Scarborough: That Is Not A Conservative

The beginning of a long list of reasons John McCain is not a conservative.

Mark Levin: Rally for Romney

"Rally for Romney; Conservatives need to act now, before it is too late." by Mark Levin, conservative commentator and former Reagan Justice Dept official. A must read.

New Endorsement from Huckabee Blogger

I hope many Huckabee supporters will consider these comments. Click here to read it.
Also if you have a few minutes, this link goes to a page that lists pro-Huckabee blogs. If you can go to them and post comments in support of their considering Romney instead, maybe we can get some additional help for Mitt.

'Mitt On Demand' and Donations

Some MyManMitt folks have put together a book on Romney's essential speeches and positions. $10 for paper copy, $5 for a downloadable electronic version. Here's the link.

Secondly, there's some talk of Romney having to pull ads in some big states due to the high cost. Donations are critical today and tomorrow. Please, please give something, whether that's $10 or $25 or $50 or more. It's really that important. Go to mittromney.com and click "Contribute." Thanks, all.

Post-Debate Analysis

Some thoughts after the Reagan Library Debate in California Monday night.

(1) I don't know whether or not our efforts will be successful this week in gaining the support needed to win enough states next Tuesday, but it was screamingly clear tonight who the best candidate is among the Republicans: Mitt Romney. Romney was in command of his facts, himself, his presentation; he knew what he wanted to communicate and he did so clearly and effectively. He was tough but gentlemanly; he was not mean. He again had the most memorable lines of the night.
(2) John McCain was, with the exception of a few moments, almost the polar opposite of Romney's strength. I know I'm "partisan" in regards to how I feel about the candidates, but trying to take those glasses off it still looks the same to me, and I think I'm supported in this by the focus group and "dial meter" evaluations of undecided voters watching the debate tonight. McCain can appear mean and snide too often. He was on the defensive for much of the debate--not what you would expect from the frontrunner. He looked ridiculous in trying to defend his lie about Romney (on Iraq timetables). It made him look small. He sounded like a one-issue candidate, and even if that issue is Iraq, which is an important one, it made him look limited. By contrast Romney held forth on a whole variety of important issues, from foreign and economic policy to health care and social security ('entitlements'), to the qualities of leadership that are most important for a president to have.
(3) Huckabee had a few funny lines, as usual, but also came across as the little kid in the class who keeps waving his hand in the air with an "oh! pick me! pick me!" I have to give him credit, though, for having the best answer to the last question referring to Ronald Reagan. Huckabee I still believe has that politician-sneaky sense to him, and is not nearly as substantial as he should be on key issues. But I will say he has added something to the primary process. The unfortunate thing to me is that his record as governor of Arkansas has a number of quite liberal policies not least of which was significant tax increases, but because he is conservative on social issues he attracts some conservatives. The unfortunate thing for ALL conservatives is that when Huck's supporters vote for him rather than Romney, they divide the conservative vote that needs to be united to defeat McCain. If they do that, ALL conservatives will lose in the end.

Finally, a quote from Hugh Hewitt after the debate: "Republicans...will almost certainly walk away disquieted by the prospect of a McCain nomination, both because of his ideas and even more so because he just didn't look electable tonight. Romney did. In fact McCain's best part of the day was when Rudy was talking about him, and it went down hill from there. McCain will get another assist from Arnold tomorrow or Friday, but it is hard to hide the fact that this would be a second Bob Dole campaign, with less energy and fewer conservative principles. Many, many Republicans have to be worried not just about losing the White House, but about a dispirited party and a down-ticket wipe-out. McCain supported the surge. That's true, and a very strong point. But is it enough to wage a nine-month campaign on?"

NY for Mitt has posted a number of video clips from the debate if you would like to watch them click on this link.

Liar McCain in the California Debate

Trust Me, You Must Read This

A blogger's pro-conservative endorsement of Romney today and condemnation of McCain.

Nominee Choice of Non-Republicans

Get this from Rich Lowery at National Review Online:
"Has this ever happened before? This is kind of amazing. I'm looking at CNN exit polls at the numbers for self-identified Republicans. McCain lost self-identified Republicans by a point in New Hampshire...he lost self-identified Republicans by 14 points in Michigan; and he tied among self-identified Republicans in South Carolina and Florida. In other words, McCain is close to the presumptive nominee GOP nominee without having won self-identified Republican voters anywhere. What an extraordinary—and utterly unlikely—path to the nomination. Presumably, with his front-runner status enhanced, McCain will now begin to win self-identified Republicans, but he has pulled the political equivalent of an inside-straight to get here."

Wake up Republicans! Wake up conservatives! Unless we unite behind Romney now, a liberal Republican will be our nominee and the Party will have lost its identity. All of us living in the 21 states voting next Tuesday are now the ultimate "firewall" for the Republican Party. Don't let the opportunity pass...do something active this week to help out!

To Show You It's Not Over

Check out this link where Hugh Hewitt discusses that even with the worst case scenario for Romney, it's not over, and it most certainly may not be close to the "worst case" anyhow. And check out this "Conservatives...Rally to Romney" post.

The big states that need the most work are: California, Illinois, Missouri, and New York. I would also include Arizona because it would be particularly important if McCain could be defeated in his home state. In particular if you have any ties to those states, see what you can do to help out. That does not lessen the impact of the rest of the states, including Utah, but the big states have the most delegates at stake.

One of our bloggers at Florida for Romney says this: "We lost, but it's not the end! Who would have thought 4 weeks ago that Mitt could get over 30% of the vote here? Mitt has come a long way--fortunately for America, there's still 43 states left! ... Conservatives unite! We can still help Romney get the nomination!"

More Early Post-Florida Comments

Here is a sampling of some comments from some of my favorite bloggers:

Riehl: “If McCain channeled anyone when he spoke tonight, it wasn't Ronald Reagan. It was Lawrence Welk. What an unmitigated disaster this guy would be in November…While it's prudent to never say never, as things stand, if McCain gets the nomination, I would work towards his defeat in November before I'd vote for him. The party out of power tends to pick up seats in an off-year election. I do not believe America will embrace a Leftist agenda in the White House. So, either way, we get a liberal in the White House come November with hoped for checks by the Congress…They will tell you conservatism is out of vogue. That is false. Otherwise, Fred Thompson would not have sky-rocketed to the top before he even entered the race. What conservatism lacks right now is leadership. John McCain cannot provide it. Mitt Romney can. But if Romney doesn't still win it, and he can, it will be time to re-build and not surrender.”

Riehl: “It'll be a tough fight. But he needs our support. This is becoming a conservative base versus the establishment election. And we can't quit now.”

Nancy French of EFM: “Regarding the Republican vote, Rich Lowery points out: Romney won it 33-31 according to CNN exits. Even in Florida, independents were McCain's margin of victory. Kind of incredible.”

Nancy French of EFM: “Yes, Huck should drop out. But here's another question (since we know Huck will drop out after he's had the chance to sing the praises of John McCain a little more loudly). It seems there are several Christian leaders who hoped the good people of Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Florida, Nevada, and South Carolina would weed out Sen. McCain. (They dislike him, especially because of McCain/Feingold's assault on free speech.) Do you think any of them will come forward this week and make a bold endorsement of Gov. Romney? It's time.”

