Mitt Haz A Sad

Mitt Romney has to be a little dispirited these days as the latest not-Romney seems to be getting all the love. David Horsey imagined Valentine's Day was especially difficult for Mitt.

Desperate for the love of conservatives, Mitt Romney must be heartbroken to see all the flowers and chocolate-covered strawberries going to Rick Santorum.

In the last couple of days, Santorum has caught or overtaken Romney in key polls. In Michigan, the state where Romney grew up and where his dad was governor, Santorum is favored among primary voters by 39% to Romney's 24%. In the latest national poll by the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, Santorum edges Romney, 30% to 28%. ...

So, it's a sad Valentine's Day for Romney. He's not feeling the love, he's feeling the pressure.

I'm not certain that at this point Romney is devastated, but I'm sure he's surprised and disappointed at the failure to have the nomination pretty well sewn up at this point. February was supposed to be an easy month, but because of the confluence of the various social issues and waning interest in Newt Gingrich by conservatives in the recent caucus states, Santorum is making some serious inroads. He may continue that run in Arizona and Michigan, which makes Super Tuesday March 6 crucial for Romney to cool him down.

In the mean time, Romney has had to expend a lot of money and a lot energy on the campaign I'm sure he was hoping to save for the general election. While at this point he and his various supporters appear to have immeasurably deep pockets, that may not be the case in August and September.

Which brings us to Horsey's conclusion, one with which I agree:

It's a pretty good day for another politician, though -- and I don't mean Santorum. The nasty fight on the right is scaring away independent voters and they are shifting their very fickle affections back to President Obama. He now leads Romney among independents by nine percentage points. He is also well ahead of both Republicans in the Pew survey of all registered voters, topping Romney 52% to 44% and Santorum 53% to 43%.

In the race to be America's political sweetheart, eveything's coming up roses for Obama on this Valentine's Day.

Still, November is a long way down the road. I intend to stock up on more popcorn.