Bland leads in New Hampshire
Romney’s campaign comes together, but it doesn’t excite the voters
WASHINGTON— As the Republican primary contest shifted east from a jaw-dropping photo finish in Iowa on Wednesday, Mitt Romney’s Big Bland Wall was coming together nicely:
Rival-dwarfing money, serious ground operations and a welltimed endorsement from Arizona Sen. John Mccain as the curtain rose for the primary in New Hampshire, Romney’s sure-thing backyard.
All the pieces are laid out, awaiting the onslaught from the other NotRomneys, all of whom intend to expose Romney’s Achilles heel in the coming days: his excitement deficit.
The former Massachusetts governor does not make American hearts go pitter-patter. But he can, in polltested theory at least, give President Barack Obama what-for in November, if the U.S. economy is sufficiently tepid when the election rolls around.
New Hampshire’s seeming indifference was in high relief Wednesday when Romney arrived to lukewarm applause from a half-full high school gymnasium in the Granite State.
Not much signage. Not much of a pulse. Not great for Romney, even if the polls suggest those who actually intend to vote in New Hampshire on Tuesday break 41 per cent in his favour, double-digits above the rest.
All the other Not-romneys — save for Michele Bachmann, who stepped aside Wednesday — intend to chip away at that lead. New Hampshire, arguably the least religious of the American states, is the polar opposite of pious, Bible-believing Iowa. It’s been known to stampede for its favourite presidential candidate even in the dead of night, flags flying for the airport arrival. But not for Romney. Not so far. Maybe because he’s a quarter-billionaire in the age of Occupy. Maybe because the massive bankroll backing him includes a goodly portion of Wall Street in the age of Great Recession.
Whatever the reason, even the Democrats are beginning to jab the needle. On Wednesday, Obama campaign overseer David Axelrod chided Romney as “Mr. 25 Per Cent” during a conference call with reporters, on the merits of his Iowa finish. Romney acknowledged a fullfrontal attack is imminent, likely from all directions.
“Look, I have pretty broad shoulders. I know the attacks are going to come — they’re going to come more fast and furious now — and they’re going to come from the DNC (Democratic National Committee) as well as the president and the White House, as well as my rivals in the Republican contest,” Romney said on ABC’S Good Morning America.
“If you can’t handle the heat now, you certainly can’t handle the heat down the road.”
It’s hard to imagine Romney’s wall breaking here. It’s his backyard. It’s hardly fertile ground for the latest Iowa: The former Massachusetts governor scored a narrow win in the Iowa caucuses Tuesday night, beating Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum by just eight votes. For his encore, Romney, 64, gained an endorsement from prominent Republican Sen. John Mccain on Wednesday. What’s next: Romney is heavily favoured in New Hampshire’s primary next week. He is seen by the Republican Party establishment as the candidate best equipped to defeat Obama in November. Quote: “I’ve got a big target on me now. I’ve got broad shoulders. I’m willing to handle it.”
RICK SANTORUM
Iowa: Santorum’s nail-biter loss in Iowa showed growing support for the Pennsylvania senator among Republicans, particularly working-class, evangelical Christian and social conservative voters. What’s next: Santorum plans on pushing ahead to New Hampshire, then to the south, with primaries in South Carolina and Florida later this month. But he has virtually no campaign presence on the ground in any other early voting state. Quote: “We can either unite now behind one candidate and have a conservative standard bearer in 2012, or have the Republican establishment choose another moderate Republican who will have a difficult time defeating Barack Obama in November,” Santorum wrote in an email appeal to supporters.
RON PAUL
Iowa: Paul’s small-government, libertarian message was good enough for a third-place finish with 21 per cent of the vote. Of the 18,000 caucus voters age 30 and under, 48 per cent voted for the 76-year-old Texas representative, according to data from the Center for Information and Research on Civil Learning and Engagement. What’s next: While Paul has support from younger voters and devoted followers across the country, he lags behind Romney and Santorum when it comes to voters 40 and older. of the surgelings, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who wears his Christian conservatism on his sleeve.
South Carolina, 11 days beyond New Hampshire, is nearer to the ideological wheelhouse of Santorum and the tier below him, including former House speaker Quote: “The message of liberty is appealing to everybody across the board,” Paul told CNN Wednesday.
NEWT GINGRICH
Iowa: The former House speaker was fourth, with 13 per cent of the vote. What’s next: Gingrich, 68, is stepping up his attacks on Romney, whom he blamed for sinking him with a series of negative ads that he believes resulted in a distant fourth- Newt Gingrich and, evidently, Texas Gov. Rick Perry. But not Bachmann, who exited the race as widely expected in the wake of her dismal finish in Iowa, telling reporters: “I have no regrets, none whatsoever. We made a very important contribution to the race.” The Santorum team came out of the surprise tie in Iowa with newfound love, its campaign web portal collapsed by traffic. But his bare-bones operation faces a withering task, even if donations pour in, in ramping up a national campaign almost out of thin air. place finish in Iowa. He welcomed Romney to New Hampshire on Wednesday with a full-page ad in the Union Leader newspaper calling him a “timid moderate.” Quote: “I find it amazing the news media continues to say (Romney) is the most electable Republican when he can’t even break out in his own party.”
RICK PERRY
Iowa: The Texas governor — who has been likened to former president George W. Bush — came in fifth with just 10 per cent of the vote, despite spending $4.5 million on TV ads in Iowa. What’s next: Perry, 61, told supporters late Tuesday night he would return home to reassess his candidacy. But by Wednesday morning, he was on Twitter announcing he would continue his campaign. Quote: “The next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State. . . . Here we come South Carolina!!!” Perry tweeted Wednesday.
MICHELE BACHMANN
Iowa: The self-proclaimed “Iron Lady” finished sixth, with just 5 per cent of the vote. Perry’s intention to remain in contention came in a tweet early Wednesday signalling he would skip New Hampshire. “And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State . . . Here we come South Carolina.” Then there is unbending libertarian Ron Paul — an uber-dove on foreign policy, an uber-hawk for small government — whose fanatical campaign volunteers arose unfazed by a third-place finish in Iowa. And finally, the only other moderate in the race, Jon Huntsman, the former U.S. ambassador to China, whose own plan to build a wall in New Hampshire has yet to serious-
The Minnesota lawmaker, 55, failed to win enough votes to continue her campaign. What’s next: Bachmann announced Wednesday she would suspend her bid, “standing aside” with “no regrets.” Her supporters are now up for grabs. Quote: “I will continue to be a strong voice.”
JON HUNTSMAN
Iowa: The former U.S. ambassador to China didn’t campaign in Iowa, instead focusing his efforts on New Hampshire. He received 1 per cent of the vote in Iowa. What’s next: Huntsman, 51, hopes his focus on New Hampshire will result in a strong showing there — a tactic that worked for Santorum in Iowa. “We’ve done the same type of work here,” Huntsman said Tuesday. Quote: “The effect of Iowa was that 75 per cent of the party — 75 per cent — didn’t want the status quo with Romney.” Star staff with files from Star wire services ly dent Romney’s rampart.
Mccain, in endorsing Romney, stressed that time was of the essence.
“I’m only here for one reason,” he said. “That is that we make Mitt Romney the next president of the United States. New Hampshire is a state that will catapult him to victory in a very short time.”
Huntsman, having bet everything on New Hampshire, sniffed that Mccain’s backing is meaningless, and that the race remains wide open as voters scan for an alternative.
“This nation is tired of the past,” he said. “It wants something new.”