Romney's inevitability - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

MikeWaters · 11-17-2011, 08:14 PM

It must be a bit worrying to Romney and his team that he can't seem to win over any new support in national polls. He holds steady with ~20%, which the rest of the percentage points get redistributed among the other candidates as they cycle in and out.

At what point is Romney, if ever, going to capture the "grown up" GOP vote (if it exists)?

The other side of this coin is that Romney is actually dominating in New Hampshire. To the point that if Romney lost NH or came close to losing it, it would probably be such a shocking turn around that he would most certainly lose the nomination.

Romney still needs some kind of moment, where everything changes. Something that changes peoples' perception of him.

Tex · 11-17-2011, 09:07 PM

I made the mistake years ago of predicting that John McCain would never win the Republican nomination. I really believed the base would never let a guy like that represent the party. But McCain successfully backed into the nomination while other more conservative options knocked each other or themselves out.

I suspect Romney is following the same path. We'll see if it works for him.

He's not my favorite candidate, but I'm not thrilled with the alternatives, so it's a kind of a lesser-of-all-evils question.

MikeWaters · 11-17-2011, 09:28 PM

Who is your favorite candidate?

Cain--his lack of experience along with his lies and incompetence make him a non-starter.

Perry--corrupt cronyism and embarrassing stupidity and ignorance.

Santorum--if we ever elected someone this snide and sneering, this unlikable, it would be the end of America.

Paul--as an ideologue, he is just too inflexible for reasonable folks to imagine him being the President. His foreign policy ideas are an example of this.

Gingrich--he's smart, but he always seems to be one step away from some kind of disastrous move or decision. Temperament is an important question with him. Not to mention all the insider business he has profited from over the years.

Bachmann--I had originally lumped her in with Palin, as an idiot. But she is very different than Palin. She is smart (at least compared to my preconceived notions of her). The dealbreaker with her is that like Cain, she doesn't have the skins on the wall. Too inexperienced. And also too prone to throw out red meat.

Romney--which is also the criticism on him. Too much red meat for convenience. But he is much more nuanced about it. Unflappable in fact. He says conservative things, but has a credibility gap. But what he has going for him is that he is vetted, and can actually communicate.

Huntsman--has done a very poor job articulating his reason for running for president. What does he stand for? He's actually run to the left of his record, in some ways. He has no natural constituency. But to his credit, he has been a "grown up" among this field. The lack of name recognition and GOP bonafides makes him a 2016 contender, not a 2012 one.

I'm trying to imagine who Tex's favorite is. It can't be Huntsman. Gingrich or Paul?

If it's Perry or Cain, for shame.

Tex · 11-18-2011, 03:03 PM

At this point my support goes reluctantly to Romney.

MikeWaters · 11-19-2011, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tex

At this point my support goes reluctantly to Romney.

there's not much in the way of reasonably good choices.

THere are many things I don't agree with Romney on. But at least he does his homework and his half-way grown up.

11-17-2011, 08:14 PM	#1
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	Romney's inevitability It must be a bit worrying to Romney and his team that he can't seem to win over any new support in national polls. He holds steady with ~20%, which the rest of the percentage points get redistributed among the other candidates as they cycle in and out. At what point is Romney, if ever, going to capture the "grown up" GOP vote (if it exists)? The other side of this coin is that Romney is actually dominating in New Hampshire. To the point that if Romney lost NH or came close to losing it, it would probably be such a shocking turn around that he would most certainly lose the nomination. Romney still needs some kind of moment, where everything changes. Something that changes peoples' perception of him.

11-17-2011, 09:07 PM	#2
Tex Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 8,596	I made the mistake years ago of predicting that John McCain would never win the Republican nomination. I really believed the base would never let a guy like that represent the party. But McCain successfully backed into the nomination while other more conservative options knocked each other or themselves out. I suspect Romney is following the same path. We'll see if it works for him. He's not my favorite candidate, but I'm not thrilled with the alternatives, so it's a kind of a lesser-of-all-evils question. __________________ "Have we been commanded not to call a prophet an insular racist? Link?" "And yes, [2010] is a very good year to be a Democrat. Perhaps the best year in decades ..." - Cali Coug "Oh dear, granny, what a long tail our puss has got." - Brigham Young

11-18-2011, 03:03 PM	#4
Tex Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 8,596	At this point my support goes reluctantly to Romney. __________________ "Have we been commanded not to call a prophet an insular racist? Link?" "And yes, [2010] is a very good year to be a Democrat. Perhaps the best year in decades ..." - Cali Coug "Oh dear, granny, what a long tail our puss has got." - Brigham Young

11-17-2011, 09:28 PM	#3
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	Who is your favorite candidate? Cain--his lack of experience along with his lies and incompetence make him a non-starter. Perry--corrupt cronyism and embarrassing stupidity and ignorance. Santorum--if we ever elected someone this snide and sneering, this unlikable, it would be the end of America. Paul--as an ideologue, he is just too inflexible for reasonable folks to imagine him being the President. His foreign policy ideas are an example of this. Gingrich--he's smart, but he always seems to be one step away from some kind of disastrous move or decision. Temperament is an important question with him. Not to mention all the insider business he has profited from over the years. Bachmann--I had originally lumped her in with Palin, as an idiot. But she is very different than Palin. She is smart (at least compared to my preconceived notions of her). The dealbreaker with her is that like Cain, she doesn't have the skins on the wall. Too inexperienced. And also too prone to throw out red meat. Romney--which is also the criticism on him. Too much red meat for convenience. But he is much more nuanced about it. Unflappable in fact. He says conservative things, but has a credibility gap. But what he has going for him is that he is vetted, and can actually communicate. Huntsman--has done a very poor job articulating his reason for running for president. What does he stand for? He's actually run to the left of his record, in some ways. He has no natural constituency. But to his credit, he has been a "grown up" among this field. The lack of name recognition and GOP bonafides makes him a 2016 contender, not a 2012 one. I'm trying to imagine who Tex's favorite is. It can't be Huntsman. Gingrich or Paul? If it's Perry or Cain, for shame.