it is going to be very hard to stop John McCain now. His Florida win makes him the firm front-runner for the GOP nomination. But it isn't over yet. Guliani may be bowing out but Mitt Romney will be in it to the last. For those of you who know little about Mr Mitt, here is what you need to know:
(1). Until 2007 he was the Republican Governor of Massachusetts, one of the most liberal states in the Union. By necessity or conviction, he took some very liberal positions on things like abortion and guns.
(2). In this race, he is running as the only true (and electable) conservative. Now, given (1), you can imagine that this has involved some pretty shameless changes of position. There is no doubt that Mitt wears the most impressive flip-flops in the field. This has helped to create a sense that Mitt lacks an authentic sense of who he is - that he is RoboPrez, programmed to win the nomination by any means necessary. McCain, by contrast, offers the most rugged brand of take-me-or-leave-me authenticity in American politics.
(3). Romney is very rich. His daddy (also a successful politician) was pretty well off. But Mitt started a private equity company and helped turn it into a massively successful business. He is spending much of his fortune on getting elected President, which largely absolves him from the onerous task of raising money, something that all the other candidates have to undertake.
(4). He is good-looking. His wife is also good looking, and so are his five sons and eleven grandchildren, and his dogs. Mitt's hair is famously just so, and his jaw looks as if it was designed with Mount Rushmore in mind.
(5) He's a member of the Mormon Church, which isn't as weird as Scientology, but isn't far off.
(6) Given all these factors, (especially the first four) it will come as little surprise that Mitt is the MLC (Most Loathed Candidate) amongst his Republican rivals. There is an unusual degree of personal vitriol in their references to Mitt, and an unusual degree of disdain in their faces when he speaks during debates.
me, I'd like Mitt to stick around as long as possible. Why? Because of his comedy value. Any candidate that has videos like this and this on his website deserves a long run in the public eye.
also, despite my derision and that of many others, I don't think he would be a bad President. Others may be better, but Mitt wouldn't be a disaster. He is highly intelligent, an excellent manager, and probably - despite his absurdities - a decent guy. His problem has been, he's essentially a get-the-job-done pragmatist who's been running as a conservative ideologue. Hence the authenticity problem.
do I actually think he'll make it to the White House? No. He is stuck with those flip-flops, and they're the only thing about him that doesn't look good.
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