VaYank5150
Gold Member
Over the past year, the political world has operated under the assumption that Mitt Romney is the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. After all, he has a wide fundraising network and a deep roster of potential campaign talent. Whats more, Republicans almost always nominate their runner-up from the previous cycle (though both Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin might also claim that status). But if Romney is the front-runner, hes starting out at a much weaker position than Bob Dole or John McCain ever did at this point in the 96 and 08 cycles. According to our latest NBC/WSJ poll, Romneys national fav/unfav is upside down at 21%-30%, compared with Doles net-positive 38%-25% in Sept. 94 and McCains 40%-16% in June 06. Intensity is a problem, too, for Romney. Just 6% view him VERY positively, versus 14% for Dole in 94 and 11% for McCain in 06.
First Read - First thoughts: The GOP's weak 2012 front-runner
If not Romney, who? Obviously not Palin, not Gingrich.