Hugh Hewitt: “The combination of his win in Florida and Rudy's expected endorsement make John McCain the front-runner, but not the nominee. The exit polls that show Romney winning by significant margins among conservative and very conservative voters set up next Tuesday's races as the moment when the GOP will chose to stop the Arizona maverick or concede that it is his turn. The shadow of the '96 Dole campaign will fall on McCain now, and the prospect of an Obama-McCain fall campaign will be the key consideration for Huckabee voters over the next seven days. Huck's voters are conservative or very conservative, and if they stay with Huck because they like him better than Romney, they hand the nomination to McCain.”

For you Californians, check out this post on this week’s events in the Golden State: http://www.mymanmitt.com/mitt-romney/2008/01/right-coast.asp

The Battle is Joined

John McCain took the win in Florida. It's hugely disappointing to me for a number of reasons, including not only that I think the better candidate lost, but also I believe it is a setback for conservatives and the Republican Party. John McCain's dishonesty and deceit in this primary I will not forget. I will never again be able to look at him the same way. The "Straight Talk Express" is a farce.

That said, it will take a few days for things to settle out. The other candidates are trying to "gang up on" Romney right now. Giuliani and his moderate to liberal social positions will lead him to leave the race and endorse McCain tomorrow. Huckabee has been preening and fawning all over McCain to try to get the nod as his running mate down the road. And I don't even know why Ron Paul is still in the race.

John McCain was already considered the front runner by the media, and this will just intensify that.

HOWEVER...

McCain has tipped his hand now. He is pulling a Clinton in this race. He's doing it stylistically as evidenced by his dishonesty against Romney pre-Florida. He's doing it tactically by "triangulating" Republicans. He's doing it by trying to pretend to be something he is not. Just as Hillary has tried to present a "new, nicer" self to the public in the past couple of years in order to become more electable, you will see McCain trying to pretend to be conservative to try to peel off enough conservative votes to combine with the moderates votes to win the nomination.

What that sets up is a clear cut battle in the week ahead of us. 21 states, representing 60% of the nation's population, will vote next Tuesday. What has happened in the 6 states that have voted so far is a preliminary to what happens next Tuesday. Those 6 states have essentially determined for us that it is between Mitt Romney and John McCain. But if we're smart and independent, those 6 states will NOT determine the decisions of the voters who get our say next week.

We will see what we're made of as conservatives in the next week. We'll see how strong conservative talk radio can be this week. It's a tall mountain to climb, there's no doubt about it. But we have one week to work to make it happen.

I will make another donation to the Romney campaign in the next 2 days. We need to get our word out more than ever. I will spend my day off Thursday making calls on Romney's behalf. I will try to let you all know what the campaign will be doing and where they will be holding events.

My motivation is mixed...it is primarily pro-Romney, but there's no question it has also become anti-McCain. I wish him no personal ill will. But as a candidate I think he does great damage to the Republican Party and what we stand for. And just the thought of a McCain-Huckabee ticket gives me the shivers. I can't tell you right now what I would do if this is the path the nomination takes. What I can tell you is that I am highly motivated to do everything humanly possible this week to assist Governor Mitt Romney. One step at a time.

I recommend this read from my favorite Illinois conservative blogger for some early post-Florida thoughts.

Freaking Close

Exit polls have a slight McCain edge, but there's no idea as to how many absentee ballots were cast. There could be a lot of them, and the thought is they would go more for Romney. So how does it come out? We shall see...

Welcome to Florida Primary Day!

Get out there and vote all you Floridians! If you have any ties to Florida, make a call or send a message this morning and let's get out the vote for Romney!

Read this final pre-voting comment from the folks at Florida for Romney.

And from National Review's Rich Lowery on McCain's recent dishonest and low attack on Romney (he says it much nicer than I would):

"I think it’s totally dishonest, and I took away a couple of things from it. One, I think McCain just kind of feels entitled to this cheap shot, because he was genuinely up front about the surge, he was more courageous about it than pretty much any other major politician. So he just feels, though, he can deliver this low blow. And the other thing that is going on, I think, is McCain is much more comfortable attacking harshly and unfairly his enemies within the Republican Party than he is attacking Democrats. And layered on top of this is his obvious, and I think I find it very distasteful, but his obvious hatred for Mitt Romney. If you saw the clip of McCain today, chortling as he was talking about Romney’s flip-flopping, it’s this kind of insincere McCain laughter that masks his true bile that he’s directing towards Mitt Romney. So I find the whole thing, from the dishonesty to the kind of sentiment animosity it’s revealing about Mitt Romney, to be really unworthy of John McCain, and kind of a shame."

Ready...Set...Go!

Let’s go through a brief 1-2-3 review here as we go into Florida’s primary vote tomorrow.

(1) Whether or not John McCain or Mitt Romney wins the Florida vote tomorrow, I think John McCain has just crippled his candidacy by his tricks and taking the low road in Florida. Because of this, I hope more than ever that Floridians will vote for Romney over McCain. Here are two reviews on his low trickery here and here.

(2) The polls in Florida have shown the Romney and McCain on average within less than a point of each other for several days. It’s down to the wire.

(3) McCain has become the candidate of liberals and left-leaning moderates voting in the Republican primary. Romney has increasingly become the choice of conservatives. Check out this post on Mitt being “the last best hope of conservatives.”

(4) This next week of campaigning from Florida tomorrow to Tsunami Tuesday’s 21 state vote one week later will be by far the most expensive stretch of the campaign. If you can contribute, please do so this week. It’s tremendously important.

(5) I will try to get information from the campaign to post here so as many of you as possible can attend events that may be held close to where you live. For those of you in Southern California, here is some information provided by David Petersen, a longtime friend of mine:

Mitt Romney will be attending a Presidential Debate (CNN) at the Reagan Library Wednesday evening (1/30), followed by a series of events in Southern California the following day.

You are invited to come and bring your friends to a Political Rally in Orange County, Thursday, January 31^st at 11:00 am, at Bassett Furniture in Fountain Valley (18030 Newhope Street, Fountain Valley). This is a political event (no cost), open to the media, and we would like as many Romney supporters as possible to attend as well as those who may be on the fence. This is a great opportunity to hear and meet the next President of the United States!

Long Live Conservative Talk Radio!

Bless Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin and others! I am so glad that they have been willing to be straight about the vile tactics McCain and Huckabee have used in the past few days. McCain LIED and the press rarely calls a lie a lie, but in fact I have heard truth spoken on talk radio...and by the way while I'm blessing people (;-) may I also do the same for Kathryn Lopez of National Review Online (there are others as well).

If Romney can overcome the McCain smear tactics, it will be in part due to much of the press being willing to tell it like it is, and the voters of Florida paying close attention and doing the same via the ballot box.

Despite all this, remember that Romney is the best guy possible for the economic issues we are facing! Maybe we can get back now to issues actually being the issue?

