Not often do I agree with Alexander Burns over at Politico. Without any “defining South Carolina-Style” moments, nothing happen that will alter the trajectory of the race.

Last night could have been the end of the long nightmare better known as the 2011/2012 Republican debate cycle.  The last debate before the Arizona and Michigan primaries next week could very well be the last debate of the nomination contest.

Something dawned on me the other day when I decided to write yet another assessment of the race for the GOP nomination.  The media elites have been wrong just about every time they have attempted to predict what is going to happen.  Mitt Romney was deemed the front-runner and the nominee before he even officially announced his current bid for the White House.  Even though Romney is likely to be the nominee, it is hard to think of him as the front-runner.

The dynamism of the governor’s team and the size of the money advantage were supposed to surpass everyone else, and eventually he was supposed to become the inevitable nominee.

We are less than a month away from Super Tuesday and not only is Romney not leading in the polls like any solid front-runner should be at this point, but he is fighting not to lose the one state that only months ago no one would have guessed he could lose .  If Romney loses the state of Michigan, where he grew up and met his wife in, the media may have to disestablish his front-runner status, and this time for good.

There is already talk about a “brokered” or “contested”convention; and as we witnessed at the start of the election cycle, names like Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Mitch Daniels and Paul Ryan percolate through the various political sites as possible saviors. The likelihood of a brokered or contested convention is still low, but it does appear like the establishment media is now realizing what people likeErik Erickson have known all along, Romney will lose the general election to President Obama.

Romney went into this campaign with the premise that Republican activists should get behind him because he would be the strongest candidate against Obama.  The media acknowledged this argument, but outside the moderate wing of the Republican Party, no one else seemed to think it was true, or they did not care.

Romney is not known as a candidate with a solid core, and this handicapped him with conservative activist.  Nevertheless, with superior assets, higher name recognition, and a weak field on opponents this should have been duck soup for an experienced national candidate.

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To run for president you have to be as thick as a pachyderm.  As we see every cycle, the candidates get beat up by the media, by the other campaigns, and most often by members of their own party.  Not to sound cliché, but only the strong survive and the weak will fall.  This is not to say everyone who fails to become president is a weak candidate, but there is a certain something needed to run for president.  As we have seen with those who should have run but are sitting on the sideline, this is no easy thing to do; not everyone has what it takes to go national.

As much as I do not like to admit it, Mitt Romney has what it takes to run for president, I am not sure he has what it takes to win, but the running part he has.

He is able to redirect any evaluation of his record if the question does not serve his purpose.  Ask him about Romney care and he will tell you that what they accomplished as governor of Massachusetts was positive for the state, and then he will tell you it is bad for the nation and repeal is something that is on top of the agenda if he is elected president.  Running for president is not so much about the truth of a candidate’s record, and more about what you can do to make the record of your opponents more of an issue.  Romney has been able to do this so far, and it has worked; albeit with the help of a huge war chest and establishment attack dogs.

The problem is it is going to take much more than just a candidate that can run for president to take the White House. 

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I am a little behind on this news, but since it is, still an interesting topic I am going to cover it regardless. I am talking about the news that the March 1stCNN debate has been canceled because Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum all pulled out.

This whole election cycle we have been hearing the establishment media tell us that the Republican Party should get behind Mitt Romney because he the most or the only electable candidate in the race. This was always a flawed argument because of the amount of actual wins Romney has on his record. Yes, he did win the governorship as a Republican in a predominately-blue state, but so did the three governors before him. Before Romney, Michael Dukakis was the last Democratic governor of Massachusetts and that was in 1990. The state had a history of electing moderate Republicans. Romney knew the whole time he was planning on running for president, what better way to do that than to say he is an electable Republican governor of a blue state, and he can attract independents that are not ideological.

In 2008, Romney tried to run as the ultra-conservative alternative to John McCain, let us just call him the anti-McCain. He moved to the right on issue after issue, and it worked for the many conservatives who wanted to have a conservative candidate to face either Senator Clinton or Obama. The problem then as it is now is his record as governor of that blue state; he now has to defend changing positions on abortion and other issues that matter with the base, and he has struggled to find an authentic voice that will rally the base.

This is no longer 2008, and we no longer have the conservative Romney running for President, at least not in reality. If you listen to him, you may hear the occasional resemblance of conservatism, but when you look at his agenda, you start to see a man who is already moving to the center as if he already has the nomination. It has been this way since the first day he announced he was going to run this cycle, like if there was anyone who did not already know he was running. If Romney is anything, he is predictable when it comes to reaching for power.

At first, it did not seem like Romney really felt he needed the base to win the nomination, and when it came down to him against Obama, the base would come out on the strength of the anger at the president.  Which to be honest, that is not really a flawed argument, president Obama will help to rally conservatives to whom ever wins the nomination; but having a candidate the base can at least trust would go a long way to helping defeat the presidents billion dollar war machine.

Then all of the sudden Santorum won three states, two of which will be important swing states this November.

