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Thingish Things

Is God Smiling on Mitt Romney?

Written By: William F. B. O'Reilly - Nov• 27•11

I think God may be smiling on Mitt Romney. It may not look like it today — the day Newt Gingrich bagged the Manchester Union Leader endorsement — but I think I see the crack of a divine grin breaking through the big white puffies up above.

The last thing anyone wants to be in a presidential primary is the clear front runner. Front runners are media targets. They are the focus of every other campaign.  And when they go down, they often fail to get up (Ask Ted Kennedy’s, Gary Hart’s, and Howard Dean’s campaign teams.) But somehow, throughout this GOP presidential primary roller-coaster ride, Mitt Romney has managed to remain the front runner without being the focus of attention.  That’s a neat trick.

Romney has consistently held around 22-24 of the national GOP primary vote in a field of more than seven.  And throughout the months, his opponents have managed to take turns attracting the national spotlight for a few weeks — and then fading, leaving Romney in the lead again, largely unscathed and with low negatives among the general electorate.  First there was Mike Huckabee, who chose not to run; then Michele Bachmann; then Rick Perry; then Herman Cain, and now it’s Newt Gingrich starring as the conservative dark horse candidate to nip Governor Romney at the wire.

But it’s only a matter of time before Newt Gingrich blows it. He’s famously arrogant and intellectually undisciplined, which is why National Review’s Jonah Goldberg warns him today to accept the Union Leader endorsement with a dose of humility.  The smart money says that won’t happen. It always wagers that the leopard will remain spotted.

Newt’s sudden surge in the polls is timed perfectly for Romney, if his good luck holds out. The first primary voting begins in fewer than two months, and Newt should be able to survive at least a few weeks in the media spotlight — freezing every other dark horse candidate in place. When he falters — and his track record strongly suggests he will — there will be no other viable choice in the GOP field but Mitt.  And watch how quickly conservatives get in line then. 

The last bump in the road between Mitt Romney at the GOP Convention stage in Tampa is Newt Gingrich. Could central casting mortals have done better? 

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2 Comments

  1. Jed says:

    Mitt 2012!!!

  2. […] Earl of Pomposity generously assumed frontrunner status in the final weeks of the Iowa Caucuses, freezing the rest of the GOP field in place before […]

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