Remember, too, that much of McCain's career has been joining with liberals in anti-conservative causes. From Romney today: “One thing you can tell [your friends] is Senator McCain is known for three pieces of legislation– 25 years, three pieces of legislation and what are they? McCain-Feingold which hits the first amendment, and then McCain-Kennedy, the amnesty bill and the last is McCain-Lieberman which adds about a 1,000 dollars a year to the cost of fuel and energy for the average Florida household,” Romney continued slamming McCain, “If you want that kind of liberal democratic course as president then you can vote for him. But, those three pieces of legislation–those aren’t conservative. Those aren’t Republican. Those are not the kind of leadership that we need as we go forward.”

We Need More Support Now

There's some suggestion that some of Giuliani's supporters are shifting over to McCain since they don't think he will win. As we've noted, many former Thompson supporters are going more to Romney. With all this, McCain seems to have had a slight uptick in some polls in the past 24 hours.

Take this as a sign that anything, small or large, that you can do to help: donate, or make calls, or contact friends and family in Florida...please do so. I don't think it's 100% certain that Florida is "make or break" but it could be, and certainly if Mitt Romney wins, it would be a tremendous boost going into next week's Tsunami Tuesday. Let's go folks!

Sorrow at Passing

The loved leader of Mitt Romney's faith (and my own), President Gordon B. Hinckley has passed away tonight at the age of 97. He was active and quite healthy to the end. He was a great man and will be missed. Local KSL link here.

Talk About Close...

The average of the polls the past 3 days is Romney up by 0.1 points. Whew it's close! You know the routine...every vote at the polls Tuesday will be huge.

McCain's Dishonorable Conduct

I generally don't get into the claims-and-counter-claims cycles in these campaigns, but John McCain just went over the edge for me and it ticks me off. He tried to claim that Romney has said we should set a date to get out of Iraq. That's not true, and there's no evidence of it. The press asked McCain's campaign for documentation of their claim, but their "proof" did not show Romney saying a date should be set; to the contrary he said we should not set a specific date to withdraw troops! MyManMitt.com info on the specifics here.

So the press and the Romney campaign replied that yes, we can read, and there's no evidence of your claim. McCain's response? "Romney should apologize to the troops." For what? For what he never said?

Seriously, if this is what McCain is made of, it's pitiful. I hate to see McCain as a pitiful, angry old man desperate for the power of the presidency...but that's what he's starting to seem like to me. Here is another blog comment on this. And Hugh Hewitt here.

These things are the most ridiculous parts of campaigns. I just hope it does not play a significant role in the outcome of things. To me, the best response on our part is to just continue our discussions and efforts. The polls between McCain and Romney could not be closer. Every vote will be important, so let's all do what's in our power to do!

Of note: Obama won in South Carolina today, keeping the Democrats in just as close and crazy a race as the Republicans. Stay tuned...

UPDATE: I agree with this line from a National Review Online post: "the fact that now Huckabee endorses the McCain spin on this underscores, for me, what a joke they (he and this phony issue) are."

Southern Exposure

I have a huge soft spot in my heart for the South and for Southerners. When we moved to Alabama from Utah to start my medical residency, people would ask how I was “dealing with the big change.” To be honest, other than the obvious differences in climate and geography, it never felt like that big of a change to me.

The reason for that is that I found there to be a very comfortable similarity between your typical Utahan and your typical Southerner. Both have conservative values, family values, religious values. There’s a priority and value placed on what Southerners might call gentility or manners, and what Utahans might simply call “niceness” but at its base it’s simply a high value placed on treating others well.

That said (and this is not totally unique to the South at all), there can be a bit if insularity, or maybe it’s just Southern pride that likes being a bit unique and different from the rest of the country. Even that can be quite attractive, and I only mention it because I am pondering the meaning of the recent “win” in Louisiana by John McCain (who had made no effort there), as well as the meaning of a poll that came out today indicating John McCain has a 15 point lead on Romney in Alabama, which kind of baffles me.

I think the “natural” Southern candidates (being from the South) are Thompson (who has now dropped out) and Huckabee (who is fading), but it is apparent those two will not get the nomination.

Then you have a Westerner in McCain and a Yankee (and a Mormon Yankee at that!) in Romney. McCain has longtime name recognition, so there’s that. And to a large degree McCain has become the “establishment candidate” (at least with the party structure and the mainstream media though not with conservative talk radio), and maybe that dubbing by the media as the “frontrunner” is what Southerners have latched on to in terms of McCain. Or it could be his military background and respect for this. Or perhaps it is the “Mormon thing” with evangelicals in the South, though I hope that’s not the case.

Maybe Florida will change the dynamics of the race in the South if Romney wins there. I hope so. But I also hope Alabamians and other Southerners will take a close look at Mitt now and recognize that while he may have a Yankee businessman manner, I think they’ll find his values match theirs very closely.

For one thing, he is conservative to the core. This is true on pro-life issues, true on the defense of marriage, true on lower taxes and limited government policies, true on strong national defense. His actions have been amazingly consistent with these in his time as governor of Massachusetts. And his personal and family life reflect his values as well (a rarity, it seems, in politics).

For another, he’s simply very smart, and a very effective leader. He’s strong in ways Southerners would appreciate. It’s one thing to have a leader who shares your values; it’s another to have one who can make it happen. Mitt can make it happen. (Hey, there’s a slogan: “Mitt Happens!” – Nah…) He’s done it in business, at the 2002 Olympic Games, and in the state of Massachusetts.

So here’s my plea to my Southern friends: please take a good, honest look at Mitt Romney. Your support now could make all the difference not only for Romney, but for the Republican Party come November, and the nation a year from now at inauguration.

If you have a moment, check out these articles about Romney in Southern newspapers in the past couple of days: Articles from Montgomery, Alabama; Sarasota, Florida; East Manatee, Florida; and Atlanta, Georgia (the Atlanta Journal-Constitution just endorsed Governor Romney today).

One last thing. I will go over this more in a near-future post, but there have been a couple of nice blog posts at NY for Mitt in the past day or two; here are the links to parts 1 and 2:

http://nyformitt.blogspot.com/2008/01/consider-mitt-part-1.html

http://nyformitt.blogspot.com/2008/01/consider-romney-part-2.html

Redstate.com Romney Convert

You want a great read, and a funny one at that? Try this link out.

Evangelicals for Mitt (EFM) On Huckabee

Couldn't agree more; here it is from today's EFM blog post: "Social conservatism is a winning part of the conservative coalition -- but it's a loser on its own. In order to be successful, we need to partner with other conservatives, and we need a presidential candidate who can do the same. Governor Huckabee has shown repeatedly that he can't do that; in fact, he alienates other conservatives because of his liberal and incoherent positions on fiscal and national-security issues. Signing on with him is thus a recipe for division in the conservative ranks and a loss in the election."

The Florida Debate

The early assessment as I survey the field briefly is that Romney did the best in the debate in Boca Raton, Florida last night. That's my sense as well.

Romney was sharp, on point, effective in answering all the questions. He was asked (yet again; is this really necessary?) about his being Mormon and about his contributing his own money to his campaign. I thought he did well with both questions, though I'm sure the "eye of the beholder" would apply to these questions and answers. More than anything, his economic understanding and effective leadership were evident throughout the debate.

