I've been calling Mitt Romney the "so-called" or the "alleged" frontrunner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. I guess it's time to drop all the alleges and so-calleds. With 38% of the vote yesterday in New Hampshire – ahead of 23% for Ron Paul, 17% for Jon Huntsman, 9% each to Gingrich and Santorum – he is the frontrunner now. Texas Governor Rick Perry – I kind of like this one – got seven tenths of one percent of the vote. The eyes of Texas may adore him; the eyes of New Hampshire clearly did not.
What's a poor conservative to do these days?
The choices are few and unhappy. He can pretend that Romney is one of the guys, though a fair analysis would seem to be that he is pro-business, which probably says more about his economic views that about his liberal or conservative ones. There are snippets in the paper this morning about conservatives teaming up to dethrone Romney. They've never been very good at teaming up but, if they were to succeed in upcoming primaries, it would be like the Republican Party eating its young – the best news the Democrats could hear.
On the other hand, Romney notwithstanding, maybe the GOP conservatives should just soldier on. There are a lot of conservatives in America. New Hampshire is not one of their fortresses. South Carolina, which comes next on the primary calendar, is. So, conservatives should not give up.
The rest of us, who simply enjoy a good fight, should smile, lean back in our seats and prepare to smile some more. It ain't over, thank heavens, 'til it's over. There is no game like it.
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