Santorum "Suspends" Primary Campaign for President.

[A-1]

Santorum "Suspends" Primary Campaign for President.

This leaves Mitt Romney the winner of the Republican nomination. He has an uphill battle if he is to defeat Obama. Do you believe that Romney will get more moderate now so to attract more moderates from Obama?

Or, do you feel that he will attempt to hold to the conservatives in an attempt to prevent a 3rd party Presidential candidate from splitting the people who now support him?

Much of this will depend upon who he chooses for a vice presidential spot on his Republican ticket.

[bobover3]

"He has an uphill battle if he is to defeat Obama." The RCP Average has Obama beating Romney by 5.3%, BUT this average goes back to March 20, a political eternity. The huge change since then is that (most) Republicans can now coalesce behind Romney. Before, the polls surveyed a divided Republican field. The one current poll - Ramussen's from 4/8-4/10 - shows Obama and Romney tied. Any student of Presidential polls knows that results can move significantly up to days before the election, so there's nothing for anyone to count on. In past elections, early winners turned into losers, and losers turned into winners.

My own opinion is that Obama is hobbled by his record. He has no accomplishment to point to except the highly unpopular and possibly illegal Obamacare. His Presidency has been disastrous, and he evidences no understanding of why. He's sticking to his ideological guns and promising more of the same should he be re-elected, plus hysterical denunciations of Republicans who want to do nothing but eat babies (what a strange platform). On the plus side, there's his race and his personal popularity; there are also the people who think a government check is the answer, and the people so mystified by the economy that they believe what he says about it. So, are there enough people in these constituencies who can be induced to vote? Time will tell. We can hope not.

[DeaconBlues]

I disagree with you bobover3, I believe it is a sure thing that President Obama will be re-elected.

As for Santorum's "suspending his campaign..." my feelings are "good riddance!" The Republican party really REALLY "scraped the bottom of the barrel" this election cycle and collected their worst of the worst for candidates, Ron Paul was the only GOP candidate that I could tollerate for a president.

[Dave]

>>Yes it is all doom and gloom for Obama.
>>Even the numbers prove it... Oh wait, you mean the numbers are against Romney?
>>
>>

Wed Apr 11, 2012 at 11:34 AM PDT
Obama leads Mitt Romney by landslide numbers
by kos
for Daily Kos Elections
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/0...dslide-numbers

Using TPM's aggregation of the latest poll numbers, here is the current state of the electoral battleground. I'm even keeping in Rasmussen polls to give the GOP an unwarranted bump in their numbers.

STATE_______OBAMA____ROMNEY
Arizona________41.6________48.6
Colorado_______53________40
Florida_________48________42.1
Iowa__________43.7________45.5
Michigan_______50.2________39.8
Missouri_______42.5________48.1
New Hampshire_49.6________39.4
New Mexico____52________36
Nevada________50.6________43.1
North Carolina__49.2________44.8
Ohio__________48.1________40
Pennsylvania___47.3________42.5
Virginia_______50.8________41.2
Wisconsin______51________39.7


Michigan, New Mexico and Wisconsin really aren't swing states anymore. And while Missouri doesn't feel like a swing state anymore, it sports a closer margin than most of the other states on this list. In fact, other than Iowa, nothing on this list looks particularly tight at the moment. (And remember, the aggregates would look even worse for the GOP if I omitted Rasmussen's bogus results. Omit the GOP's favorite pollster, and Arizona is suddenly a 2.5-point Romney lead. Missouri is a 45-45 tie.)

So let's take those numbers and slap them onto a map:

>>I can't reproduce the map

Electoral map, Obama 341 electoral votes, Romney 197
The big difference from 2008, when Obama got 365 EVs to John McCain's 173 is that Obama loses Indiana, Iowa and Nebraska's single electoral vote from its Omaha-based district. But that's it. The end result is still a 341-197 landslide.

And with Romney losing Latinos and women by landslide numbers, any effort to turn this slide and claw back some of these states will be particularly difficult—and he still has to hold on to those few states in which he currently leads.

So what do Republicans have to say about all this? Gas prices! Gas prices! Gas prices!

Last time I checked, gas prices were high now. It ain't doing Romney a lick of good.

[Dave]

And now that that question of numbers is behind me...

Santorum left because Romney was going to carpet bomb Pennsylvania with negative advertisements about him. That was a strategy proposed by Joe Scarborough presented on "Morning Joe" months ago. I heard him say that Romney should buy all he available ad time in Pennsylvania and unleash on or two commercials in quite little markets to let Santorum know what sort of opposition he faced. Romney did the same thing to Gingrich and nearly drove him from the primaries once and he came back for more. Look at the news stories now that Gingrich's campaign checks are bouncing for the effect of Romney's carpet bombing...
Santorum couldn't politically take a defeat like that and he knew it. You have to respect him for that. Going back home with his sick child was an opportunity to step away with some dignity left. Santorum is not Gingrich.