I thought Giuliani was next best, and had a great response to the New York Times ripping on him (I think it can only help a Republican when the NYT criticizes them, just as it can only hurt McCain that the Times endorsed him).

After that, Huckabee did alright though again I think he relies on humor rather than detailed and effective responses, which weakens him. Ron Paul was, well, Ron Paul. 'Nuff said.

McCain had a few good moments, but more bad ones, I thought. In particular there were several points where I thought he seemed a little old and detached, like when he seemed to insinuate that he didn't need to be an economic expert when he has so many friends are. Certainly presidents depend on advisers, but you like to have a sense that the President at least has enough understanding and sense to ask the right questions and be in charge. In any case, he wasn't bad, just left a few doubts in my mind as I watched him. In addition, he really does seem to relish putting down Republicans and patting "my favorite Democrats" on the back, which doesn't seem smart if you are trying to get the Republican nomination for the presidency, ya know?

It gives me some cautious optimism about Tuesday, but no doubt it'll take every contributing effort for this to come out in Mitt's favor. Just 4 days to go!

P.S. Here's a link to another review of the candidates' performances.

And MSNBC's post-debate analysis:

Donate $10 Today

Please donate $5 or $10 to the Romney campaign today to help with Florida. Thank you!

Bring Up the Troops: Ready for Battle

We are now 5 days from the Florida Republican Primary; and tonight there is a Republican candidates debate (7 pm Mountain Time (9 Eastern) on MSNBC) in Boca Raton, Florida. These next 5 days are critical. Here is a short series on several issues facing the campaign in this important stretch.

GREAT LOCAL INTERVIEW IN FLORIDA

Follow this link to a great interview with Governor Romney that touches on several key topics.

TWO-MAN RACE, OR THREE?

We’ve gone over this before, but Thompson is out, Paul hasn’t the slightest chance, and Huckabee is fading and seems more interested in trying to maintain some influence in the process rather than actually winning. That leaves three: Romney, McCain, and Giuliani. The question then is: does Giuliani have a chance? I say no, for this reason: Not only has he faded dramatically in polls nationally as well as to a lesser degree in Florida, but he has had almost zero support from voters in the states up to now, suggesting he has very limited appeal beyond just his fame and respect from 9/11 and its aftermath in the War on Terror.

That leaves Romney and McCain. May the best man win—that’s Romney, of course! ;-)

ROMNEY CONNECTING

Keep in mind two stats when you hear media-types declare that Romney somehow isn’t connecting with Republicans or conservatives:

(1) Romney has more TOTAL VOTES than any other Republican candidate.

(2) Romney has more total votes FROM REPUBLICAN VOTERS than any other candidate.

Does that sound to you like he’s “not connecting?” Me neither. The only reason he hasn’t gotten more votes than he has is that there has been a crowded field of candidates who have a committed base of support, which divides the voters. How come we don’t hear about McCain ‘not connecting’ or Huckabee or any of the others? Hmmmmm….

ROMNEY’S SKILL AND STRENGTH IN DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE

David French of the Evangelicals for Mitt blog (a Harvard Law School grad and a conservative Christian defender of free speech and other legal issues) wrote this before he went to Iraq:

“From the moment the activist judges in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court handed down their breathtakingly arrogant decision in Goodrich v. Department of Public Health, [Romney] took decisive action to make sure Massachusetts would not grant marriage licenses to out-of-state couples, thereby guaranteeing that Massachusetts would not become the "Las Vegas of gay marriage" and trigger a constitutional crisis as couples returned to their home states with Massachusetts licenses. He also initiated and led an effort to amend the Massachusetts constitution by referendum and has gone so far as to file suit against the Commonwealth's own legislature after they took action to prevent the people of Massachusetts from voting on that amendment. Critically, he has become a leading national advocate for marriage, with his optimistic and uplifting message dominating the public debate. Rather than casting the debate as one over adult rights, the Governor has made the best possible case for marriage: noting what we all should know but too often forget (at great cultural cost) — marriage does not exist for the convenience and enjoyment of adults but as the best possible way of raising and nurturing children. The credible defenders of marriage in Massachusetts all agree: Mitt Romney has been an invaluable supporter and advocate.

Rather than becoming what the media would undoubtedly call the "George Wallace of gay marriage" by standing in the courthouse door and barring couples from receiving marriage licenses, the Governor chose legal means to resist the court's decision. And his decision was correct. It is now clear that the Goodrich decision represented not the beginning of the end of traditional marriage but instead the high-water mark of the same-sex marriage movement. Since that decision, homosexual marriage activists have been on the defensive virtually everywhere, losing referenda and losing court decisions. Had Governor Romney not offered a principled and effective defense of marriage, the outcome may very well have been quite different.”

STRONG ON THE ECONOMY

"For Republicans, the race lately seems to be turning on the issue of the economy, said U.S. News & World Report senior writer and FOX News contributor Michael Barone. That helps Romney, who as a successful venture capitalist and tax-cutter while serving as Massachusetts governor is gaining traction.

“I think an emphasis on the economy does emphasize one of the strong points in Mitt Romney’s resume and so I think he is the beneficiary of a threat there,” Barone said.

“My sense is John McCain is hurt by that. He has said sometimes that he needs a tutoring course on the economy. He does not present it as his strong suit, so I think it may have a slight depressing effect on his percentages,” Barone said."

THE NATURE OF ROMNEY’S OPTIMISM: “WE CAN DO THIS THING”

Romney's Shining City [by Henry Payne]

“It’s morning in America.”

“This may be the key ingredient that Romney found in Michigan. Reaganesque in his good looks, Romney also shares the Gipper’s crucial optimism. And as Michigan exposed in McCain’s cranky “your jobs aren’t coming back” rhetoric, it gives Romney a human element to contrast with McCain’s authenticity.

Suddenly, McCain sounds less like a straight-talker than an old curmudgeon. Next to Romney’s sunniness, it won’t wear well. The electorate likes glass-half-full guys.

You hear it in the two candidates approach to climate change. McCain sounds like Al Gore. Like Gore in “Earth in the Balance,” McCain sees an America with limits. It is a country that needs to be reigned in; cured of its “dysfunctions.”

Romney, on the other hand, sees nothing but U.S. potential. He’s all about wide-open horizons, not cramped federal mandates. It’s there when you meet him. It’s in his DNA.”

TALK RADIO: NO ON MCCAIN, NO ON HUCK, GRADUALLY SLIDING CLOSER TO ROMNEY

While few conservative radio hosts have come out directly and openly in support of Romney, it seems to me the trend is unmistakable. In part this has started with the recognition that McCain and Huckabee have some distinctly liberal positions on some issues, and therefore would tend to deeply divide conservatives. This has led to increasing reappraisal of Romney and respect for his consistent conservative positions, and his ability to communicate and defend those positions. Consider this post from NRO’s K-Lo:

Talk Radio 1, McCain 0 [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

Romney campaigned hard in Michigan, but that win reflects the power of talk radio as well. When you no longer have to wonder, "Could Mike Huckabee be the Republican nominee?" thank Rush. When you remember the litany of John McCain's bad policy moves, thank Mark Levin he's not the frontrunner.

