[padre35]

IMO, Mitt lost because Conservatives did not realize just how this cycle was going to turn out, we sort of thought Fred could win, maybe...kind of...when Fred didn’t win in SC, we were taken aback, then McCain won FL and we got serious, but it was too late by then.

Mitt spent piles of his own money and showed alot more heart then I thought he had, but time caught him.

As well as Huck splitting the vote, we were facing a stacked deck this time around, Huck ran flack for McCain, and McCain has such name recognition that he started with a huge advantage.

Bottom line though, we were sleeping this time around.

[UCFRoadWarrior]

So...we now have a candidate who works w Massachusetts Sen Ted Kennedy....instead of someone merely living in the same state as Kennedy...

The GOP is doomed

[IMissPresidentReagan]

I agree with your analysis. You would think that McCain’s name recognition would hurt him, seeing as how conservatives rarely mention it in good light, but alas, I’m left scratching my head at why Republicans believe what CNN feeds them.

[LibLieSlayer]

Indies and lib dims dominated the GOP primaries through Florida. Conservatives were divided just enough to allow dims and indies to dominate. In Florida, mcinsane won by 5% but 20% of his vote came from “independents”. This was a calculated plan to isolate and marginalize Conservatives. It worked short term but will cost the Party everything it has left. The Republicrat Party is bankrupt... both morally and ideologically.

LLS

[AmericaUnited]

IMO, Mitt lost because Conservatives did not realize just how this cycle was going to turn out,

True... he was Satan Incarnate and then he "magically" morphed into a "better of the evils" Jesus by the same people who swear they will never vote that way.

[Jim Robinson]

A Massachusetts liberal should never have been in the race. Same for a New York liberal. And there’s no way in hell either of them should ever had obtained front runner status. Same goes for the turncoat insane shamnesty dude from Arizona. The Republican poll responders and supporters that elevated these guys are nuts! They should have been disqualified and rejected immediately per their public records. Nothing but an expensive exercise in futility. Unfortunately, no lessons will have been learned.

[mbynack]

Romney lost because he’s a hypocrite. If we could have ignored what he did and said as the Governor of Taxachusetts he would have been a good candidate. Unfortunately he had a public record that showed his true colors.

[ThePythonicCow]

McCain has such name recognition

We're playing ice hockey here, not football or baseball.

McCain was the veteran hockey player. The well funded football player and the naturally gifted baseball player had no chance.

The camera crew the national media, are biased, heavily left. And his hometown crowd, the Washington Senators, are also biased left. McCain knows that, and has played left for a long time, either because he's a natural lefty (I hope not so much) or because he's a (very) seasoned player, and knows how to win, even when it's ugly.

[libstripper]

It looks to me a lot like Mitt needs some time in the wilderness establishing his brand and becoming accepted as a true conservative by those of us whom he will have to inspire to work for and contribute to him. That's not impossible; Reagan did it after he lost in 1976. Once Mitt spends four years traveling around the country, washing the stink of Massachussets off himself, writing, and establishing himself as a real conservative leader, he'll end up with enough support to be the legitimate conservative leader and make a really strong run for the presidency in 2012 or 2016.

[CDHart]

Also we have a really stupid primary system. It needs to be revamped or something. Hardly anyone has voted yet, and now we're stuck with McCain? Something wrong there.

Carolyn

[Edit35]

Mitt lost because Conservatives did not realize..

Mitt is like a lot of intellectual conservatives.

In his heart he is a family values conservative, but in public he sometimes feels the need to pander to make himself seem more "accepting" of the liberal culture.

I fully believe that is why he made some of those pandering comments in 1994 while running against Ted Kennedy, and again in 2002.

He didn't want to seem like an intractable conservative, even though those hard core moral values are the essence of his soul.

Mitt needed time to get some national exposure, and he got eaten by the wolves.

Sad to see. the man has so much potential.