The Sunshine Empire

In the winter of 1992, then Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton found his way back to second place in the New Hampshire primary. He’d climbed back from the brink of oblivion after revelations of marital misconduct and declared himself that night, “The Comeback Kid.” Last night former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney came back from behind to beat former Senator Rick Santorum and again staved off talk that his second bid for the presidency was dead. He won the state of his birth, and the one his late father was governor of. Much like Florida, Mittens stormed from behind in the polls to win another must-win primary against yet another anti-Romney. As much as the “liberal” media was once again waiting to give Romney’s political obituary, there’s no way to see anyone but him accepting the nomination in Tampa.

Many in the political punditocracy have been comparing the slow slog of the GOP 2012 nomination process to the historic battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Yet the only feature that seems the same is the length. While the 2008 Democratic race more resembled a 12 round championship boxing match, the 2012 GOP race seems more like the Bruce Lee movie Game Of Death. Romney hasn’t had one epic opponent as much as he’s been forced to go from floor to floor of the Republican Pagoda. On each floor Romney has faced another anti-Romney which he’s been forced to fight to the death. Each opponent has required a full scale barrage of non-stop vitriol to vanquish. As the GOP race drags on it seems much like the South toward the end of the Civil War. The outcome is really not in doubt, but there is much more bloodshed to come.

The effect of this bloodsport on Romney’s chances against Obama in the fall will be key. Romney is overcoming his rivals one by one, but his unfavorables are rising after every battle. Can this work at all to Romney’s benefit? In 2008 the extended battle forced the Obama campaign to build a ground game in states Democrats hadn’t bothered with for decades. The result was wins in places like North Carolina and Virginia. Michigan was the first traditionally Democratic leaning state and Romney fared far worse than he did four years ago (He had more votes but his margin of victory was down from 9 to 3 points). The rest of the anti-Romneys can never match Mitt’s money advantage, but they are intent to soldier on. There’s no doubt still that Mitt Romney will be the nominee when the Republicans gather in Tampa, but there’s much more political bloodshed to be had.

Related posts:

1. What Did We Learn Last Night: Florida Primary Night
2. On Mitt Romney Debating Mitt Romney, Mitt Romney, and Mitt Romney
3. What Did We Learn From Last Night?
4. What Did We Learn From Last Night: Missouri Is Now Officially Part Of The South
5. What Did We Learn From Last Night