Some of the most important conversations about the future of the conservative movement and America are happening on talk radio today. I write this as I listen to Bill Bennett's callers have an early-morning dialogue with him about some of the tough questions and choices conservatives face this year.

If we come out of this election O.K., talk radio deserves some real credit for seeing it through and helping make them all a little more Right. If we don't, they tried — but I'm optimistic.

A TOUR OF KEY BLOG ENTRIES

Please enjoy following these links to some previous posts on this blog…

Voters persuaded watching Romney debate the other candidates.

Two interesting recent Romney media interviews.

Romney “the best and smartest businessman in North America.”

Joe Scarborough nails it on the MSM’s unfair anti-Romney bias.

Mark Levin reviews John McCain’s decidedly non-conservative record.

And some niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice campaign humor…

The Governator to Mitt: Who’s Your Daddy?

“My one and only wife”

Romney Girl's "1985" Dance

Kevin Garnett’s ‘Mitt Romney!’

Romney Ad: Trusted on Economy

Romney Rising in Florida

Check out this link to the Real Clear Politics poll review. Romney is rising the past 3 days, McCain is dropping off, and its a dead heat on average right now. Go Romney!

Alexander Hamilton-->Rubin-->Romney!

McCain Not Loved In GOP

From backyardconservative blog: Another Congressional endorsement for Mitt in Mississippi, Sen. Thad Cochran. Romney leads in delegates and in congressional endorsements (make that 37). (What does that say about McCain's pull among those in the party who know him best?)

Also on MyManMitt.com there is a good discussion on the argument some are trying to make that John McCain would be a good candidate for the Republicans "because he can draw Democrats and Independents." The gist of the counterargument is that where Reagan moved much of the country to the right, McCain himself has adopted ideas of the political left. Not much of a leader by comparison to the Gipper in that sense, and not what I think we want from a Republican in the White House.

Please Donate Now & Hugh Hewitt

Check out this foxnews.com article. Funds may make all the difference in Florida and Tsunami Tuesday. If Romney can get additional donations, it could be a key factor. Any amount would help. Click on his campaign link to the right to donate online. Thanks all! Spread the word!

Also, wanted to pass on this post from townhall.com's Hugh Hewitt, a Romney supporter:

McCain's "Urgent Dash For Cash"

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 11:13 AM Genuine front-runners don't have to crisscross the country with a tin cup days before a crucial primary, but the Arizona maverick has no grassroots fund-raising effort like Obama's Romney's or Huckabee's, and no personal wealth to match Romney's. It is a foreshadowing of what the GOP will be up against from now until September if McCain is nominated - a poorly funded, aging, Beltway establishment figure with deep and abiding opposition among conservatives and no real ability to bring in the cash to compete with either Hillary or Obama should he draw the inside straight and gain the nomination.

Even fans of McCain have to admit his candidacy is built on the prayer of converting conservatives and then a second prayer of getting them to open their wallets. Because of the deep disagreements of the past, they won't be converting, and even if they resign themselves to his nomination should it happen, they won't be contributing.

Giuliani, Huckabee and Romney all can make a straight-faced argument that they can tap their opponents' donor bases between now and the Convention. But not McCain. His is a crippled candidacy desperately hoping to lock up the nomination on the strength of MSM-generated momentum against a strong and growing conservative headwind before the GOP wakes up fully to just how damaged a nominee he would be: Bob Dole without the charisma or the money the former Majority Leader had in 1996 on his way to the decisive defeat at the hands of a Clinton.

But Republicans who know what is ahead when the Clinton-Soros machine turns from taking Obama apart digit by digit goes after their nominee, and they know the ability to raise money as well as donate from personal wealth is crucial to matching the onslaught ahead.

Fred Thompson Out of the Race

Fred Thompson has withdrawn from the presidential race. I would love to have FredHeads join with Romney supporters as a conservative voting block in this race! It's truly sad to see him out of the race...what a good man he is and a good American. Read this on him if you can, from "K-Lo" (Kathryn Lopez of the National Review). K-Lo also had a follow-up short comment here.

Also, from Evangelicals for Mitt, a great letter from David (who is serving in Iraq with his unit) for supporters of Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee to consider.

And finally, a FredHead blogger giving reasons he's going with Romney now.

Transcripts of Two Interviews

Very interesting detail Romney gives about part of his economic plan and his record in Massachusetts to Chris Wallace of Fox News. Click here.

Then CNN's Glenn Beck gives a solid interview, click here.

Finally, there is an online "straw poll" in New York if you can click here and vote for Mitt!

Spread the Word to Thompson Supporters

Click on this link to visit the new blog supporting a Romney-Thompson alliance as Fred Thompson looks to exit the campaign. This would be tremendous and would bring together the two real conservatives in the race. They would compliment each other as well in many ways. Come on FredHeads! Let's do this thing!

A Must Watch from Scarborough

I think he could have said it even stronger, but he does a great job on this key issue. It's 7 minutes, but please find the time to watch it.

Also of note along with this: Romney has won among Republican voters in every state that has voted so far. The reason he hasn't won every state so far is that Democrats and Independents have been able to be involved and they have supported McCain and Huckabee more in some states. Florida will be the first state restricted to Republicans only.

Also, happy MLK Day everyone! In our discussion of political philosophy and ideas, let's be inclusive, and be grateful to live in a land and among a people that values equal opportunity for all.

Critical Issues Going Forward

(1) Duncan Hunter finally dropped out of the race, leaving 6 Republicans remaining in the race: Romney, McCain, Huckabee, Giuliani, Thompson, and Paul. Hunter's limited support I think is likely to go more to Romney. Ron Paul is in the race more to make a point, I think, than to win, so is likely to keep going but not make much difference in the outcome. The word on the blogs is that Thompson may call it quits tomorrow. He has enough support that this could affect things. Would he just bow out and not endorse anyone? Or would he endorse McCain or Romney?
(2) That would leave four viable candidates in the race. Huckabee is showing signs now of being finished in terms of not really being able to win the nomination. However, he may be angling to be McCain's VP running mate. I'm not sure how McCain would feel about it, but if he did go with this "marriage of convenience" it could be a factor, since I suspect a fair amount of Huckabee's support would translate to McCain, giving a definite advantage.
(3) That then leaves three "real" candidates who could win the nomination: Romney, McCain, and Giuliani. Each has their definite strengths. However, Giuliani seems least likely to me. Consider a few "poll facts" on him. In March last year, Giuliani's national poll numbers for the Republican nomination were approaching 40%, a huge lead over then number two McCain, who was at about 20%. Now, McCain leads the national polls at about 30%, with Huckabee and Romney around 20%, and Giuliani down to 4th in the 12-14% range. That's a massive drop! Giuliani has "bet the house" on winning Florida, but even there he's dropped off. From a high in November around the 35% area, he's now down to about 20% in an approximate 4-way tie with McCain, Romney, and Huckabee. Technically could Giuliani win? Certainly. Does it look likely? I'd say most definitely not.
(4) If my analysis above is correct, we are left with two candidates: Romney and McCain. Between those two, I think it's impossible to know right now who might win. McCain has strengths. Americans tend to view him positively overall. He is a favorite of the mainstream media (MSM), certainly THE favorite of the media among Republican candidates. He has adequate resources at this point, and is considered to have what momentum there is in the Republican race (I would argue the point, but again, the MSM has declared it is so). He is strong on defense issues and the War on Terror. Romney also has strengths. Not only does he objectively lead the race right now (more votes, more delegates, more support from Republicans and conservatives), but his win in Michigan (the only large and more urban state to vote up to now) suggests he has strength on the economy which has become the #1 issue in the campaign. He has the most solid resources and is able to put quality ads up in big markets in Florida. He has great organization "on the ground" in pretty much every state. And he is more broadly acceptable to conservatives than the other remaining viable candidates (for sure once Thompson leaves the race).