[Riverwind]

The GOP will need to do a lot better in several areas if they expect to win in November.


2012 Presidential Candidate Fundraising Summary

Candidate Total Funds Raised as of December 31st 2011
Obama $125,225,410
Romney $56,465,509
Paul $25,901,305
Newt $12,648,565
Santorum $2,178,703


Now that Santorum has dropped out of the race, the NEWT can fill the slack and take it all the way to the convention.

or not


River

[Riverwind]

Actually if you go to YouTube and look up Romney videos what he stands for now and then or today and four years ago, OH MY> this is a guy who will say and do anything to be president, so now that we can all find things we like about this guy, if we elect him which one will we get?

A rich 1%er, who will lower taxes for ??????????
and do what he did with all those companies he took over, (sent the jobs out of the country)
but
I am really confused is if he will expand Obama care or end it, after all it was modeled after the one he put in Mass.

The problem with Mitt, I never know which Mitt I am listing to, or more so which one we would end up with. I know what I have with Obama the safe choice, the right choice, the only choice.


River

[Cainanite]

I have no idea who Romney will pick as his running mate. The problem he has is that the primaries exposed a lot of the Republican offerings as completely undesirable. If he picks one of them, it is practically a death sentence for his chances.

He'll need someone the public isn't familiar with. He'll need someone that both appeals to the far right, has a decent record they can exploit, and has been keeping their head down through the mud slinging thus far.

Is there even anyone left?

It is a gong show.

[transward]

I have no idea who Romney will pick as his running mate. The problem he has is that the primaries exposed a lot of the Republican offerings as completely undesirable. If he picks one of them, it is practically a death sentence for his chances.

He'll need someone the public isn't familiar with. He'll need someone that both appeals to the far right, has a decent record they can exploit, and has been keeping their head down through the mud slinging thus far.

Is there even anyone left?

It is a gong show.

There are two VP possibilities that, I think, could give Romney a fighting chance to win the election. They are, of course, considered RINO's and thus would never get past the Tea Party wing of the party. They are Huntsman and Colin Powell. Both have the record of bipartisan accomplishments that could appeal to a nation disgusted with the America-Last partisanship of the last four years.

Transward

[moi621]

I like the Colin card. Defense credentials too.
I think Tea Party people are less likely to stay home and throw the election to Obama
than Paulist.
What is he gonna do to get the Dr. Paul troops? Like the Jewish vote, small and solid.
http://www.dailypaul.com/forums/dail...-liberty-forum

Moi
FREEDOM
Today I bought a solar powered LED American Flag light. Who loves FREEDOM more?
http://i.tfcdn.com/img2/Xy5wxm8ADcnB...ntB8*/fyVMtP8A

[Riverwind]

Colin Powell I don't think would except it, ever. Huntsman maybe except for one thing, he is Mormon also, that wont fly.

Look for somebody from the far right, like Santorum or that idiot from Florida, somebody that is so far out there that the tea party will love them, another Sarah if you please. The press will take them apart just like they did Sarah and Romney will still loose.

River

[Dave]

I have no idea who Romney will pick as his running mate. The problem he has is that the primaries exposed a lot of the Republican offerings as completely undesirable. If he picks one of them, it is practically a death sentence for his chances.
He'll need someone the public isn't familiar with. He'll need someone that both appeals to the far right, has a decent record they can exploit, and has been keeping their head down through the mud slinging thus far.
Is there even anyone left?
It is a gong show.

GO read the book GAME CHANGE or see the movie.

That is why McCain picked Sarah Palin, she lit up the airwaves with her "personality" and really boosted the McCain campaign.
She was so unknown that in the few weeks between the nominating convention and the election, nearly no one had the chance to "vet" her. The networks barely discovered she was a loon before the November election. If you look at the polls in the right states, she lit up the Republican party and independents.

That's what I fear about Romney. He has proven that he will do and say anything, no matter how ruthless, to win a primary. What's he going to do inthe general campaign?

[moi621]

Retiring Maine Senator Olympia Snowe?

ref. Game Change.

[Mac]

There are two VP possibilities that, I think, could give Romney a fighting chance to win the election. They are, of course, considered RINO's and thus would never get past the Tea Party wing of the party. They are Huntsman and Colin Powell. Both have the record of bipartisan accomplishments that could appeal to a nation disgusted with the America-Last partisanship of the last four years.

Transward

I don't know about Huntsman but Colin Powell has previously said he is no longer interested in elected political office.

[Mac]

I disagree with you bobover3, I believe it is a sure thing that President Obama will be re-elected.

As for Santorum's "suspending his campaign..." my feelings are "good riddance!" The Republican party really REALLY "scraped the bottom of the barrel" this election cycle and collected their worst of the worst for candidates, Ron Paul was the only GOP candidate that I could tollerate for a president.

I hope that bobover3 is right.