Ignore reports that say otherwise, Mitt Romney is winning big after Super Tuesday
By Charlie Wolf for the Daily Mail Updated: 15:29 BST, 7 March 2012
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Where has this perception – myth even come from? The perception that Mitt Romney hasn’t sealed the deal.
Yes, he may have won the all important Ohio Primary by just 1 percentage point, but a win is a win.
Not closing the deal, let’s look at some facts:
– Romney took 6 out of ten states on offer yesterday.
– He’s won 8 out of the 13 primaries so far and six out of 10 state caucuses.
Win: Mitt Romney won 6 out of the 10 states yesterday, and has won 8 out of the 13 primaries thus far
But ultimately, this game is all about delegates, not states or popular votes or even being the best singer. The nomination goes to the candidate with 1,144 delegates.
According to the latest delegate estimates (via CNN) Mr. Romney –with 404 delegates– has over 55% of the total votes so far and is over a third of the way to reaching the magic 1,144 number.
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As far as the notion that the Non-Rom vote being split between Santorum and Gingrich and what is needed for one or the other to drop out — in fact Mr. Romney’s 404 delegates still beats the other three candidates totals combined (337) by 67 delegates.
Success: Romney may have won the all important Ohio Primary by just 1 percentage point, but a win is a win
Romney has almost 2-1/2 times (2.44) as many delegates as his closest competitor, Rick Santorum.
He’s also carried the most important battleground states so far, including Florida, and now Ohio.
Strategist Dick Morris has done the math. After Super Tuesday, says Morris, with a third of the delegates awarded, we are now at a point where we can – as with football in this country – do the math to see how many games a team (or candidate) needs to win the division. According to Morris, for either Gingrich or Santorum to win the nomination they would need to win two-thirds of the remaining delegates. Thats almost impossible.
Dick Morris says we need to “come to grips” with the fact that the only person who can be nominated by May or June is Romney. For the others it would take until the convention in August; that’s too long and leaves too little time and money to mount a serious campaign against Mr. Obama.
One of the reasons that Romney has not sealed the deal is due to an anomaly in the Republican system. Most states now award their delegates proportionally instead of winner-takes-all. So, for instance, Where Newt Gingrich crows about his win in Georgia last nigh 2d place Mr. Romney still picked up 10 delegates.
We are too busy talking states when, more accurately, we should concentrate on the delegate count where Mr. Romney clearly leads.
Game is up? According to one strategist, for either Gingrich or Santorum to win the nomination they would need to win two-thirds of the remaining delegates – something which is virtually impossible
Republicans (including Messrs. Santorum and Gingrich) need to realise what this campaign is about. Exit poll after exit poll has clearly stated that voters by a large majority are looking for a candidate who can address the economy and defeat Mr. Obama; they clearly identify Mr. Romney as that man. Sen. Santorum is respected for his socially conservative views, but this is not a year for social conservatism, it’s the economy stupid!
Meanwhile, we have a president who is trying to stop Israel from striking Iran not because it is the correct thing to do, but because Mr. Obama fears getting involved in a war at this time — because it will effect his chances of re-election. There can be no greater condemnation of a president than one who puts his politics before his duty. For Obama, self over the national security interests of his country and needs of an important ally it was an easy and self-centered choice.
Issue: An anomaly in the Republican system may be one of the reasons that Romney is yet to seal the deal
If Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich really want to do something nobel for their country they will drop out of the race and use their time, energy and expertise to unite the country behind Mitt Romney and get Mr. Obama out of office before his spending bankrupts America and his weak foreign policy makes the world a more dangerous place.