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Mitt Romney’s speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday had two purposes: first, he wanted to demonstrate his conservative credentials, which it would seem that he did not practice as much as most thought over the last four years, and second he needed to prove he could relate to the conservatives in the country.

The two things Romney stated that I found to be so interesting, and a complete farce was:

“I know conservatism because I have lived conservatism” and “I was a severely conservative Republican governor.”

Now what in the world does he think he is doing, the vast majority of the people who have reservations about Romney have them because of his authenticity. How does this help his case, when in fact all he is doing is insulting the intelligence of those who he needs to win over?

The conservative activist around the country know that Romney has not always been conservative, but what really seem to be a mistake is that he is trying to tell people he was indeed one of them during moments in his life that he was not one. To be fair, a conservative Republican would find it hard to win in Massachusetts if that person ran as a conservative, but that begs the question: why would he run in a blue state if he were indeed a conservative.

Instead of having to try to convince conservatives that he is one of them, he could have gone a different path and been himself; Right.

That is the problem, most people already feel Romney was being himself then, and now he is being what he needs to become president. Alternatively, maybe it is the other way around, he was pretending then, and now he is trying to show people whom he really is. It really does not matter, because what he did, as governor is the very thing that so many conservatives are angry with President Obama over.

It is funny that the pundits are even asking if Romney can attract conservatives, because I think it is clear that they do not want him to be the nominee. In the end he may be, but it will be only because the opposition against him were unable to become organized enough to beat him and push back the establishment narrative that Romney is the only choice.

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I am going to start this post by stating that this is not me writing about what I want to see.  I am trying to stay impartial; at least as much as one can be.

At the time that I am writing this, Rick Santorum is poised to win big time; in the Colorado and Minnesota’s caucus and the Missouri not so traditional primary.

What does any of this mean?

Missouri’s votes are extraneous, when it comes to the delegate count: because of difficulties in the state legislature, and the Republican National Committee rules prohibiting most states from having primaries before March, to avert losing half their delegates, Missouri lawmakers agreed to hold a non-binding “beauty contest” primary in February and have the valid vote in March.

Minnesota’s delegates are also non-binding.

The consequences of Colorado and Minnesota’s caucuses and Missouri’s primary may shape public opinions about the Republican candidates, but they will likely play little role in the actual selection of the GOP nominee. Romney takes a hit in public perception, but rather than taking him of his game, it keeps him from running away with it.

Even though it has little influence on total delegate count, these results could have an effect because of what it could mean.

(You can find the finale results here.)

Romney team had already tried to lower expectations for the possible losses he would experience this month. Under a section called:

The Reality of February

“It is difficult to see what Governor Romney’s opponents can do to change the dynamics of the race in February. No delegates will be awarded on February 7 –Colorado and Minnesota hold caucuses with nonbinding preference polls, and the Missouri primary is purely a beauty contest. Except for the Maine and Wyoming nonbinding caucuses running through February, the next contests are on February 28 in states where Governor Romney is strong. Arizona’s 29 delegates will be bound in a winner-take-all contest. Michigan, the state where Governor Romney grew up, binds 30 delegates.”

The reason team Romney had put this up was because of the limited polling that was done had Rick Santorum surging in these states, giving him some badly needed momentum heading into a three-week pause in voting. Romney not only lost to Santorum, he placed third in the Minnesota Caucus. Even though Romney still is the likely nominee, the word inevitable may have to be rethought after last night.

“Conservatism is alive and well in Missouri and Minnesota!” Santorum told cheering supporters in St. Charles, Mo. Challenging his rival, he declared that on issues ranging from health care to “Wall Street bailouts, Mitt Romney has the same positions as Barack Obama.” – Rick Santorum

According to CBS chart, if delegates were rewarded to the winners, as they should be in the end, the results of these three states would give Santorum enough to pull even with Gingrich or even ahead.

“There are also 111 unpledged Republican delegates, who are Republican National Committee members, and are free to support any candidate they choose, representing 5 percent of the total number of delegates. Based on interviews with unpledged Republican delegates, CBS News estimates 11 unpledged delegates for Mitt Romney, 1 for Newt Gingrich and 1 for Rick Santorum.” – CBS

If anything, the results of these states back up what Santorum said in his speech following the Florida primary, that Newt had his chance, and that it was his turn.

Last month Gingrich stated on FOX and Friends that Santorum ought to look at the poll numbers, which show Gingrich beating Santorum, and drop out.

After watching Gingrich seemingly blow it in the last five states, Santorum very well could have this right. However, Gingrich has been down to many times to count him out, but his own words could come into play here.

Gingrich contends, “The longer conservatives stay split, the harder it’s going to be for us to beat Romney.”

“And I think that we risk not being able to beat Obama unless we get a conservative. I have to win the nomination.”

It would seem that if Gingrich really thinks it is that vital to beat Romney, then he should look at the polls, and his favorability against that of Santorum’s. Just take a look at what is happening to Romney; it does not look much better for Newt; but if you want to look here (The Case for Santorum) and here (Versus Obama, Santorum Fares 8 Points Better than Romney), you may at least see why Santorum has a case that should be made.

