…has, I think, become a moral imperative for Republicans.
Pete, of course, is right that what went wrong with Santorum is that he campaigned with the lack of discipline and general self-indulgence of a loser at a crucial moment. Now we’re not talking Newt-level self-indulgence, but more than enough for Romney to look good by comparison. It wasn’t Santorum’s stand on any particular issue, but the way he presented himself. His “social conservativism” was attractive to Republican primary voters. The unsurge was almost entirely over deep doubts about that guy’s electability.
Today’s polls include the shocker that Romney is within 4 in TN, where Santorum was up 20 a very little while ago.
So if I were a betting man, I might put some money on Romney coming close to a race-ending sweep. Romney has even surged to second im GA. I hope I’m wrong here, by the way, and I’m not voting for Romney (or, of course, Newt) in GA. But just like last time, my vote, sadly, seems to be have reduced (like Pete’s) to an ineffectual protest.
In any case: Subsequent surges by Santorum or Gingrich, which might be, for the sad reason Pete gives, almost inevitable, will be too late to keep Mitt from getting the delegates he needs.
So no brokered convention. No Jeb or Mitch to save us. So we gotta love the Mitt, and there are, as they say, some good things there.
March 4th, 2012 | 3:00 pm
i agree with peter,who has pronounced his categorical imperative: you gotta love mitt. If he were a good kantian, he would follow it and vote for him on tuesday. But he is evidently still following a higher source.
March 4th, 2012 | 6:28 pm
Prof. Lawler, I understand your sadness at the ending of any chance of a Mitch Daniels nomination, but Jeb Bush? Yuck. In what way would this former real estate developer be an improvement on Romney? He doesn’t even identify as a conservative anymore – recently said he “used to be a conservative.” And what issue does he feel strongly about other than immigration “reform”?
March 5th, 2012 | 9:20 am
djf, People who hope for a savior rising from these streets often don’t check out the details. Americans certainly have the deep desire not to be led again by either Bushes or Clintons, and there’s wisdom in that prejudice. Still, Mr. Ceaser among others has been hoping that a Bush could save us now. Given the circumstances we face today, I would be inclined to go with Jindal myself, Mitch second, and at a genuinely chaotic convention I might be inclined to get the hugely ambitious Petraeus drafted. But we’ve learned once again that we have to go pretty deep into our history books to find that kind of convention.
March 5th, 2012 | 10:40 am
Petraeus? Asssuming he’d be interested (doubtful in the extreme, since the man works for Obama now) are you suggesting the Republicans run on the Iraq war? That doesn’t sound like a good idea to me. But, as you say, none of this is going to happen.
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