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The Luck of Mitt Romney
Jules Witcover
The politics-by-the-numbers game we play has been quirkily friendly to
He could do so despite the fact that he beat former Sen.
Until that late gambling surge, the former
Instead, Romney was able to stage a ludicrous victory lap at a rally featuring the Republican who had whipped him there four years earlier, the irascible but ideologically elastic
Romney, like McCain in his failed 2008 presidential bid, has been keeping his eye on achieving the nomination of his conservative party. He has been saying what is necessary to satisfy the Republican base, and like McCain he will worry later about assuaging independent and moderate voters.
McCain could not resist chiding the man he went to
On that occasion, however, the blood was still dripping from the brutal assault Bush had administered on McCain with a series of personal smears in that year's
This time around, McCain could be more genuine in his endorsement. In a sense, it was political payback for Romney's energetic backing of McCain in the 2008 race, in which the aging Arizonan and Vietnam War hero was handily beaten by
That indeed is what Romney wants. But, realistically, he must avoid any further evidence, in a state in which he has spent so heavily, that there remain serious reservations about his nomination -- or about his electability, the strong suit in his pitch for support so far.
In a pair of weekend debates in
Two rivals still standing, Santorum and former
The essential task for Santorum is to consolidate the true conservative vote, not join in plunging the party into deeper negativity and discord.
Twitter: @ihavenet
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