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Gerald Herbert / AP
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Rockford, Mich., Monday, Feb. 27, 2012.
High stakes in tomorrow’s Michigan GOP primary… A rough last 72 hours for both Santorum and Romney: Santorum the culture warrior, and Romney steps in it -- again… Even Romney’s supporters are now making excuses for him… Brewer endorses Romney, while Santorum gets Secret Service protection… A tale of two VERY different national polls… And polling two Super Tuesday states.
*** High stakes: This is shaping up to be a significant week in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. If Mitt Romney wins tomorrow’s Michigan primary (even by a point), he will remain on track to becoming his party’s nominee. It still won’t be easy, he still will have a challenge in next week’s Super Tuesday contests, and he still continues to create problems for himself (see below). But a win in Michigan means he’ll probably be President Obama’s general-election opponent in November. (How formidable he’ll be against Obama is an entirely different question.) Yet a loss in Michigan would be DEVASTATING to his candidacy, given all of his advantages in the state and given all the mistakes Rick Santorum has made in the last several days. More importantly, a loss in Michigan would send the GOP establishment into a panic, would lay the groundwork for another candidacy, and would introduce chaos in the Republican race beyond anything we’ve seen yet. Bottom line: A lot is riding on tomorrow’s outcome in Michigan. And for what it’s worth, it does appear Romney is on the right track.
*** Santorum the culture warrior: As it turns out, both Romney and Santorum have had a rough last 72 hours heading into tomorrow’s primaries in Michigan and Arizona. We’ll start first with Santorum, who just can’t seem to stay on message and keeps finding himself entering the culture wars. The Washington Post: “In back-to-back speeches over the weekend, the candidate described President Obama as ‘a snob’ for focusing on the importance of a college education and disparaged the idea of a separation between church and state by attacking President John F. Kennedy, who made it a key point in his 1960 campaign.” We know these things won’t help him in a general-election contest. The only question is whether they hurt him with the GOP base he’s trying to court. These issues are catnip for the press corps, and Santorum loves to litigate them; in fact, while he claims to be the one wanting to focus on economic issues, nothing animates him more as a candidate than debating the culture wars. That passion comes through and may actually help him with SOME segments of the GOP electorate but it clearly turns off others.
Top Talkers: The Arizona and Michigan primaries are this Tuesday, and Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are making their final pushes in the states. But will Romney's comment about knowing NASCAR team owners hurt him? Or what about Rick Santorum's suggestion that President Obama is a "snob" for wanting Americans to attend college?
*** Romney steps in it – again: As for Romney, his campaign was ridiculed for giving a speech to 1,200 folks in a 65,000-seat football stadium on Friday. Then, in that speech, the candidate admitted -- unprompted -- that his wife owns two Cadillacs in addition to the cars he owns. And then yesterday, he was asked at the Daytona 500 if he follows the sport. His answer, per the AP: "Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans. But I have some friends who are NASCAR team owners." Ouch. (In fairness, the NASCAR flub is not nearly as bad as the Cadillac one, but it does feed a bad narrative for him.) On FOX yesterday, Romney responded to criticism that comments like his “Cadillacs” one makes him seem out of touch. “If people think there’s something wrong with being successful in America, then they better vote for the other guy,” he said. “Because I’ve been extraordinarily successful, and I want to use that success and that know-how to help the American people.” But the problems his gaffes present go beyond his wealth. They 1) make it seem like he can’t relate to average Americans, and 2) underscore that his economic policies benefit the wealthy more than the middle class. In 1992 during a down economy, Bill Clinton was able to beat George H.W. Bush in large part because he convinced voters he could feel their pain. But could the same be said of Romney?
*** With friends like these… : Already, people are beginning to make excuses for Romney. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) says that Romney has a “CEO” problem. "I think some people look at him as a CEO," McDonnell told reporters during the National Governors Association meeting in DC, per the L.A. Times. "People right now want to have somebody that truly just feels their pain and empathizes with what they're going through in this horrible, horrible economy." And on “Meet the Press” yesterday, conservative columnist Kathleen Parker put it another way: He’s a good doctor but with poor bedside manners. These two are either folks who have endorsed Romney or who are sympathetic to his candidacy, and this is the best they can come up with? We’ll make a final point about Romney: Every presidential candidate does what it takes to win, but the successful ones don’t LOOK like they’re doing it. But for Romney, there has been no subtlety to his ambition; he wants this in the worst way and he’s going about winning it in, well, “the worst way” he could be winning it (if he indeed ends up winning it).
