Wake up call to the Republicans

[Gustaf]

Methinks most of you protesteth too much.

Your nervous nellie comments border on hysteria.

If Romney becomes the Republican nominee, and I am not saying he will become the Republican nominee, but if he is the nominee, make no mistake, he will be competitive.  The course of the campaign will see the election tighten considerably.

Hillary Clinton is the most polarizing figure in national politics the nation has ever seen.  Her negatives are very high.  Romney is completely capable of mixing it up with anyone, including the Clintons.

Romney will portray himself as the best one to fix the economy.  The economy will dominate the campaign.  His impressive record as a CEO will back this up, and voters will be impressed. 

You may not like Romney, but he does have a certain appeal and charisma, and he is a candidate to be reckoned with.   

Rasmussen poll of core opposition/support: (taken in mid-December before Romney was hit by even more trouble)

(Definitely for-Definitely Against-Net balance)
Romney (19     47      -28)
Clinton ( 30      47      -17)

Now, I guess you can say that Romney is less polarizing than Clinton because fewer people actually like him so that the country is pretty much universally united against him, but...

Oh, and FYI,

McCain (22    33    -11)

[Gustaf]

Rasmussen poll of core opposition/support: (taken in mid-December before Romney was hit by even more trouble)

(Definitely for-Definitely Against-Net balance)
Romney (19     47      -28)
Clinton ( 30      47      -17)

Now, I guess you can say that Romney is less polarizing than Clinton because fewer people actually like him so that the country is pretty much universally united against him, but...

Oh, and FYI,

McCain (22    33    -11)

I don't see how those poll numbers are useful for measuring anything about a guy that is still not very well known at all, especially before 2008 got underway with the Iowa caucus. You can get readings on Hillary and they'd be much more reliable.

Romney has consistently proven that he is despised by a large part of the general public. Hell, he's running as the conservative candidate in the Republican primary and he is struggling to win THERE despite all his money.

[Gustaf]

Romney has consistently proven that he is despised by a large part of the general public. Hell, he's running as the conservative candidate in the Republican primary and he is struggling to win THERE despite all his money.

The problem is that Mitt Romney wasn't despised enough to lose in 2002 in a race to govern a liberal state like Massachusetts. He wasn't despised enough to come in 1st or 2nd among registered Republicans in the 3 elections so far. He was endorsed by National Review. Rush Limbaugh has praised him.  If Mitt were to win, he'd have far fewer problems getting the base on board than McCain would.  Mitt is a lot of Republicans' second choice if he's not their first. McCain is at the bottom of the list for a lot of Republican voters. A large part of the general public barely knows him.  The only person I see really struggling to win in a general election is Huckabee. Mitt would have a very good chance of being competitive or even winning. I think people underestimate him at their own peril.   

He got elected by a small margin with a Green candidate taking votes. And the GOP was coming off 3 straight wins in MA Gubernatorial elections when Romney entered the stage. He did get himself despised enough that he couldn't get reelected.

And I still maintain that given his cash advantage and the fact that he's running as the real conservative against tax-raiser Huckabee and moderate maveric McCain he shouldn't be losing every primary that isn't his home state or filled with mormons. Nationally, I don't think he's ever gotten above 20% which is pretty remarkable. He has spent and pandered his way to frontrunner status and is STILL having trouble in the GOP primary. I don't see how he has any chance in the general.