Ben Howe said it best when he tweeted this last night.

I would like to add that since Santorum never did give Gingrich that one on one with Romney, Gingrich could just say “why should I when you didn’t do it.”

Leonard David, who is a columnist over at space.com post this video along with a column he wrote about Virgins Galactic’s bid to become the first commercial space liner service. What the ship does is it allows people to travel to the edge of space, experience a few minutes of weightlessness, and view the darkness of space and the curvature of Earth, all before gliding back to ground.

The technology is still in assessment phase, but after watching the video, it became evident that if they pull it off, it is proof that that the free market really can handle space flight. There is no reason to consider that this will not work.

In all of human history there has been about 525 people in space, Virgins Galactic now have 477 people signed up to go, at $200,000 each, with more signing up all the time. Virgins Galactic has about $60 million worth of deposits in the bank, which represents about $100 million worth of business.This is all proof that getting the free market more involved in space is not such a bad idea. Man has been going to space for a while now, but we are just now going to be able to allow private citizen to purchase a ride.

Newt Gingrich says if elected President, he would want to spend 10 percent of NASA’s budget on prize money for space technology competitions.

Irene Klotz over a Discovery.com contends, “Former President George Bush embarked on a moon exploration program called Constellation that was canceled due to funding shortfalls.”

As a nation that is in financial trouble, how do we go about staying ahead of China in the space race?

“Gingrich wants to pioneer space without a huge standing government bureaucracy and with investments by private industry. To help lure companies and research organizations to space, Gingrich proposes to spend 10 percent of NASA’s budget, which is currently $17.8 billion, for prizes for an array of competitions.”

Gingrich has tapped into something important here. The country is insolvent, but at the same time staying the leading nation on space science and space travel in essential, not just for my inner geek, but also for the generation of children to come.The science is vital to so many people, and going to the moon at one time meant the United States was bar none number one.

It started with President Eisenhower, who was skeptical about human spaceflight, but pursued advanced commercial and military applications of satellite technology.My guess is this helped the country in many ways.

Romney contends “Let’s have a collaborative effort with business, with government, with the military, as well as with their educational institutions, have a mission that once again excites our young people about the potential of space and the commercial potential will pay for itself down the road. This is a great opportunity. Florida has technology, the people here on the Space Coast have technology and vision and passion that America needs. And with a president who is actually willing to create a mission and a vision for NASA and for space, we can continue to lead the world.”

Once again, Romney hits some of the right notes, but shows lack of understanding of how to do what he is talking about in a conservative way; he talks the talk, but where are the ideas. We have seen enough talk for a lifetime; it is time to see some action.Out of the candidates remaining in the Republican race, Gingrich clearly has a better governing record.Right now, this is what the country needs.

Rick Santorum even has his opinion on the space program, or more so, his opinion on Gingrich’s plan on building a moon colony.

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Jen Rubin has spent this while election cycle slamming any candidate who gave Mitt Romney any kind of a hard time; using her Right Turn Blog at Washington Post. Conservatives around the country have wondered why she was ever given an outlet such as the Washington Post as their in house conservative blogger (to me she seems more like the in house Romney shill). I will be honest, I would take a job like hers (even at the Washington Post because it sure would look good on my resume), but I would never be such a shill for a certain candidate, not without admitting it to the readers that I am lucky enough to have.

Early yesterday morning Rubin wrote about the news that Newt Gingrich was about to receive the endorsement of Donald Trump.

If you have not already seen it, here is some of what she wrote.

“Herman Cain, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Sarah Palin and now, it seems, Donald Trump havelined up behind Newt Gingrich. It’s convenient to have a candidate like Gingrich who attracts the unserious, the unpresidential, the uninformed and the unpalatable all in one convenient locale. It saves the time and effort needed to determine who is a credible Republican and who is not (Gingrich supporters).”

She goes on to point out that, Trumps endorsement would be seen as a negative for much of the people who were polled in New Hampshire before the state has voted second; therefor making the case Gingrich would lose support for the Trump endorsement. So if we are to get this right, because she felt that Trump was such an unserious person, that it only made sense for him to endorse a candidate that has a penchant for “extreme, nasty rhetoric with a disdain for productive governance.”

She then went on to explain why Rick Santorum should use this endorsement to scream to the GOP electorate that he is the only serious contender to Romney; because no one who would accept an endorsement from the likes of Donald Trump could be serious.

Then the news came out that revealed that Trump was not endorsing Gingrich after all, he was going to endorse Romney.

How mad that had to make her. No one would enjoy being made to look like such a fool; unless of course they enjoy being made to look like a fool.

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John Podhoretz has an article out over at the New York Post that makes the claim that Mitt Romney had won Florida when he was able to out Newt, Newt Gingrich.

According to Podhoretz, it was Romney’s “willingness to confronta rival directly while looking him straight in the eye and saying some prettyharsh things, and the ability to withstand the counterattack and keep on withthe assault, are qualities of toughness and perseverance every successful majorpolitician must demonstrate.”

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