*** Brewer endorses Romney, Santorum gets Secret Service protection: Over the weekend however, Romney did get this good news: He picked up an endorsement from Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) during her appearance on “Meet the Press” yesterday. “I have decided that I am going to publicly endorse Mitt Romney. I think he's the man that can carry the day,” Brewer said, per MSNBC.com’s Mike O’Brien. “I think Mitt is by far the person who can go in and win.” Meanwhile, NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reported yesterday Santorum will get Secret Service protection starting today.
*** A tale of two polls: There are two polls out today that tell VERY DIFFERENT stories. A Politico/GW/Battleground poll has Obama’s approval rating at 53%, and it shows him topping both Romney (53%-43%) and Santorum (53%-42%). But a new USA Today/Gallup survey has Obama and Romney tied at 47% each, and with Romney edging Obama in the swing states, 48%-46%. We’ll say this: Either Gallup is seeing something that no one else is seeing right now (NBC/WSJ, WaPo/ABC, NYT/CBS), or its methodology is understating Obama’s support and inflating the GOP’s. This isn’t the first time this cycle where Gallup has looked different from the other major national polls.
*** Polling the Super Tuesday states: Meanwhile, looking ahead to Super Tuesday, a new Vanderbilt/Princeton Survey poll shows Santorum leading Romney among registered GOP voters in Tennessee 33%-17%, with Paul at 13% and Gingrich just at 10%. That’s something to watch for next week: How does Santorum fare in the southern states (TN, OK, GA), and how does Gingrich fare? And in another Super Tuesday state -- Ohio -- a new Quinnipiac poll shows Santorum leading Romney among likely GOP voters, 36%-29%. Of course, all of these numbers could change depending on how the results of Michigan play tomorrow.
*** On the trail: Almost all of the action is Michigan: Romney holds rallies in Rockford, Albion, and (with special musical guest -- Kid Rock perhaps?) Royal Oak… Santorum hits Livonia, Lansing, and Kalamazoo… And Paul’s in Detroit, East Lansing, and Dearborn… And Gingrich campaigns in Tennessee, where he visits Nashville.
Countdown to Arizona and Michigan primaries: 1 day
Countdown to Super Tuesday: 8 days
Countdown to Election Day: 253 days
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Leave a Comment:
How could I possibly vote for Mitt's rivals for pres? After watching Mitt's ads on TV, I know they all REALLY suck big time
QUOTE: . More importantly, a loss in Michigan would send the GOP establishment into a panic
Good. After 30 years of downgrading our educational system, letting big business run wild, standing in the way of scientific research, conducting pointless wars, and supporting propaganda in the press, the GOP deserves to be in a panic. Hope Santorum wins big.
Just how many "home" states does Willard have?
Why, do you only own one house?
I own only one house and it isn't a beachfront mansion in La Jolla, CA....
But mr grover, the gop, & the rushbo said the auto bailout was wrong and even after gm has regained its #1 spot, will tell you that they would not do it again. But romney likes michgan. The trees are the right height, the lakes are the right color and size. Whose to say.
Santorum can not stop claiming piety . Lets see if it does him any good . The priest president scares the hell out of me . Enforcement of religion is not American . How anybody can take this guy for real is just amazing . Romney has a lot of kissing up to do if he thinks he can just shrug off his comments on the auto industry . Cars are the unifying factor in Mi . Advocating the killing of the auto industry is not good politics here ,even when you temper it with "kill the unions " for the RWNJ crowd .
No one takes Santorum seriously. The problem is that the Republicans have run out of Not-Romney options. Sure they could always double back and try taking another run at Gingrich, but there is always the possibility that if people dig to deep into his record that he could be in jail before the November elections.
So the Republicans are left with the Rick "Burn the Witch" Santorum.
The only hope that the Republicans have in 2012 is that they get a brokered convention and can convince someone people will actually vote for to run for president.
Perhaps a snake handling contest can settle this so the GOP can get on with it. I can picture them all passing a rattlesnake between them to see what's what
daily "air cover" articles for Obama from the lefty MSNBC...no surprise here!
Paul = absolutely no contest . . . complete loser.
Santorum = not-a-chance-in-hell winner . . . total loser.
Romney = Total rich and out-of-touch loser but winner of the GOP nomination, guaranteeing a easy land-slide victory for Obama!
The reboolicans would be well served putting in their applications for employment at McDonald's early . . . they're gonna need some kind of employment after November.
