Posted on 01/30/2008 10:02:49 AM PST by jdm
In the wake of the loss in Florida yesterday, Mitt Romney needs to focus on tonight's debate to break out as the conservative choice for the nomination. John McCain has taken leads in significant Super Tuesday states, and tonight will be the last national audience for all of the remaining candidates before 21 states go to the polls or the caucuses. Romney has to ignite conservatives and make this a binary race across a clear ideological line.
Some feel that the moment has already passed. Writers at The Corner and Dick Morris have resigned themselves to a Romney loss before more than 10% of the necessary delegates have been won. Others, like my friend and indefatigable Romney supporter Hugh Hewitt, argue that the numbers show that no one can win next week. The truth lies in between, as Hugh has the numbers correct but avoids acknowledging the role momentum plays.
Romney has one big advantage, but it will only be an advantage this week. He has better organizational strength and more resources. He can be more places at the same time as John McCain, which makes a difference when 21 states hold their contests on the same day. He can get his message across to more people simultaneously after this debate, and do it more often. After February 5th, that becomes far less necessary as we go back to a series of one- or two-state primary dates that stretches into April, when Pennsylvania goes to the polls.
If Romney wants to build momentum and define the race in binary conservative vs moderate terms, he has to start tonight and get aggressively positive about his credentials. He has only a few days in which he can crowd McCain out of the messaging. If he can't do that tonight and for the next five days, he will have little chance of prevailing, especially if McCain takes a big delegate lead next week.
What does McCain need to do? He needs to reach out to conservatives. He started last night with a gracious victory speech, but he needs to address the real and honest concerns on policy that conservatives still have with McCain. They need to see McCain promise to go after the Democrats with the same fervor that he went after Republicans over the years, and he has to convince them that he won't go back on his word on border security and tax cuts. After this debate, he has to make a significant outreach effort, and CPAC would be the best place to do this.
What Romney needs to do is bow out. He can’t win and he’s keeping votes from the only true social conservative Huckabee.
Someone needs to tell Huckabutt to take his jowls and go home.
A waste of time. Might pick up a few fools on the margin, but that's all. I'll vote for McCain against Hillary or Obama, but it won't be due to some phony overture.
Go Mitt go.. Git-’R-Done.
Romney's entire campaign is hyberbole.
Why would I trust anything McCain says now? I would vote for B. Husseing Obama before I vote for McCain. I would rather have a socialist democrat get blamed for economic woes than a socialist republican.
Romney is THE ONLY ONE LEFT that can defeat Hillary Clinton...
I’d like to see a VICTORY, not a pyrrhic victory.
McCain means SURE DEFEAT...
Hussein..not Husseing. Oops.
Ask McCain if he would like to fly on his jet like he did Charles Keating’s....
He has to out Shamnesty McCain’s “hispanic outreach” director Reconquista Hernandez.
What we will see tonight is the Mitt/Mac show. RP and Huckster will be garnish and irrelevant.
He needs to bring up the NYT story McCain got spiked, and frame it within the first amendment and then slam McCain-Feingold. Put doubt in the voters mind as to this story that was spiked.
You mean Mike “Open Borders for Jesus” Huckabee? The nanny stater that wants to ban smoking nationwide? The guy from Tyson Foods? Taxing junk food? Change the constitution? Hahahahaha! You’re killin’ me!!
McCain has far too long a history of kicking sand into the eyes of conservatives to win them over with with platitudes or promises. Who believes him when he says he was not for amnesty, for instance or who trusts him to be for free speech after McCain-Feingold?
Where is your LOLOL - you forgot to included it.
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