[Count of Monte Logan]

He is a weaker candidate than John McCain.. that’s true of all the other candidates.

And it’s true that Romney is a drive-by conservative. His conservatism is a means, not an end in itself. He’s more like Christine Todd Whitman in terms of Abortion. I would support him even if he was a moderate.. if he could just be honest and genuine. As a Mormon, he just strikes me as a calculating type person on almost every statement he does.

To that extent.. his position on Iraq fits that. He’s not speaking with conviction.. hedging, checking polls, wondering if he has chosen the right position on an issue to get the nomination.

[muawiyah]

Why is McCain a "strong" candidate? He can't even pull the Republican base ~ and Fur Shur he's not going to attract any Democrats except that hardcore over there who will never vote for a black man.

Think of it this way. You want the Republican base (if you are a Republican) to support you, but if you like to kill babies it doesn't matter how Conservative you are, and if you like to suppress free speech, you don't get the Conservatives either.

The two top media supported candidates have been Giuliani and McCain and neither one of these guys can get the nomination.

[libbylu]

Mitt is not a weaker candidate. McCain looks like he is about to die. Mitt’s numbers are going up everywhere.

[kbennkc]

As a Mormon , he just strikes me as a calculating type person on almost every statement he does .

Is this how all Mormon's strike you ? Maybe they should kick you instead .

[Terpfen]

He is a weaker candidate than John McCain.. that’s true of all the other candidates.

No, it is not. McCain will lose the general election if he is the nominee. His base of support is liberal Republicans and Democrats. Well, in the general election, the Democrats are going to--gasp--vote for the Democrat, and the conservatives won't for him. He'll have a small group of country club Republicans and nothing else. He won't even have the amnesty crowd, because they'll vote Democrat too.

And it’s true that Romney is a drive-by conservative.

No, it is not. By this definition, Reagan was a drive-by conservative. People are allowed to change their views. I can understand being skeptical about the timeline of his changes on a couple of issues, but it's wrong to say Romney is not a conservative.

[madison10]

As a Mormon, he just strikes me as a calculating type person on almost every statement he does.

Are you saying that because he's a Mormon that he's calculating? or are you, as Mormon, noticing that particular fault in Romney?