Further proof that, when GOP'ers really put their minds to it, no one can "out-stupid" them. By the time the race was down primarily to Romney and McCain, the Mass governor was the clear choice of conservatives- outside the south. Down here, open priamaries and religious bias proved to be Romney's undoing.

Ran a solid campaign, but had some money difficulties which hampered him, and got weeded out early. I wondered at the time, and I wonder more today on the election eve, if he was running as much for 2012 as for 2008. I suspect we'll be seeing him again, particularly if the GOP gets put on time out for four years, and is forced to reassess themselves.

I think the order for "2012" stickers has already been put in so that they can be placed on all those "Romney 2008"  signs sitting in the warehouse.

Romney was probably one of the better general candidates...not saying much though.

Mr. Plasticman.  He sat too close to a radiator and melted.  No big loss, as he was about the most unappealing candidate since Chimp Boy Bush.  Still, he would have made a much better VP candidate than Governor Dimwit from The Moocher State.  "First in war, first in peace, and first to put the hand out to the taxpayers in the Lower 48."

I have a confession: I like Mitt Romney. I liked it that he spoke his mind. Early in the campaign, he stated that the Clintons were "transparent hypocrites". You got that right, pal! Probably a lot of people think that, but how many politicians have the guts to say it? Of course, the fact that Romney is a handsome fella doesn't hurt either.

UPDATE:  Here I am on April 28, 2008, looking back with longing and nostalgia for the Mitt Romney candidacy.  It goes to show the dearth of talent that we have seeking the office this year.

ORIGINAL COMMENT:  He is the person who should get the GOP nod, but he won't. It would make too much sense for the knotheads in the Republican primary electorate.

  Mitt Romney lied to the American people.  He only wanted the vote and could careless about the people.  He should be in the dictionary next to the word "flip flop" because he is an expert at flipping and flopping on the issues just to gain a vote.  He could careless about unborn babies and traditional marriage.  http://www.trueromney.com

Crawled into a weak Mass. election that he knew he could win with designs on the 2008 White House until (-poof-) Americans decided that 8 years of a religious zealot was quite enough without a politician with ties to a cult-ish interpretation of a religion.  Romney's Mormonism is part (but not all) of his lack of appeal.

As a resident of the "Peoples Republic of Taxachusetts", I am thrilled that the voters in the Republican primaries saw right through this charlatan and didn't give him the nomination. Romney seemed to change his tune on every position, not just social issues but economic as well. He was quoted as saying that Bush's 2003 tax cuts were a "gimmick" and then he comes out and supports them now? He might be "technically correct" when he claims not to have raised personal income taxes in Massachusetts, however what he didn't tell you is that he raised corporate taxes by over $200 million and personal user fees by over $500 million! And people want to know why Massachusetts ranks 46th in the nation in terms of job growth?

Romney was unable to reinvent himself, even with his scads of money.

Romney ran a pretty tight campaign, and his transformation from the governor of liberal state to a hard core conservative was pretty well orchestrated.

I can't believe he dropped out so soon.  Looks like the GOP is circling the wagons around McCain - a bitter pill for many to be sure, but in my mind, the only one with the clout among independents to challenge a Clinton / Obama ticket.

Romney has run a good campaign. Of all the Republicans in the field, he probably would make the best President, but perhaps not the most electable for a variety of reasons. The other day on this site, I pointed out that what may appear to be a positive politically for Romney in the primary, his strength in dealing with the economy, can become a negative in the general election. People won't react well to the fact that as President of Bain Capital, he advised the different companies that he was helping restructure to cut jobs. That won't fly well with Middle America, especially when voters are wary about their own job security in a weak economy. The Mormonism issue isn't as big as the media makes it out to be, but there are elements of the electorate that have some concern over it. At the end, I just don't think that he will get the nomination. He wouldn't be a bad President, but he comes across as too polished and not enough as a "man of the people". His campaign demeanor is a bit arrogant at times too, which really turns voters off.

Mitt Romney will turn America's Economy around. It will be better than ever. Mccain is not a good canidate. His platform is..."I fought in the Vietnam War". Hell if that's his qualification, then we'll just get Rambo to lead this country!

Considering he wasn't particularly well known to mainstream America roughly a year ago, I think the Romney campaign did a superb job getting his name out there and making him one of the leading candidates early on. His campaign has been a bit of a family affair, with all of his sons taking very active parts, and money has never been a problem. I think one of the mistakes they made was not doing more to address the "flip flop" tag. The fact of the matter is abortion is the only issue he has had a major change on, and as I have said before his change really isn't that far removed from my own. Right now it really isn't looking good, but we'll have to wait and see what the Romney campaign does for Super Tuesday, which is most likely sink or swim for Romney.

If Romney doesn't win the nomination I am not voting...Mccain is a liberal in disguise..not even disguise its very obvious his views..Hell even John Kerry was going to make him his VP if he was going to win what does that say. I guess those WAR VETS have to stick together. The guy is a joke any question he gets asked all a sudden here comes a history lesson on the vietnam and how awsome he was for being there. How does that make you qualified at all to lead this country. Just cause I want to school does that make me qualified to be a Physics Professor, F NO! Mitt Romney is the real deal, if people don't like him just cause he made alot of money in his life then you can suck my NUTS.
~PEACE

I'm still convinced that Romney made a misstep right at the beginning by posing as a much more conservative Republican than he actually is (unless he was posing as a moderate all those years here in Massachusetts, which might admittedly be the case). But this misstep has recently begun looking like a brilliant strategy, as he has captured the party base in a way that Huckabee can only envy. He stands no chance if nominated to win the presidency, yet he is doing a lot better than I anticipated.

It'll be interesting to see how well Romney does against McCain on Super Tuesday.  At this point, he does seem to embody more of the Reagan Republican values than does McCain, he's younger, more energetic, and probably more well-rounded than McCain.  He sure looks more presidential than McCain (yeah, I know that's shallow, but he does).  Is he electable against Obama or the Clintons (plural used deliberately)?  Who knows - this has been an interesting campaign all around so far.

Romney took a message that Bill Clinton made famous... Its The Economy Stupid. A slumping economy is just what the doctor ordered for Romney, and he'll get plenty of mileage from it.