Romney Has Earned His Spurs - Likely 2012 Presidential Candidate

Interesting happenings at CPAC where Romney came in miles ahead of other potential candidates. Palin skipped out again and Huckabee came humbly low in the results. In Detroit's Free Press, they titled an article, "Time might be right for Romney Presidential Run: Former Michigander maintains presense with book, frequent events", they said:

Many establishment conservatives who once viewed Romney with suspicion
because of his roots in liberal Massachusetts and his past support of abortion
and gay rights have been won over, says Tony Fabrizio, a GOP pollster who ran
the straw poll.
Romney, the son of former Michigan Gov. George W. Romney, is
a native Michigander.
“They view him as one of the party’s elder statesmen,”
Fabrizio says. “They see him as more thoughtful and measured than before, with
nothing to prove. He’s earned his spurs.”

It is nice to remember that Romney is a native Michigander who did a stint in liberal Massachusetts. To me, I like the idea that Romney knows how to work with Democrats - perhaps he will get more done for the American people than Barak Obama who appears unfamilar with the Art of Negotiation.

Hello economists - Mitt Romney already called this crisis

I really couldn't help but laugh at this article title that I read on MSNBC:

Economists point to rising debt as next crisis

The AP makes it sound like this is some brand new crisis rearing its ugly head on the horizon. I find it interesting that this issue was addressed by Mitt Romney during his presidential run in 2008. And I am not the only one that noticed how the top issues today are ones that Mitt Romney could address:

• Hitting budget,s
• Decreasing debt,
• Aligning healthcare incentives to focus on preventive care,
  
• Turning the nation around economically.

The Wall Street Journal has an article titled Romney Emerges as Top Issues Play to His Strengths. I thought this part of the article was most interesting.

And beyond the economy, what are the other big items on the agenda? Well, one is the auto industry, which happens to play nicely to the Romney background as a Michigander and son of an auto-company executive. The other is health care, which tees up Mr. Romney to talk about the health overhaul he led in Massachusetts while that state's governor. All this leads, inevitably enough, to talk of Mr. Romney already emerging as a leading contender for the party's next presidential nomination. Of course, talking about the 2012 presidential race at the midpoint of 2009 is silliness on stilts. Mr. Romney says he doesn't know whether he will run, which is the only sensible thing to say.

I think Mitt Romney could address these issues. Confidence in Romney in 2012.

Latest Presidential Poll Released...

The poll results are in: Mitt Romney 45%, Mike Huckabee 10%, and John McCain 6%.

Barak Obama took in 38%, while John Edwards was close with 36%.

These results were gathered from 300 dentists during the Chicago Dental Society's 143rd Midwinter Meeting. The results indicate Mitt Romney has the best smile of all of the Presidential candidates.

The poll also found that childbirth really was tougher than pulling teeth, and raising teenagers came in a close second.

Read the entire story at United Press International, Poll: Dentists like Romney's smile best

Mitt Romney campaign sends out letter endorsing John McCain

Mitt Romney invites his supports to gather around John McCain for the sake of the GOP.

Dear ,

Thank you for your strong support and dedication to Governor Romney and the campaign. We had such great success in so many states because of all your hard work and the efforts of your team of volunteers. As you may have heard, yesterday Governor Romney endorsed Senator John McCain for President of the United States. The Governor and his family thought long and hard about this decision and feel that it is best for the Republican Party to bring the country together and unit behind one candidate. We need to provide our party with the best opportunity to defeat the Democrats in November.

Below are Governor Romney’s remarks from his press conference with Senator John McCain:

Thank you all very much. And thank you all for joining us on such
short notice.

This isn’t my first joint appearance with Senator John McCain, but it
promises to be one of our more pleasant exchanges.

I am honored today to give my full support to Senator McCain’s candidacy
for President of the United States. Today I am asking my delegates to vote for
Senator McCain.

As you all saw over the past year, things can get rough in a political
campaign. And in the thick of the fight it’s easy to lose sight of your
opponent’s finer qualities. But in the case of Senator John McCain, I
could never quite do that. Even when the contest was close and our
disagreements were debated, the caliber of the man was apparent.

This is a man capable of leading our country at a dangerous hour.
Senator McCain understands the war we are in – the necessity of victory and the
consequences of surrender. For him, national security isn’t just another
item on the agenda. It is the abiding concern and responsibility of our
nation.

This is a man who tied his political fortunes to the fortunes of his
country in a time of war. Such courage is not always rewarded in politics,
but it was this time – and that is a credit to both the man and to the party he
will lead in the election of 2008.

