The next two primaries (both of which are caucuses) will be held in Nevada and Maine. Nevada’s will be a one-day affair; Maine’s begins Saturday, winding up on February 11th. It appears that they will be two-man races between Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. Newt Gingrich has pretty much conceded Nevada to Romney owing to its Mormon vote. While Mormons comprise roughly 7% of the Silver State’s population, their turnout generally runs 75% or better and they are expected to support Romney in much the same way that Catholics supported JFK. Moreover, Romney won Nevada handily the last time he competed in Nevada.
Ron Paul may do very well in Maine. He has spent a lot of time in Maine organizing campaign workers and educating supporters on the ins and outs of the caucus process. His libertarian views mesh well with a lot of the independently minded electorate and he does not have Gingrich’s baggage to deal with. A win in Maine should invigorate his campaign and strengthen his position for future negotiating with Romney.
Is a Romney/Paul ticket a possibility? I would have doubted it very much. Then a very curious incident occurred. The Donald announced his support of Mr. Romney. One would have thought Mitt Romney, who has tried to position himself as the more serious and presidential candidate might have limited his response to the endorsement: I recall that when John Huntsman, a former governor and US Ambassador announced his endorsement there was no hand-shaking photo op to energize his supporters. However, there was a major press event for the Donald. “Romney shook Trump’s hand, said he was “honored” by his endorsement and said it meant a “great deal” to him. Now, any of Trump’s crazy statements, past or future, can be linked to Romney in a 30-second attack ad by showing footage from today’s circus. The DNC could put out an ad, for instance, of Trump’s birther statements spliced together with clips of Romney and Trump. For Democrats, it’s a gift that will keep giving should Romney become the nominee.” (Washington Examiner – Philip Klein, Senior Editorial Writer). According to Klein, this was a major blunder on Romney’s part.
My view is that this action is one more marker of Romney’s desperation to win the presidency and an “ends vs means” approach to life. Add that to what appears to be tax avoidance, if not outright evasion, I really have severe reservations about his suitability for being our leader.
Passing Through . . . . 