Romney Not Done

I was just about to write this, and then bang, I see a reader of NRO has already sent in the analysis.

Everyone's acting like Mitt must win New Hampshire to survive. But that's based on old facts which are no longer facts at all -- chiefly, that Giuliani had a large fraction (over 35%) of the Republican vote and Romney would need to win the early states to even challenge Giuliani.

That analysis hardly holds, anymore, given that Giuliani has cratered -- and indeed most of the evangelicals previously willing to back him have found a new candidate in Huckabee -- and given, especially, that at least one poll names Mitt Romney as the new national poll leader.

I find it strange that Romney is considered to have lost last night. Yes, he came in second. But he was hit by Hurricane Hucakbee, which no one saw coming until the past month. And everyone was hit by Hurricane Huckabee; Romney weathered the storm the best.

I do think that Fred had a good night -- a very necessary good night -- and even John McCain can take some satisfaction in his fourth-place finish. But I don't agree that one can say these men "won" while Romney "lost." Sure, Romney lost to Huckabee. Everyone else lost worser.

posted by Ace at 03:20 PM

| Access Comments