This is a man who has served and suffered for his country. John
McCain’s greatest test was long ago. But the loyalty, and love of country,
and strength of heart that saw him through are still the qualities that define
him. With their rhetoric, our Democratic opponents are very skilled at
striking heroic poses. But with our Republican nominee, we’re going to
offer America the real thing.

I am pleased to introduce a real America hero, the next president of the
United States, Senator John McCain.

It is time for our party to come together by standing behind Senator John McCain for President in order to keep our country prosperous and strong. Thank you once again for your support of our campaign.

When Bowing Out of the Presidential Race is the Responsible Thing

From the Blogometer:

Conservative bloggers were pleased that Mitt Romney endorsed his former rival McCain:

Power Line's Paul Mirengoff: "Romney casts himself in a good light with this move, proving that his personal feelings will not stand in the way of making the decision that's in both his and the nation's interest."

Townhall's Hugh Hewitt: "If you believe Senators Obama and Clinton, they fundamentally fail to understand the consequences of withdrawal in Iraq or the contours of the menace in Iran. Neither appears to grasp the jihadist threat. Senator McCain does. Because Mitt Romney cares deeply about the safety and security of the country, he was certain to endorse Senator McCain. That he did so quickly is a testament to the starkness of the choice facing America, McCain's complete commitment to victory, and Romney's understanding of the stakes."

Commentary's Jennifer Rubin: "On one level, Romney is making good on his pledge to unite the GOP and prevent the Democrats from taking the White House in perilous times. However, he is also amplifying the contrast between himself (high-minded GOP loyalist) with the man who may be his competition in 2012 or 2016, Mike Huckabee."

Mitt Romney Following in the Footsteps of Ronald Reagan

I was asked, by a friend from Tennessee, if I thought Mitt Romney would attempt to become the Governor of Michigan. I thought it was a very good question, of course my response is just conjecture. However, this rumor of Romney running for Michigan Governor can be laid to rest quite quickly by referring to the Michigan Election Laws.

MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW (EXCERPT)
Act 116 of 1954
168.51 Governor or lieutenant governor; eligibility; violation of §38.412a.

Sec. 51.

A person shall not be eligible to the office of governor or lieutenant governor unless the person has attained the age of 30 years and has been a registered and qualified elector in this state for 4 years next preceding his or her election, as provided in section 22 of article 5 of the state constitution of 1963. A person who has been convicted of a violation of section 12a(1) of Act No. 370 of the Public Acts of 1941, being section 38.412a of the Michigan Compiled Laws, shall not be eligible to the office of governor or lieutenant governor for a period of 20 years after the conviction.

Michigan, like most states, has requirements for governors. In this case, they must be at least 30 years old and have been a registered and qualified elector (that means attained residence in the state which can take a year or two) for four years before they run for office.

In the case of Mitt Romney, the Presidential race of 2012 would just arrive when Romney would be able to run for governor of Michigan. I do not see this as a smart move for Mitt Romney.

However, I think we are going to see a lot of Mitt Romney nationally over the next four years. In the Washington Times is an interesting article titled, "Right Wants Romney as Standard-Bearer".

While John McCain was speaking to CPAC and getting the cold shoulder, Mitt Romney who had already addressed the group was now huddled with about 50 conservative leaders discussing how to preserve conservative principles "lowering taxes, limited government and free speech".

The article went on, "The purpose of the meeting was for him to announce his willingness to fight shoulder to shoulder with true conservatives from here on out," said political strategist Paul Erickson, who worked for Mr. Romney"s campaign. "He did just that."

The head of the American Conservative Union expressed surprise and enthusiasm for Mitt Romney leading out on conservative issues. Keene said, "If someone had suggested a year ago and a half ago that we would be welcoming Mitt Romney as a potential leader of the conservative movement, no one would have believed it, but over the last year and a half, he has convinced us he is one of us and walks with us."

I foresee a strong conservative place for Mitt Romney over the coming years.

The Main Stream Media and the Marketing Destruction of Mitt Romney

The main stream media has done a great job hampering, hindering, and slyly biasing the Presidential race in 2008. I offer the following evidence as my observations of media bias against Mitt Romney.

1. Mitt Romney's political strategy was leaked early to the media. Including his thoughts on how he wanted to win the race. The strategy outlined the strengths and weaknesses of both his opponents and himself. This leak allowed the main stream media to have a prepared script months ahead of time for their articles, political punditry, and Romney shots prepared (Romney even noted in this strategy that he may be attacked as a flip-flopper - which the media exploited).
I almost never saw the news media discussing in depth the other candidates’ strategies. This included Romney's campaigning strategy, like which states he was focusing on, where he wanted a strong win and what he was doing. Why is this important? Because the media gave Huckabee, McCain, and other anti-Romney groups specific targets for their calling, mailings and whisper campaigns.