Gingrich wasn't even worthy of an honorable mention . . . purposely left out!
I did like his colonization of the moon theory though . . . would have been a great place to establish "Gingrichville, population 1. Let him entertain himself digging around on the moon for as long as his marginally obese body can sustain him. lol
The moon colony idea has been around for decades as part of the plan to go to Mars. NASA has had the plans for so long they are on the umpteenth revision due to advancing technology. They just need the money to make it happen. Unfortunately for the future of scientific exploration it is hard to justify such expenditures in hard economic times.
It's Gingrich's thought that we could claim the moon as our 51st state that is way off base. We agreed way back when we did the Apollo program that we would not claim the moon for ourselves but share it with the rest of the world.
Are you kidding me that lunatic Santorum is now receiving my tax dollar paid secret service. That is just pathetic.
Then they better get on rigging the crap out of it. I love how little old Ron Paul scares the pants off these people.
GALLUP this !!! My ASS !!!
GALLOP it out of existence ?? Let anyone who wants to RUN for office SHOW UP ON the BALLOTS FOR VOTE !!!
That way you have a CHOICE !!!! The one with the highest vote count gets elected.
YES this currant system shows real Democracy ! Hogwash! it is the American version of Communism !!
Iran knows chess well. When somebody bluffs, preempt, JUST in case. Take the oil embargo Europe scheduled for this summer for example,. So if the GOP gets elected it's time to take out a carrier in self defense. Otherwise they get bombed at will , just like Iraq was
I'm a Democrat that's pulling for Santorum... Come on Lil' Ricky!!!
I can't wait until the GOP establishment is performing Hari Kari Wednesday morning... ;-)
ME TOO!
:)
Mitts wife owns two Cadillacs. Must be Bain perk gathered from employee retirement funds
Yo Mitt, its very hard filling up 65,000 seat ask Mccain and Palin whew!!...Even Justin Beaver is gonna have some hard time trying to fill up that stadium..Not to talk about you and your Mormon cult members.
I found this sentence in the story intriguing ~ "if Romney wins, even by a point." That doesn't suggest much strength to carry forward to November. Frankly, I hope Mitt does win Michigan ~ and every other contest he is entered in. My reasoning is that anything ~ anything at all ~ that can deflate the sanctimonious Santorum has to be good for the country. This guy scares the Hell out of me
Santorum scares a lot of us. The problem is we don't want Romney either.
I'm pulling for a brokered convention and the Republicans convincing someone actually worth voting for to run for president. Sure they would be starting a major disadvantage but I'm sure the Super PAC's would make up for the late entry dark horse candidate in no time. They do have unlimited resources and no limitations.
Santorum is dangerous,. He brough that dead baby home so his children could bond with it. Please!
Then he said that birth control is danerous for a woman. Having several children might be just as dangerous. And the woman who can't afford those children, she should go on welfare to support them. Great idea - send your unwanted childrem to Rick. He seems to have plenty of money.
His next thing might just be to remove the right to vote from women. don't snicker, he's gonna say it one day and then half the population of the united states will crucify him
The Donald Trump is 100 times better a Bussiness man than Myth Robme and i wouldn't vote for Trump If he ever ran for anything, let alone vote for Robme. Sanitorium isn't qualified for President either. That leaves Newt And Paul. My vote is Paul but even Newt would be a great choice.
Myth Robme will say anything to be President. I don't trust him. Period. He's out of touch with americans. His wife drives "several" Cadillacs, ( his own words ) and he's not worried about all the poor people because the poor have a safety net ! Yeah, some safety net Myth. Lets see you live that way. Oh, but you have $10,000 to throw on bets so how would you ever really know about poor people or even middle income folks ? You don't.
Make your vote really count people. Don't waste it on another fool that doesn't care or understand how things are in this countrylike we've had for the last 11 years now. Vote Ron Paul.
Actually it was "my wife drives a couple of Cadillacs"
Let's get "The Donald" back in the race! Great PLAN!!
Yeah, since he always talks about himself in the 3rd person - why not run as a third party candidate... ;-)
"Jimmy likes Elaine..., Jimmy thinks Elaine is hot!!!"
LOL!!
A Mitt the "Morpher" loss in Michigan would be a GOD send to the GOP establishment. Maybe, just maybe they would realize, that it's the PEOPLE'S job to pick the candidate, not a bunch of washed up political hacks like Carl Rove. No more Moderate RINO'S Ever!
