1. Romney was the only candidate to finish in the top 2 in every segment of the conservative movement that he mentioned in his speech (1st in fiscal, 2nd in social, 2nd in national security)

2. Every other candidate has one (or more) areas of the conservative coalition that will under no circumstances choose them as their favorite, with the possible exception of McCain. For example, Brownback gets killed in fiscal and national security conservatives, Giuliani gets only 8% of social conservatives, etc)

3. Therefore, Romney is the only candidate with a legitimate chance of uniting fiscal, social, and national security conservatives to create the same kind of national coalition that Bush gathered. Nominating anyone else (again, with the possible exception of McCain, but I really don't think he will win when stacked up against Romney's relative youth, overwhelming charisma and optimism, etc) will cause segments of the GOP coalition to sit it out a little bit, causing President Hillary.

4. Romney's stand-out performance among young voters will only get stronger. In my opinion, my generation looks for optimism, pragmatism and dynamism from their politicians (note Obama's popularity among young Dems). Romney is the only Republican candidate who exemplifies all three of those traits. Romney, as his name and voice get out there, could be Obama-style popular among young Republicans.

http://timeforchoosing.com/node/111

Labels: brownback, cpac, poll, Polls, rudy