2. Polls were used as a way to get out the vote against Romney. Over and over in states that Romney looked close to winning, the media provided a lot of news coverage that he might be ahead. For instance, in Florida and again in California, polls and pundits made a huge deal that Romney was in the lead. This sly coverage by the media energized groups against Mitt Romney and in some cases lulled some of Romney's supporters from the polls because they thought he had enough votes.

3. The media kept everyone, except for Mitt Romney, within easy click-reach online. This morning (Super Tuesday) when I looked up CNN news, there on the front page with a huge title with the words John McCain picks up key Super Tuesday endorsement. Never mind that the news of this particular endorsement was three days old.

I scrolled down the page further and on the right were eight articles. Four of the articles were about McCain; two were for Huckabee and absolutely NOTHING to be found on Romney. This occurred over and over. Why is this? Straight and simple - it is MONEY! My belief is that the main stream media recognized Romney has a lot of money. They are basically positioning the media coverage to force Romney to spend money. From all the free news conference coverage for Huckabee since Iowa, to the many free articles and news coverage for his digs, dings, and jabs at Romney. The media coverage was not balanced giving many more stories to Huckabee and McCain.

4. The role of Jay Leno, Stephen Colbert, and David Letterman cannot be underestimated. Oh yeah, and don't forget Connan O'Brien (didn't he and Colbert make Huckabee?).

I am deeply disappointed with the major news media outlets. I feel they took away the choice of the American people by presenting the terrible side of Romney and allowing the other candidates to broadcast their attacks for free. I will end here as I might say some cruel things about some specific reporters at specific news outlets.

Mitt Romney says Goodbye to 2008 Presidential Bid

Dear ,

If you have not heard by now, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president. This was not an easy decision for me, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support from the beginning to the point where we are today. We’ve come such a long way, and our hard work together will leave an imprint on the course of history.

As I addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) yesterday in Washington, D.C., I outlined what I know is the right course ahead for our nation – a course based on conservative principles such as individual responsibility, strong faith and values, economic strength with lower taxes and a national defense that will not retreat from the threat of evil extremism.

I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding surrender to terror.

This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and, you, our supporters, have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country.

You can be sure I will continue to stand for conservative principles. I will fight alongside you for all the things we believe in. And one of those things is that we cannot allow the next President of the United States to retreat in the face evil extremism.

It is the common task of each generation – and the burden of liberty – to preserve this country, expand its freedoms and renew its spirit so that its noble past is prologue to its glorious future.
Please stand proud today that you fought for a cause greater than yourself, and please continue to fight to preserve our ideals.

Thank you again so very much.
Mitt

Romney Speaks at CPAC and Suspends Presidential Bid

Lots of people cheering. What an honor to be here. Laura Ingram introduced him. Thanks to talk radio. I love being introduced as the conservative’s conservative. Ann is here and my boys.

Thank you, it was an honor to be here last year. I look forward to joining you many, many more times in the future. Last year CPAC gave me the send off I needed. Nearly 4 million people have given me their support while 4.7 million have given their support to Mr. McCain. Yet he has got more delegates.

Conservative principles are needed more than ever. Or we may become the France of the 20th century. Sharon Perez said, "America is unique. In most wars countries take land, America laid down millions of lives and did not take land after WWII." The strongest ally peace will know and has ever known is a strong America!

That's why we need to face our challenges. Our culture is under attack. Mr. Landis' work traces history. The thing we learn is that the culture makes all the difference economically. Even people that don't believe in God believe in something greater than themselves. Our ideals are the source of the nation’s strength and they always will be.

The threat to our culture comes from within. Liberals attempt to substitute government largesse for individual responsibility. Dependency is the drug that we should fight.

We are at war. Hillary and Obama would retreat and declare defeat. I believe, along with McCain, in doing whatever it takes in Iraq. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.

I hate to lose.

My family, my friends, my supporters across the country, if it was only about me I would go on. But this is not about me, this is about America. I love America and because of that I feel I have to stand aside for our party and our country.

I will continue to stand for conservative principles. We face the burden of liberty. We are dedicated and we will succeed beyond our wildest dreams. I love you.

The crowd was stunned! The next speaker got a few boos by trying to move the CPAC meeting along. They were gracious, however, and the meeting continued.