The "inevitable nominee" for the GOP: A chicken hawk (Mittins dodged the war in Vietnam and took up residence in a CASTLE in FRANCE whilst spreading his cult's message and, incredulously, supporting the war, a war that claimed the lives of thousands of valiant American men -- from largely middle class and poor familes -- men who were essentially sent in floods to die.), multimillionaire Morman cultist who believes that he will one day attain godhood and populate his own world with his spirit babies, that Jesus Christ and Satan are twin brothers, and who wears magic underwear, etc. Bye-bye, GOP. You just lost your last ounce of credibility as the party that was supposedly the champion of Christianity and morality. What a joke. And people are calling President Obama the anti-Christ! What! Notice that no one is even mentioning what the cult of Morman believes in and why they are NOT Christians or Catholics. They are an absolutely heretical cult by every definition. SHEEP. "Baa-Baa."
Mitt Romney’s own words:
"Let Detroit Go Bankrupt."
"I don't care about very poor people."
"Corporations are people! Of course they are!"
"I like to be able to fire people."
"$10,000 bet??"
"Ann drives a couple Cadillacs, actually."
Romney will win Michigan
Romney will be the Republican nominee
Romney will become President
What the Democrats and the President are fatally mistaking is the mood of the public when they are going to be paying almost $6 a gallon for gas each time they fill up on a weekly basis. This will happen around the summer time when the nominee would have been decided so all the nonsense that is going on now will be irrelevant.
The pain at the pump will be a powerful enough a message that things are wrong and the Average American (not the media types, the bloggers and reporters) will think Romney deserves a chance.
JAMES: Yawn. Sure, whatever.
Beleive it or not, there are many Americans who have concerns far greater than the cost of gas or even think that the president, any president can do a damn thing to control the price of gas. Every president since Nixon has pontificated about it and yet non have given it anything more than lip service.
Don't break out the champagne just yet, sonny, given the trajectory that your party of losers is on, they may completely implode by convention time.
Willard: "I love cars, I have lot's of friends who own NASCAR teams". A true man of the people. LOL
Sure, the "pain at the pump" will be enough to guarantee a win for the GOP candidate. That's a lot like the GOP strategy earlier that "President Obama is so bad any Republican can beat him." Now that strategy is out the window as responsible Republicans (yes, there are some) realize beating Obama won't be a cakewalk.
When gas prices went up to $4.00 a gallon under President Bush, we had GOP members of Congress telling us that the President can't control the price of gasoline. Those video clips and stories have already been dug up are are waiting to be used by the Dems if need be.
James, you maybe correct on the gas price, but most people realize it's not the Presidents fault. And before election time, the price of gas will drop. And people will vote for Obama.
Can you name any group of people, outside the GOP base, that the clowns running haven't slighted in some way? Women=Obama, Independents=Obama, younger generation=Obama, minoritys=Obama, Demo's=Obama, some GOPers=Obama. The GOP base=LOST.
The race for the GOP Presidential nomination is now on par with Comedy Central. There appears to be absolutely no adult leadership in the Republican Party. If this weren't a process to select someone who might one day be our President, it would be laughable.
The gop really CANTOR get their $hit together,it's like they have a broken Boehner or something !! But that PALIN'S in comparison to the TRUMP card they may yet play..it will take several breath DeMints to get that taste out of their mouth. Maybe we should just NEWTER them all and stick em' in a SANITORIUM...that should get them off of our BACKMAN !!!...if all else fails...send in the DICK ARMY !!!!
COWBOY: I like it!!!! LOL funny
This isn't news, but the media trying to put a spin on something to improve there ratings. If the GOP does indeed put Rick up before Romney there fools and it shows I was right to leave the party.. Religious extremes being used to push social agenda's...is not what this country need, and Obama 2012 if that is the case.
Welcome to the DARK side "we".....OBAMA 2012 !!!
LOL!!!!!!
Fight fire with fire and have the Govt. build houses , replacing ONLY the banks in the process. Once built, sell them at cost, at 3% for the Treasury and repeat. SELF EMPLOYMENT Jobs galore created and PLENTY of trickle down cash -- AND tax revenue as result- to go around. Existing unsold houses? Rent them or let the Lower Class buy them as starter homes as the economy gets rolling again
How are jobs galore created? There is only a finite about of peopel wanting to buy new homes? I understand the renting of houses, but my guess is that they probably can't afford to buy the home if htey are in the "lower class".
Simple. The people getting the trickle down cash become new customers, and the price on antiquated houses drops so much the lower class CAN afford them