Following the mixed results for Mitt Romney on Super Tuesday -- winning a majority of delegates, but failing to pull away from his GOP rivals -- the conservative blogosphere wasn't too impressed with Romney's showing.
Conservative blogger Jazz Shaw from Hot Air wrote:
“Say, do you remember that time when Mitt Romney waded into the battle on Super Tuesday and knocked out his foes with an inspiring, decisive victory? Yeah…me either. Last night had to be pretty much of a disappointment no matter who you happen to support…But once all of the “victory party” hangovers have begun to fade, the results were less than impressive. We can justifiably say that Mitt “won” by racking up victories in Ohio, Massachusetts, Idaho, Virginia, Vermont and Alaska, along with a fairly impressive haul of delegates. But the Buckeye State victory came by a margin that wouldn’t fill up a decent college football game audience.”
Rich Lowry of the conservative blog NRO said the enthusiasm gap that surrounds Romney has made him “The candidate of ‘Eh.
“‘Eh, I guess’ looks to be the motto he’ll have to try to ride to the nomination. It was an “eh” night for Romney, although he avoided catastrophe by pulling out a razor-thin win in Ohio where he was trailing most of the night. Otherwise, he won one state where he used to be governor (Massachusetts), a small Northeastern state (Vermont), an essentially uncontested Southern state (Virginia), and a heavily Mormon state out West (Idaho). In Virginia, he couldn’t get to 60 percent against just Ron Paul. Rarely has a candidate seemed so inevitable and so weak at the same time.”
“Instead, the frontrunner has a problem with the Midwest and South that is keeping him at less than 3 in 10 right now. That was good enough for second place in most of these states, but that’s still setting a low bar — beat out Ron Paul and, in most cases, Newt, who is becoming an afterthought. Sure, Romney had a great night in terms of delegates. I stand by my assessment that his road to the nomination is the hardest, except for all of the others. But he’s still got glaring weaknesses in connecting with people. Maybe it’s the Mormon issue. Maybe it’s his background. But I think the “brokered convention yields a surprise nominee” talk just got a new jolt of energy this morning.”
But James Antle III, from the American Spectator, says Romney “winning six out of ten states is far from bad."
“Romney's performance looks even better when you focus on delegates won. He took all the delegates from Massachusetts, nearly all of them from Virginia, and won delegates even in every single state he lost. Although the popular vote in Ohio was close, the delegate allocation was not. The delegate math for Romney's opponents has become daunting, to say the least... “I think Romney is starting to piece together a decent critique of President Obama's record -- one that will resonate with both conservatives and moderates. Serious questions remain as to whether he is the right man for that message.”
Erick Erickson of Redstate writes, despite last night’s win, Romney needs to readjust his campaign.
“Were I Mitt Romney I’d be wondering how I spent 5.5 times as much money as Rick Santorum and barely won Ohio. I’d be wondering who on my campaign staff gets fired first. Mitt Romney has been running since 2006, has the best organization, and the most money. He won his home state of Michigan by less than 3%. He won Ohio barely after pouring in money. A win is a win is a win. But with each Romney win, he comes away even more badly bruised. The rest of March will be just as brutal. What a mess.”