Thank you Justin Hart for the great close up video.


Full text now available.

UPDATE: I am not too surprised by this. We ended up much lower in the delegate race than we had hoped. If we had over 400 delegates we could have continued, but 270 just wasn't in the running. I think Romney has withdrawn from the race very graciously. He is a great conservative and represents a kind of dignified hope that few Presidential candidates could inspire.

He inspired hope not from his great speaking (he did have some grammatical errors), he inspired hope not from his political skills (he was not a professional politician like others), he inspired hope not from his debate skills (he could look a bit flustered); no, Mitt Romney inspired hope because of his belief in Americans, he inspired the masses because of his faith that the American people are the hope of the world, he inspired hope by calling for America to stand up to the level of its greatness and continue as the strongest nation in the world, Romney inspired hope because of his faith that America is great because of her people and her people are tolerant, generous, strong, and innovative.

Thank you Mitt Romney for inspiring this hope in me.

NYT - Razor Thin Margins Show Nationwide Split or in otherwords PEOPLE VOTE FUNNY

On the Republican side, all of Missouri’s delegates will go to Senator John McCain, under Republican Party rules, but the popular vote looked more like a pie split nearly in thirds.

Mr. McCain, who won 33 percent of the state’s Republicans, finished about 8,500 votes in front of Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, who wound up with 31.5 percent. Not far behind was Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, with 29.3 percent.

Republican voters in Missouri were split over what they saw as the most important issue facing the country, statewide exit polls conducted by Edison/Mitofsky for the National Election Pool showed; 44 percent said the economy was most important, followed by the war in Iraq (20 percent), illegal immigration (18 percent) and terrorism (13 percent).

Republicans who shared certain top concerns also seemed to share preferred candidates. Many who chose illegal immigration said they voted for Mr. Romney, while those who chose the war voted for Mr. McCain, and those who selected terrorism voted for Mr. Huckabee.

Although Republican leaders in Missouri dismissed worries of lasting divisions, saying many voters now seemed ready to unify around Mr. McCain, some spoke of a lingering divide.

“I think frankly Senator McCain will have a challenge,” said Delbert Scott, a Missouri state senator who supported Mr. Huckabee. “People may vote for him, but they won’t bring the neighbors to vote for him.”

My analysis: I agree with Mr. Scott, both Romney and Huckabee supporters would prefer not to vote for McCain. I heard someone say that both the conservative supporters of Romney and Huckabee would cast a ballot for John McCain with a guilty conscious because they know he isn't a true conservative.

Here is the data based on voters top issue:
44% Economy most important - voters didn't seem to vote for a specific candidate based on this issue, which I find surprising. Clearly, Romney would should have swept these voters, yet he didn't.
18% Immigration - voted Romney (Makes sense was endorsed by the candidate that believed in immigration reform the most)
20% War - voted McCain (crashed five planes, spent a lot of years as POW, served on some committees on war)
13% Terrorism - voted Huckabee (can someone please explain what Huckabee has done on Terrorism?)

Now what does this data tell us? Nobody is hurting enough in the economy for them to chose an economic candidate. I guess every voters got a pet issue, kind of fun to see us all muddling through.

Mitt Romney Rap Star with appearance by Ronald Reagan Michigan, Harvard, Brigham Young

My Man Mitt - Ronald Reagan believes in him



Wow, what a wild ride on Super Tuesday. I found myself dodging out of the CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News coverage because of the extreme focus on the analysts, the never ending expounding of points, and selective analyzing of exit polls. I was coming down with a headache from all the non-stop noise.

Then I stumbled across something that really surprised me. I stumbled across PBS of all things. Gone was the ever changing lights, the strange and and shaking camera angles, the dizzying non-stop analysis, the "I've got to sell this program so I can make some money" focus. In short, the stress of watching the news.

The program was called simply Super Tuesday and with a straight camera shot on his face sat Mr. Jim Lehrer of the Newshour. He and his co-hosts, Mr. David Brooks and one other I don't think was Mr. Mark Shields, calmly discussed the 2008 Presidential race. As each state's data became available, Mr. Lehrer politely interrupted the conversation and looking straight at the camera announced the news. It was calm, it was straightforward (it was a hair slower announcing the results compared to the main stream media) but it was thoughtful and provocative. And I was surprised.