The upshot of all this...
Is that it appears likely to be a two man race. Now the battle joins over the next 8 days in Florida. Now is the time to help make calls there. Now is the time to make a donation of whatever amount you can. Now is the time to keep talking to family and friends about the race and the candidates.

Now is also the time to hope that as Thompson exits the race, and Huckabee considers his next move, that support will swing more to Romney, and not McCain.

I think it's important then for us to be educated about John McCain, and to know precisely why he will be a candidate that will have a hard time getting full support from all the groups in the Republican tent. The best summary I've seen is from Mark Levin, contributing author to National Review Online. Here are some excerpts:

"There’s a reason some of John McCain's conservative supporters avoid discussing his record. They want to talk about his personal story, his position on the surge, his supposed electability. But whenever the rest of his career comes up, the knee-jerk reply is to characterize the inquiries as attacks.

The McCain domestic record is a disaster. For starters, consider:

McCain-Feingold — the most brazen frontal assault on political speech since Buckley v. Valeo.

McCain-Kennedy — the most far-reaching amnesty program in American history.

McCain-Lieberman — the most onerous and intrusive attack on American industry — through reporting, regulating, and taxing authority of greenhouse gases — in American history.

McCain-Kennedy-Edwards — the biggest boon to the trial bar since the tobacco settlement, under the rubric of a patients’ bill of rights.

McCain-Reimportation of Drugs — a significant blow to pharmaceutical research and development, not to mention consumer safety.

And McCain’s stated opposition to the Bush 2001 and 2003 tax cuts was largely based on socialist, class-warfare rhetoric — tax cuts for the rich, not for the middle class. The public record is full of these statements. Today, he recalls only his insistence on accompanying spending cuts.

As chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, McCain was consistently hostile to American enterprise, from media and pharmaceutical companies to technology and energy companies.

McCain also led the Gang of 14, which prevented the Republican leadership in the Senate from mounting a rule change that would have ended the systematic use (actual and threatened) of the filibuster to prevent majority approval of judicial nominees.

And then there’s the McCain defense record.

His supporters point to essentially one policy strength, McCain’s early support for a surge and counterinsurgency. It has now evolved into McCain taking credit for forcing the president to adopt General David Petreaus’s strategy. Where’s the evidence to support such a claim?

Governator to Mitt: Who's Your Daddy?

Romney Wins Nevada! SC Falls Short.

Very solid win, getting "gold" in the "silver state" of Nevada. Over 50% of the vote went to Romney, which has not been done by a Republican candidate in any state other than maybe Romney in Wyoming.

In South Carolina, two of my hopes have been dashed, though it may not be a big deal. One is that I'm convinced Huckabee is doomed regardless, so I thought if he beat out McCain it would cripple McCain a bit. But McCain won a narrow victory. Two is that I wanted Romney to beat Thompson for third place, but with over 90% of votes reported, Romney is behind some 2,700 votes, so not likely to quite do it.

Here are the updated delegate totals:
Romney 72
McCain 38
Huckabee 29
Thompson 8
Paul 6
Giuliani 2
Hunter 1 (Hunter announced he is now withdrawing from the race)

By the way, there are some media comments already about how much support Romney got from Mormons in Vegas and the rest of Nevada. Here's a post from Arizonans for Mitt blog that puts it in perspective:

"I've already seen headlines at MSN.com that say Romney gets the Mormon vote. I wonder if this is the MSM's attempt to further rile up Evangelicals in hopes of getting MSM's favoite RINO--Mike Huckabee--more votes in future elections.

But here are the facts.

Mitt got 94% of the vote in Nevada. That means he did worse than Bush in 2004 in the general election were "W" got 95% of the Mormon vote in the entire country.

Bush isn't Mormon. Mormons like conservatives. Romney's a conservative."

Nevada Hopeful, SC Needs Lift

Polls in Nevada the past couple of days suggest a good Romney lead if we can get everyone out to the caucus sites tomorrow.

In South Carolina...if you have ties please pull on them for Romney...if he can get at least third place and a solid third it should be good enough along with a Nevada win. It's important, so SC get out there for Romney! If folks there think McCain is conservative...let's just say that's only true in the area of national defense.

These are all critical until things start to really swing toward one guy. SUPER SATURDAY, FOLKS!

Main Nevada Papers Endorse Romney

Read the endorsements here:
Las Vegas Review-Journal Endorsement
Reno Gazette-Journal Endorsement

To Review Before NV & SC

This seems like the perfect time to take a closer look at the candidates, the “horse race,” and the media at this point in the campaign season. Click on some of the links below for some very interesting additional reading (I’ll try to give brief summaries).

The general state of the campaign remains as complicated as ever. For the Dems, Edwards might complicate things and affect who wins…but he isn’t going to win. Between Clinton and Obama, I really think the jury is still out. I feel like I can make an equally strong case for either one of them becoming their nominee. Their debate in Las Vegas was a bit of a “love fest” or “fence mending” after all their recent race and gender attacks and anger.

For the Republicans, I think in almost every way you would have to call Mitt Romney the leader at this point as we’ve discussed, though not by much. The one exception is that he still lags in the national polls (I think he’s approximately tied for 3rd on that measure), but given what kind of a race this is, my estimation is that this doesn’t mean much. For example, once a candidate or two decides to drop out of the race, and one candidate starts to win several big ones in a row, I think those national numbers will change big time.

Mitt Romney The Michigan exit polls tell us something about how Mitt’s messages are being seen by voters. He was strongest among Republicans, conservatives, and those who care about pro-growth economic policies. Age and gender didn’t seem to matter much—that is, both old and young, men and women in Michigan voted for Romney over McCain and the others.

Mitt’s talk to the Detroit Economic Club showed his capacity to understand and frame economic issues and solutions. He focused on Michigan and the auto industry, but you get the sense he would be amazing as president in leading our economy. The National Review editors put it this way today: “…Huckabee, Romney, and McCain. On economic issues, Romney is the best of the three.”

The mainstream media (MSM as they refer to it in political blogs) still remains bafflingly hesitant or even negative towards Romney for the most part. I find it very strange, and only partly understandable. Consider how the media ignored the Wyoming results, even though there were about the same number of delegates at stake as in Iowa or New Hampshire. Will the MSM give the same slight to Nevada if Romney wins there and just focus on South Carolina? And just look at how the MSM has reported Romney’s win in Michigan compared to McCain’s in NH. And here’s conservative commentator Fred Barnes’ comment: “In case you hadn't noticed, the media loathes Romney and likes McCain.” He’s not sure why other than McCain has established a rapport with the press in previous election cycles, including appreciation of his sense of humor.

