete non-sequiturs. I could go through each one, like the Big Lie that the "Stimulous" [sic] was about the "Dims" and not bipartisan, starting with Bush, or the whopper that that all of this was brought on by the "Dims" instead of the orgy of unbridled greed and deregulated plunder facilitated by almost 30 years of GOP presidents or GOP Congresses or, God help us, both at the same time, plus two economically ruinous botched wars, culminating in the worst crash since the Great Depression, which the GOP also brought on. n nOh, and about that Stimulus, the consensus of economists is that it was necessary and that, if anything, it wasn't big enough. But that's all right, you know better. Blame Obama and the "Dims," like you would have blamed them for the Great Depression. Like Muslims, you base your perceptions not on facts but on your resentments, stoked by your mullahs at talk radio and the blogosphere and by the voices in your head. Yes, you ARE the base. Congratulations!
"His inability to close the deal with conservatives and the nasty tone to the Republican race will also make it hard for him to unite his party." n nA generally fair and well written piece, except for perhaps the opinion above. A dive into the numbers shows the media and many bloggers still seem to be offering a skewed or at least not fully fleshed view of the primary contest and candidates. n nAccording to Gary Langer's poll data and blog over at ABC, n n(abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/democrats-shake-up-michigan-primary-exit-polls-show/) n n" Santorum won 53 percent of Democrats, versus just 17 percent for Romney. Without them Romney would have had a fairly comfortable win. With them it was closer." n nIf we take the 9 to 10% of the near 1 million Michigan Republican primary voters that's close to 90,000 with the lower figure. Adjusting for the percentages by candidate in Langer's post and Romney won Michigan Republicans by 45.4 to 36.7% or by a 25% greater vote count. I'd say that is pretty comfortable and support for the idea of change in process . . if not a different reality than we see in headlines. n nAs long as we're in the primaries, Romney is working against maximum ceiling of about 80% (see Pew polls on who won't vote for him), so 45 % is 57% of the ceiling; pretty good solidarity compared to the small share over the 20% base the other candidates get without having to work or create any enthusiasm to attract.. n nNext, look at Langer's observations on enthusiasm . Santorum only musters 38% who strongly favor him versus 50% for Romney. What kind of support for an "authentic" candidate is 38%? 50% is a LOT closer to closing a deal with 45% of supporters in a 4 person race than 38% of 36%. n nNothing wrong with remembering this is one primary of many, but the total vote count, the delegate count, and these types of numbers are not what's being reflected in the news and the blogosphere today . . . inquiring minds seek details and wonder why the experts are trailing – or worse still slanting – reality. n nThe bias is screaming out and should be seen and then put away by those who understand how destructive it is in our society.
I think he can recover but he’s going to have to risk being who he is. He has convictions, his life shows that. It’s not a bad inclination, to say “I intend to govern based on the needs of the whole Country: We’re one Nation and above all, we need to remember that. President Obama can’t lead us because however laudable his accomplishments they are not the accomplishments that bless a person with wide-ranging experience and knowledge. These are necessary to be able to formulate options to halt our decline as quickly as possible and then to progress, as is our desire and our destiny.” n nHe should also not run from Romneycare. He has the opportunity to educate here. Both as Governor and Attorney: The Constitution was made for the People and not the people for the Constitution. n nThe electorate holds ObamaCare against Obama but it has no reason to hold Romneycare against Romney.
Santorum lost because today’s working class is not the same as it was 30 years ago. It needs help. Kodak, Bausch and Lomb, Xerox, etc provided that help at one time. n nIts attachment to organized religion was once strong but now weak. Working class wives (or more likely domestic partners) have no desire to contemplate doctrine formulated by childless, uncomprehending men. They’re no more enamored with Christian Socialism than any other variety. n nAnd homages to mother and wife will be to no avail. The one to his wife nearly recants the one to his mother. n nHis less voluble explanation always follows the bomb: he’s then reduced to stating the obvious as an appeal to reason after unreasonable, medieval rhetoric. n
Mr. Tobin has produced drivel on the campaign repeatedly.On Fox's ''Special Report'' last week all three panelists, including the sainted Krauthammer, thoughtSantorum the likely winner. Thus his efforts weren't heroic, but failed. n Somehow, Tobin has convinced himelf that someone other than Romney has a shot at beating Obama. Wrong. It's Mitt or no one. There will be no emergent dark horse, and Santorum and Gingrich are preposterously positioned. Were there truly a GOP stablishment now would be the time for them to pressure the others to call off the dogs and allow Romney to cruise to the nomination. All their contentiousness is accomplishing now is helping Obama.