This experience reminded me recently that the most fair news I have heard over the last month came from all places, National Public Radio (NPR). They tended not to sensationalize, they gave candidates the opportunity to speak, they weren't disparaging or rude. They also didn't broadcast all the foibles of every candidate and focused more on issues. While I have been frustrated with other news outlets (partially because I recognize they are money making ventures and realizing that Mitt Romney has a bit of money, they have unfairly given free reign to the airwaves for McCain and Huckabee. From Iowa I saw more national news coverage of Mike Huckabee than I ever saw of Romney's ads. Not to mention Ron Paul {I got to include him or I'll get spammed} not getting any media lovin'. I think the media news outlets want Mr. Romney to spend his money on commercials. Of course, this serves two purposes: first, the media outlets make a ton of money, and second, Mr. Huckabee gets to position himself as the dumpster-to-the-White-House candidate).

Anyway, Super Tuesday has taught me a valuable lesson, that frankly I never would have learned otherwise. I came away with a new vision of the cable news media outlets - their approach to news gives me a headache. Hat tip to Mr. Lehrer and colleagues for steady results presented in a calm manner.

Super Tuesday Delegate Count Prediction - whose the winner?

Total Delegate Counts: McCain = 577 Romney = 429 Huckabee = 270

Got these numbers from Red State - read the state by state analysis here.

This site has an excellent analysis of the state by state break down on delegates.

UPDATE: Got this end of day February 6th, 2008
Total Delegate Counts: McCain = 680 Romney = 270 Huckabee = 176 Paul = 16

Looks like McCain and Paul did better than expected. While both Romney and Huckabee underperformed. Got some ground to make up on McCain.

Anyway, with all of the states added up, McCain does look like the front runner, Romney looks great in the midwest and west, and um, Huckabee is a one trick pony, barely got above Romney in the southern states by a half percent.

Romney to Huckabee "No Whining", Giuliani still slams McCain

From CBS News' Scott Conroy: ATLANTA --

Mitt Romney fired back against Mike Huckabee over the former Arkansas governor’s accusation that Mitt Romney has engaged in "voter suppression" in arguing that a vote for Huckabee is a vote for John McCain. “I don't think he's chosen the right word,” Romney said at a press conference after speaking to hundreds of enthusiastic supporters at a rally here. “It's not voter suppression. I want people to vote, but I want them to vote for me. That's sort of the nature of politics, as I understand it.”

In recent days, Romney has avoided responding to Huckabee’s barrage of attacks, as the former Massachusetts governor seeks to portray the nomination fight as a two-man race between himself and McCain. But in his remarks this afternoon, Romney hit back hard. “First a couple of rules in politics,” he said. “One: no whining. And number two: you get them to vote for you and so I want them not to vote for Mike Huckabee and not to vote for John McCain and to vote for me … that’s not voter suppression. That’s known as politics.”

Romney was flanked by former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn. — a prominent conservative advocate who endorsed Romney last week. Santorum stepped to the microphone to make his own case about why Romney is the only choice for voters who want a conservative candidate as the Republican nominee.

“The reason I got in this race is I wanted to make sure a conservative got elected,” Santorum said. “I’ve been saying for a year that it isn’t John McCain. I think more and more people are coming to that conclusion — that it’s not John McCain. The alternative — the only alternative — to stop the McCain ‘Twisted Talk Express’ is Mitt Romney.”

And on a side note: Rudy Giuliani still has this attack up against John McCain on his website.

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA): “We Would Have Had A Much Bigger Tax Cut If It Was Not For John McCain.” (Kathryn Jean Lopez, “A Conservative Case Against McCain,” National Review, article.nationalreview.com, 1/14/08, Accessed 1/18/08)

In His Twenty-Year Senate Career, John McCain Has Voted At Least Fifty-Two Times For Higher Taxes On The American People – That’s More Than Twice A Year.*

McCain Was One Of Only Two Republican Senators To Vote Against President Bush’s 2001 Tax Cuts And One Of Only Three Republican Senators To Vote Against President Bush’s 2003 Tax Cuts. (H.R. 1836, Senate Vote #170, Conference Report Agreed To: 58-33: R 46-2, D 12-31, 5/26/01, McCain Voted Nay; Lori Nitschke and Wendy Boudreau, “Provisions Of The Tax Law,” CQ Weekly, 6/9/01; H.R. 2, Senate Vote #179, Passed 51-49: R 48-3, D 3-45, I 0-1, 5/15/03, McCain Voted Nay; H.R. 2, Senate Vote #196, Conference Report Agreed To 51-50: R 48-3, D 2-46, I 0-1, With Vice President Cheney Casting A “Yea” Vote, 5/23/03, McCain Voted Nay)


Get your thoughts in on the action at Red State they have an open forum right now.