A found a few blog posts on the results in Michigan that I found interesting:

From Rich Lowery of the National Review: “For someone who was running ahead for so long in the early states, Mitt Romney had to run from behind in the first three states once crunch time came. Huck exploded to a lead in Iowa that Romney chipped away at, seeming to pull even on the last weekend, before seeing it slip away. He was running behind McCain in New Hampshire before a late surge that fell short, putting him in a respectable second. Then, he was behind in Michigan and facing the abyss, before fighting back, and this time prevailing. This has proved that Mitt doesn't have a "glass jaw," and the political adversity has provided the opportunity for him to find a theme — fighting for the American economy and for jobs. He now has to broaden out the pitch that worked with Michiganders and make it more genuinely national. But the good news is that his campaign is revitalized, with an advantage on the issue of the economy that is probably going to be even more important in weeks ahead.”

And: “It doesn’t seem so shocking that Mitt Romney has apparently won the Michigan Republican primary. Michigan has the one of highest unemployment rates in the U.S., and he put forward a plan to help the state’s leading industry. Whatever you think of its merits, it has to more appealing to voters than McCain’s approach of “kinda sucks to be you, but hopefully you’ll feel better knowing that you’re being sacrificed for the greater good of helping me to feel like I’ve made a statement about global warming.”

Here is a link to a great interview of Romney yesterday by Larry King.

And how about this line (cracked me up) from Romney at a GOP family values candidates’ forum several months ago: “Hey, I’m the only one up on this stage who’s had only one wife – and I’m the Mormon!”

Mike Huckabee He’s not dead yet, but Michigan sure didn’t help him. He came in a distant third but got only 15% of the vote. He has a chance in SC but I’m not sure where else. Check out this article which I think supports my contention that Huckabee’s appeal his been almost strictly on the basis of church affiliation, and why he would be so divisive for Republicans.

John McCain I think he remains the top competitor to Mitt Romney. He doesn’t compare right now in total delegates to Romney, but he’s known and respected nationally, and has his New Hampshire win and now a second place in Michigan, and the MSM has been treating him as the frontrunner now since even before the NH vote. The #1 problem McCain has in my view is that he has too often sided with liberal Democrats on major bills in the Senate (think who he paired with on McCain-Feingold for campaign finance restrictions and McCain-Kennedy on the Senate immigration bill), and has visibly taken on conservatives on a number of issues. Could he mend those fences if he becomes the nominee? For the most part I think yes, but it does complicate his path in the primaries and would affect the national campaign in the fall.

Fred Thompson As he says, he has been a “consistent conservative” and is a smart and delightful person. It’s possible he might win in South Carolina. If he does, he might have some chance. But it’s hard for me to see him really gaining traction and coming through this process. I would love to see a Romney-Thompson ticket.

Rudy Giuliani It seems to me he continues to fade. He actually came in behind Ron Paul with just 3% of the vote in Michigan. I can’t see any reason that he won’t continue to fade. That said, I respect him and like many of his policy positions. He’s very strong on the War on Terror, which is one of the most important issues we face.

Democrats

For what it’s worth, I found a comment on MSNBC tonight interesting. All the Democrats are trumpeting the theme of change. One commentator sees Clinton as pushing for change based on party (i.e. change by getting an establishment Democrat in the White House), Edwards as pushing for change based on power (i.e. taking down “the rich” and “fighting for” liberal policies), and Obama as pushing for change based on personality (i.e. because we like him) but without specific policies and in particular without “consensus” policies that could gain bipartisan acceptance.

And on the humorous side…in the Democrats’ debate in Las Vegas, they were asked what their greatest weakness was. The gist of their answers was this:

- John Edwards: My greatest weakness is that I care too much, Tim. For 54 years, I've been fighting. I emerged from the womb with my dukes up, ready to do battle with every fiber of my day-old being.

- Hillary Clinton: My greatest weakness is that I get impatient — impatient with people who don't care as much about children as I do.

- Barack Obama: My greatest weakness? Sometimes I misplace stuff. I'm a little disorganized. It's probably a good thing I'm not in charge of my own schedule.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

One last thing…presidential campaigns are more about moving forward than looking back. That said, President Bush’s legacy as well as the ongoing status of the War on Terror, including Iraq and Afghanistan, will come up particularly when it becomes the Republican vs. the Democrat. As you know, I’ve plugged and enjoyed the blog “Evangelicals for Mitt.” David and Nancy French I believe were involved with starting that blog. David is a lawyer in the military and is serving with his unit in Iraq. Here he discusses the difficult and complex but real progress he sees being made there.

Mitt Takes Michigan!

This really does change things. It really does. Not that the outcome of this process is clear yet. But Mitt Romney will now be the Republican candidate with 2 first-place finishes and 2 second-place finishes. He will be top in the total votes to date and the total delegates to date. He will have the "latest victory" to be discussed in the media. He will have exceeded expectations as the polls indicated a photo-finish outcome for Michigan, but Romney will have earned a solid and clear win. And, with 2 states coming up for voting Saturday, if he can win at least one of the two and be competitive in both, he'll have plenty of momentum going into Florida. And from there, Feb. 5th (Tsunami Tuesday) is straight ahead.

Also of note: Romney actually beat Huckabee by 5 percentage points among evangelicals in Michigan! That's significant.

More to come, but now it's on to Nevada and South Carolina, baby!

Here are the current delegate counts, per CNN, along with popular vote totals:
Romney has 52 (443,943 votes or 37%)
Huckabee has 22 (207,308 votes or 17%)
McCain has 15 (361,546 votes or 30%)
Thompson with 6, Paul with 2, Giuliani and Hunter with 1 each (all under 10%).

Welcome to Michigan Primary Day!

And we hope a dawning of a new day for our guy! Get out there Michiganders and vote for Romney! I'll try to keep up with the news of today and post tidbits here.

Update1 (Noon Mountain): Sounds like snow and somewhat bad weather in Michigan. That often keeps some people from voting. Hard to say what impact that has, other than less-committed voters are more likely to stay home than committed ones, and that could favor Romney simply because if Democrats come out to vote in the Republican primary, they might favor McCain, but those voters may be less invested in the outcome overall and not want to "brave the storm." We'll see. Also of note, Romney's camp feels that the absentee ballots already cast will really favor him, and that won't be affected by today's weather.

Update2 (5:45pm Mountain): I'm reading exit polls that suggest a 5 or 6 point Romney win if they hold. Should get real results announced in about an hour. This could be huge! Nevadans--get ready to caucus Saturday! South Carolinians, give Mitt a boost!

Kevin Garnet's "Mitt Romney!"

Gotta love this...

Campaign Heats Up

Whether or not Romney really is rising in Michigan or not remains to be seen but there are some really hopeful signs. The polls as referenced below are part of it, but also it sounds like he’s seeing bigger crowds and increasing energy on his campaign stops. It’s something, and hopefully this will be a great week.

