Mr. Romney has suddenly dropped out of the race, The question is why? The man couldn’t beat Obama, but against any other Democrat he would prove a formidable opponent. Romney and Bush are the only Republicans with the right blend of competence, experience and common sense to defeat Hillary, and they could either overwhelm any other potential Democratic candidate. Sure, they may neither be as ideologically pure as the GOP base would like them to be, but who is, except for the Klown Kar Krazies. Both have extensive access to the Daddy Warbucks donors and the financial sector, and both are reasonable, attractive and articulate men.
The kicker is that the latest polls show Mitt as having twice the support of Mr Bush! Granted, polls aren’t everything, especially this early in the game, but that’s still a terrific advantage to have right out of the gate. All the other excuses (that his family isn’t up to it, that the base won’t stand for his “moderation”, that his name and face are too familiar), can also be said about Mr Bush.
No, there is some other mechanism at work here, and I suspect its about money, funding, and the donor class. Although Mitt is one of them, even more so than Jeb, for some reason they have rejected him, and I’ll be damned if I know why. Why refuse a man they embraced only a few years ago? My guess its about money. Its going to cost a lot to get the next president elected, and for those paying the bills, it really doesn’t matter if its Jeb or Mitt. They can do business with either, and the ideological purists in the rest of the Party cannot be depended on to get with the program. The important thing is that financial resources be directed to one or the other of the establishment candidates, but not both. That would be “destructive competition”, a “dilution of resources”. The standard bearer has already been selected, and the decision to back him has already been made. Nothing personal, Mitt, you’re just too late. The same thing will happen to the other “middle of the roader”, Chris Christie; even if he escapes his legal troubles, it will be too late to get in the race.
Personally, I like both Mitt and Jeb, and even as Republicans, the country would probably survive their time in the White House. As far as I’m concerned, they are the best qualified and least objectionable Republicans, although I would rather support a Democrat for the top job. Still, compared to the rest of the field on the Right, these two are at least acceptable to me. The rest of that gang of possibles range from toxic to lethal.
But the question remains; who got to Mitt? Who had the power to tell him “No!” What man, or committee of men, had the influence to deny him his chance? Answer that, and you get a little closer to finding out who really runs this country.