Mitt Romney Humbled to be considered for President

After addressing convention delegates in West Virginia, Romney planned to fly to Massachusetts to vote in his hometown, the Boston suburb of Belmont.

He said he and his wife, Ann, had talked Sunday night about the prospect of walking into the voting booth and seeing his name listed as a candidate for president.
"It's something I would have never imagined," said the 60-year-old, whose late father, former Michigan Gov. George Romney, sought the presidency in 1968.
"I mean, it's an honor, obviously, it's an enormous honor to even be considered as a candidate for president and to know that there will be hundreds of thousands and hopefully millions who will say, `You're the guy we'd like as our next president.' It's a very humbling honor," he added.

Read it here.

On another site, Kyle says comparing John McCain to Mitt Romney:
Romney, on the other hand, has shown a consistency of character. He is affable and engaging publicly and coolly competent behind closed doors. He is never out of his league on any issue and generally is the most capable person in the room. He refrains from making personal attacks and always projects a sense of optimism. This is the kind of personality that I want in the president’s office. Indeed, it seems much better than someone whose temper is never out of reach. Competence is what I want in a president, not a bully.

McCain Nervous, Romney Hopeful, Huckabee Bitter

Republicans spar over economy MSNBC reported the following:

McCain told "Fox News Sunday" he would veto any tax increase passed by a Democratic-controlled Congress. McCain, who opposed President Bush's first two tax cuts, now says Congress should make the reductions permanent, and that there also should be further tax reductions for business investments.

Romney told ABC's "This Week" that McCain "doesn't understand the economy" and that his advocacy of a higher gasoline tax to combat global warming would hurt U.S. consumers.
Romney added, "If we want a party that is indistinguishable from Hillary Clinton on an issue like illegal immigration, we're going to have John McCain as a nominee. That's the wrong way to go."
Romney said he will continue pouring his own money into his campaign, contending that McCain is much better known to most voters.

McCain, who also appeared on "Face the Nation," said he is "far more conservative" than Romney.

McCain later told reporters that despite polls showing him with a 20-point lead over Romney, "I'm incredibly nervous, and I've seen that movie before." Knocking twice on a wooden table in his campaign bus, he said, "a lot of this business is expectation levels, so it's our job to keep our own expectation levels down."

Huckabee said it was time for Romney, who lost major contests in South Carolina and Florida to McCain, to drop out of the race.

"I think it's time for Mitt Romney to step aside," the former governor, who has won only the Iowa caucuses, said on CNN. "If he wants to call it a two-man race, fine. But that makes it John McCain and me."

Update: Republicans consider Mitt Romney the strongest CONSERVATIVE for the Presidential Nomination. Here's hoping for another upset, like the NY Giants over the Patriots.

Conservatives flocking to Romney here are a few sites:
The Problem with John McCain
But, as we learned with former Sen. Bob Dole, the American people want more than a war hero to lead our country. We need somebody who is level-headed on the big issues: immigration, the war against radical Muslim jihadists, (which goes far beyond the “surge”) the economy, taxation, threats of government-run health care, and the man made issue of global warming.

Why I will Not be Voting for John McCain and yes I did invent the term Blogosphere
Here is an example from a commenter named Scott Martin:
"I’m still confused about the intensity of the hatred towards McCain. I know he has bucked the conservative movement on a few occasions but the level of animosity is amazing."
I don’t ipso facto ascribe this sort of response to wilful stupidity or robotic submission to a political party, but I do ascribe it to ignorance. And the cure for ignorance is facts. If you can read the following and still vote for John McCain, fine. But don’t consider that you are doing yourself, your country, or your party any favors.

It's time to unite around Mitt Romney
What's with this mutual admiration society with McCain and the Democrats? They have such high regard for one another because McCain has more in common with the Democrats than he does with conservative Republicans. Democrats like Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton love John McCain because they are on the same team so many times. They have different letters by their names but they hold much in common.
A Vote for Huckabee is a Vote for McCain
How? Like it or not, Huckabee is done. Huckabee does not and will not have the delegates, momentum, or money. Huckabee will probably win Alabama and maybe a couple other states but he will not win the nomination. Most Huckabee supporters probably realize this. If you are one of the few who still thinks that Huckabee can win the nomination, there is probably very little that can persuade you to change your vote. But if you are one of the majority who understands that Huckabee will not win the nomination, please switch your vote to Mitt Romney.