One brief comment about the overall campaign. Obviously, I’m spending most of my commenting on Romney, with contrast and comparison to other Republicans. I’ve made a few brief comments about the Democrats’ race. At this stage in the campaign season, and particularly THIS crazy campaign season, it’s because things are so uncertain, and well, it’s just in that mano-a-mano combat stage where every little thing might make a difference. So, I’m plugging the guy I see as the best candidate. Once things become a little more clear, we’ll be opening it up more on the Democrat vs. Republican contest.

Now, here’s what it comes down to: if there’s anything you can do to help Mitt in Michigan, please do it. Tuesday is the big vote there. Win or lose, Nevada is up next on Saturday, so all of you Nevadans, now’s your time! South Carolina is also Saturday, though at this point it seems about the only state to date where Romney may not be in the top two, but we shall see.

Latest Michigan Poll: Romney Has Slight Lead

We are getting more polling among Michigan voters finally, and it looks like Romney vs. McCain for the top spot. Most polls show the two within a point of each other, although the latest poll released shows Romney up 30% to 22%, and another poll released today has Romney at 27% and McCain at 22%. That's good news but just means we need that extra effort to bring it through.

Also I've enjoyed several stories about Romney's return to his roots in Michigan. Not only was he born in Michigan but his wife, Ann, was as well. His father of course was governor of Michigan in the 1960s, and the state office building is named after him. Mitt lived in the state until he left on his LDS mission then returned to go to college. I just ran across a story about him running into his 1st grade teacher today.

Now, if Michigan can deliver this big win to Romney--which admittedly will take the full efforts of Romney-backers in the state--it could make the biggest statement yet in the Republican primaries, and provide serious momentum. Tuesday is the big day!

Call from Home

To make calls to Romney's Michigan supporters from home, go to: http://www.mittromney.com/callathome

SC Debate Response

A few brief responses I have to the Republican candidate debate in South Carolina tonight.

(1) Romney was solid with very good answers; he never skipped a beat. It wasn’t a night full of zingers for him, but he continues to impress me as the best overall candidate for the Republicans, including having the most solid issue positions.

(2) I love Fred Thompson. I haven’t said that much, largely because I have thought, and I still think, that he’s just not been able to gain the kind of support needed to win the nomination. But he was awesome tonight. He laid into Huckabee a couple of times, and to a lesser degree McCain, and they were real power punches.

(3) McCain was strong and had solid and knowledgeable answers. He does have that tendency to be somewhat irritable and peevish at times, but that wasn’t overbearing tonight. I like him, and he’s no doubt a strong candidate, but in my reading I think there are some groups of Republicans who are really bothered by some of his past and current positions and as a result I don’t know if he can fully unite the party in the way needed to beat the Democrat in November.

(4) Giuliani was also good. No real negatives in this debate. I just think that the social conservatives in the party have real problems with him, and again I’m not sure of his ability to unite the party.

(5) Huckabee just gives me the impression of not being ready for prime time. He seems out of his league at times…he all too often gives general answers that don’t give the impression of deep understanding. Nice enough demeanor, but I just don’t think he has that aura of credibility and authority that someone who would be president needs. And this is leaving aside the fact that he would deeply divide Republican voters.

(6) Ron Paul was awful. He sounded whiny and lecturing and theoretical rather than real. Huckabee I think at least contributes some nice things to the debate. Paul I didn’t feel contributed anything helpful, and as I say had an annoying manner. In any case, he’s the weakest of the remaining candidates (i.e. those still in these debates).

These debates are good at fleshing out their positions, and they give us helpful impressions of each candidate personally. But they don’t win an election. Mitt Romney will win Michigan because of the support of his supporters. It will be the phone calls on his behalf, the e-mails on his behalf, the discussions, and the donations. It will be his supporters engaging members of the media with e-mails, and engaging other voters on message boards and chat rooms. And when we support him, our being somewhat knowledgeable about his strengths and positions lends credibility to it. If we can convey Mitt’s optimism, intelligence, and strength of leadership, we help him. If we can convey his real passion for working on behalf of all Americans, and convey his deep belief in the importance of families as the foundation of society which anchors his policy issues on health care reform and education reform among other issues…we help him. Every little bit helps. There are 4 days to go then the Michigan primary vote will be a big day. Let’s do what we can!

Mitt's Debate Response on The Economy

A Hero's Welcome Home

The Boston Globe: "GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Mitt Romney got a hero's welcome as he returned to his birth state of Michigan..."

"'Measure me not by what I say, but what I do,' he said, with unusual passion. 'I will fight for Michigan. I will commit to you that if I'm president of the United States, I will not rest if Michigan is in a one-state recession. If I'm president, the one-state recession is over.'"

"Earlier, addressing the crowd in the Gaslight District, Romney recalled being born in Detroit and how his father, the late George Romney, served as Michigan's governor for three terms in the 1960s. His mother, Lenore, also ran for U.S. Senate in Michigan."

"Romney got choked up after shaking hands with one woman in the crowd who mentioned his father."

"'He was a great man and I miss him dearly,' Romney said."

Reading Fundraising Tea Leaves

Not that I'm a fan of tasseography (I learned a new word today!), but since the media wants to judge the strength of candidates based on their current fundraising efforts, consider this. The media was heavily focused yesterday on the fact that Hillary had raised $1.1 million in the 24 hours after she won New Hampshire, and that McCain was bringing in "over $100,000 a day" since his win there. Funny they neglected to notice that Romney has raised over $5 million since the NH vote.

Of course, even $5 million is not much when you are trying to run ads in big states like Michigan, South Carolina, and Nevada at the same time...not to mention the cost of trying to gear up for the Florida primary on the 29th, or the huge Super Tuesday multi-state primary on Feb. 5th. But it is interesting, and is one more reason not to buy into the media take on how things are shaping up.

One more point: a new round of polls are finally out in Michigan, and taking the average, Romney appears to have a small lead right now. It'll be a battle...only 5 days to go, so now's the time to act and do what you can!

Romney on Michigan

Follow this for short article and video of Romney regarding Michigan.

The Media is Insane

One more thought here. The media appears to me to be largely insane right now. Bless their hearts. By this I mean crazy, unconnected to reality. Seriously, if I hear one more "Romney's doomed" or "If he doesn't win Michigan, it's over," I'm going to lose it myself.

Now, if Romney at some point decides he wants to move on from campaigning, that's his right and his business, but at least from what I've seen there's no indication he's thinking that way. But in terms of him being right in the heat of the race...of course he is!

As outlined below, Romney leads the current delegate count. He also leads the total vote tallies, with more total votes so far than any other Republican candidate. He has from all accounts I've seen the strongest overall organization. And he has the resources he needs (though again more would be helpful right now, for him and all the candidates).

The one legitimate danger perhaps in Michigan is that a McCain win would be interpreted as "two in a row and therefore a trend" by the media. But I would see Michigan right now more as an opportunity than a danger zone. He has real strengths in the state to draw on. And a win there truly would be tremendous for Romney, and could really propel him forward.

So let's do this thing!

Spread the word. Romney is the strongest leader, has solid and smart conservative positions, and has the ability to compete toe-to-toe with either Democrat that comes out of this process. He unites the Republican Party where the others will tend to divide it. Make it Michigan!