A WIN IN CA WILL HELP MITT ROMNEY Zogby says

Reuters reports on a new Zogby poll on February 4, 2008:

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, led McCain 40 percent to 32 percent in California, where the margin of error was 3.3 percentage points. A win in California, the most populous state, could help puncture McCain's growing momentum in the Republican nomination fight.

McCain won the last two contests, in South Carolina and Florida, to seize the front-runner's slot in a hard-fought Republican race despite qualms among some conservatives about his past views on taxes, immigration and campaign finance.

"Romney is widening his lead in California and has a really big advantage with conservatives," Zogby said. "Romney winning California would give some Republicans pause when they look at McCain as the potential nominee."

Romney said he would cut short a scheduled trip to Georgia and fly back to California on Monday for a last-minute campaign visit.

'A GOOD SHOT'

"People there are taking a real close look at the race and it looks like I've got a good shot there," Romney told reporters.

In Missouri, McCain leads former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee by 35 percent to 27 percent, with Romney in third place at 24 percent. The margin of error was 3.4 percentage points.

"Huckabee and Romney are splitting the anti-McCain vote in states like Missouri," Zogby said.

A trouncing in Maine! Who was blown away by 31%?

John McCain got blown away in the Maine caucus. Even after McCain's supposed momentum from Florida, he was trounced by Mitt Romney. Beat by 31% of the vote!

Results:
Mitt Romney 52%, John McCain 21%, Ron Paul 19%, Mike Huckabee 6%, Thompson 4%

Even Mike Huckabee barely registered, he was back down there by Thompson who kindly dropped out when he realized he was wasting time BEFORE the Maine caucus.

With the win in Maine, Mitt Romney is just 5 delegates behind McCain!

Mitt Romney is electable. Vote Romney 2008!

Victory in Utah for Mitt Romney - A Landslide Win

Five Reasons Jeff Fuller Predicts a Mitt Romney Victory in Utah:

1) Romney lived in Utah recently and saved the state's reputation through turning around the Olympics. Utah voters both saw his amazing leadership/turnaround skills and want to reward him for his service to their state. The key from the exit polls will be to see how non-Mormon Republicans break for Romney . . . I'm predicting that it won't be too different from the LDS percentage . . . and THAT WILL BE THE POINT TO DRIVE HOME.

2) Let's face it, Mormons will vote overwhelmingly for Romney in Utah. We already saw something similar in Nevada where 94% of the LDS GOP caucus goers were for Romney. However, I also detailed in a previous blog that, counting the LDS Democrat caucus goers in NV, the real percentage of LDS choosing Romney was actually 73%. That's still a strong base of support, and an email from my friend helped me understand why this may be:

Maybe this is a false distinction that exists only in my own brain, but I think there's a difference between Huckabee's evangelical support and Mitt's mormon support. I think some evangelicals vote Huckabee not because of his policy or conservative nature but because of his religion. I think there is high support for Romney among Mormons because Mormons are less likely to be suspicious of Romney's mormonism and so are able to back him because of his policies and conservative nature.

I'm sure there are exceptions to that for both Huckabee and Romney supporters. But, basically I sense that religion has prevented objective comparison on the issues, and when such comparison happens, Romney benefits. I thought this was a great point and can be used pre-voting to explain part of why Romney will win Utah so convincingly . . . THAT UTAH REPUBLICANS ARE SO PAST/BEYOND ANY CONCERN WITH VOTING FOR A MORMON THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO VIEW ROMNEY AMONG THE CANDIDATES WITHOUT A FEAR/BIAS (Conscious or not) OF HAVING A MORMON NOMINEE/PRESIDENT. WITHOUT THIS, THEY OBVIOUSLY REALIZE THAT ROMNEY IS, FAR AND AWAY THE BEST CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT!

3) Utah's full of "very conservative" Republicans. Romney has won this demographic by a very wide margin in just about every state so far . . . they'll break in a major way again for Romney in Utah.

4) There will be PLENTY of Mormons voting for Obama or Hillary. We'll have to wait for the exit polling, but this factor will help lessen the "block Mormon vote" criticisms that will be sure to be the main headline out of Utah's primary.

5) If being LDS is enough to clean up in Utah, please show me the poll that ever had Orrin Hatch (a long-time and well-loved UTAH Senator who is LDS) leading in the 2000 GOP race for President in either Utah or Idaho (yeah, I know he dropped out after Iowa, but Romney was leading Utah polls big early and way before Iowa). I think this factor combines nicely with point #2 above . . . that it's not that they're voting for Romney because he's Mormon, it's that they're not freaked out that he IS a Mormon and can view him without that potential bias . . . that Mormons weren't that impressed with Hatch as POTUS material and rejected him on those grounds.

Who is more electable? McCain, Clinton, Obama or Romney?

I just found this awesome website that compares John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama and Mitt Romney - the four main Presidential Candidates. This is incredible detail into who is most electable. Everyone keeps talking about which candidate can beat whom, and which one appeals the most to the American people. This objective analysis was fascinating to me.

There are two spreadsheets so look at both then post your thoughts about who is most electable. You'll need to visit Political Scene 2008 and click on the spreadsheets to see for yourself the data.

Review the Leadership and Electability Indices, then come back and let me know who you think is most electable?

Mitt Romney MA Healthcare Plan Bust Boom or Experiment

I was discussing with a nice person Rosemary about this health plan in MA. Here is my response to a question about the plan.

The health plan in MA is difficult to explain, but I will do my best as I work in health insurance.

I am a student and we recently studied Romney's healthcare idea in my managerial economics class (funny his idea is used to teach economics). Anyway, because the government made a law requiring emergency rooms to provide services to anyone coming through the door (an unfunded government mandate), hospitals raise their rates to earn money to cover this "bad debt/charity care" as they call it. The rise in hospital costs requires insurers to raise the insurance premiums to cover the expected risks. The main idea of insurance is to spread risk across the largest healthy population as possible, thereby decreasing the amount each person needs to contribute (that is why large employers get better insurance rates than individuals and small employers).

Contrary to popular thought that a majority of those without insurance were poor people that could not afford it, an MA study revealed the largest population without health insurance were healthy and wealthy single males who for one reason or another didn’t want insurance because of the common "invincibility complex". Well, in health insurance, the less healthy people in the pool, the higher the cost per person. Thus a small pool of sick persons (with high utilization) will have higher premiums than a large pool with a mix of sick and healthy persons (both high and low utilization). The MA health plan attempted to bring everyone in MA into the insurance pool in order to lower the insurance premiums for everyone. And this has been successful, in that people now pay a lower premium but receive a lot more benefits. MA residents also have increased choices – they can choose between 42 plans (I get to choose between three, how many for you?).

Romney spoke about his Healthcare plan in the last debate (he hasn’t hid from the questions on it). If I remember correctly he said that after he left, the current democratic governor added some things that made the plans more expensive. The new governor raised the minimum coverage benefits which naturally led to a higher price. Some good things have come, for instance, most MA residents can get a health plan worth twice the value at half the price. And MA has reversed the number of uninsured, over 300,000 more people are in the insurance pool.

A disadvantage claimed by some is that the insurance premiums jumped by 12% this last year. However, it should be noted that in 2006 nationaly insurance premiums moved up 7.7% and in 2007 national insurance rates moved up 6.1%. With utilization being the main driver in healthcare costs the 12% represents higher premium costs and a higher utilization of services. The bottomline is that MA is experiencing the baby boom effect - more people are using healthcare services than ever before. Covering more people's procedures requires more money leading to higher insurance premiums. 12% isn't too bad, just talk to those small and large employers that got hit with 18% increases!

On April 11, 2006 Mitt Romney said in the Wall Street Journal with regards to the healthcare plan, "Will it work? I'm optimistic, but time will tell. A great deal will depend on the people who implement the program. Legislative adjustments will surely be needed along the way. One great thing about federalism is that states can innovate, demonstrate and incorporate ideas from one another. Other states will learn from our experience and improve on what we've done. That's the way we'll make health care work for everyone."

Mitt Romney worked with MA to start the experiment on Healthcare - NOBODY else has even come so close to trying. It is an impressive thing, unlike some Senators that have passed no meaningful legislation, Mitt Romney worked with the people of MA and got a plan passed that they liked. On abortions, one of the requirements from the MA legislature was that an oversight group be in charge of the approved benefits (not the governor, not the legislature). Romney signed the law and the committee chose the benefits including the abortion money (what do you expect from a blue state?). Having been a participant in the Healthcare for All Americans forum, I can tell you one major debate is what constitutes "a basic level of care". I personally would not have added abortion to that list and neither would President Mitt Romney (his Presidential Platform is pro-life).

In conclusion, even if this healthcare experiment fails, Mitt Romney has more knowledge and skills to work on the next experiment. With 60% of our entire budget spent on entitlement programs like Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security our biggest savings can be realized by tackling these tough questions. I think Mitt Romney can do the job in a smart efficient way – the guy owes no favors to anybody in Washington and is smart about data.

Anyway, I know it was more than you wanted and I am tired so I’ll have to work on the other one later. Good night.