BAM and BAM!

Terrific wins for Romney tonight in both Arizona and Michigan!  These wins together mean a whole lot in this campaign.  Especially heading toward Super Tuesday next week.  Now we need to build and spread the word...game's on the line here, folks.  Congratulations to Mitt, and to voters in these two important states.

Big Day in MI, AZ!

Encourage your friends in Michigan and Arizona to get out there for Romney.  It's a HUGE, HUGE day and we need Mitt to come out on top in both contests.  Every vote counts they say - never more true than today.

You want a great, rather low key story that gives good insight into Mitt and his wife, Ann, and the Romney campaign?  This is worth the brief time to read.

Obama Believes You're Stupid

You need at least some - though often very little - thinking to see through Obama's words.  His little speech yesterday about gas prices deserves brief mention so none of us lets our friends get suckered by this guy.

The Wall Street Journal says it better than I can here, so take a minute to read this.  A little excerpt here:

'The American people aren't stupid," thundered President Obama yesterday in Miami, ridiculing Republicans who are blaming him for rising gasoline prices. Let's hope he's right, because not even Forrest Gump could believe the logic of what Mr. Obama is trying to sell.

To wit, that a) gasoline prices are beyond his control, but b) to the extent oil and gas production is rising in America, his energy policies deserve all the credit, and c) higher prices are one more reason to raise taxes on oil and gas drillers while handing even more subsidies to his friends in green energy. Where to begin?

Detroit News is for Romney

A great follow-up to last night's debate.  Today, the conservative-leaning Detroit News endorses Mitt Romney for President.  Here's to hoping Michigan voters will show up in droves to support Mitt on Tuesday!

Rally & Debate

Great job by Mitt last night in the debate in Arizona!  His competence, smart ideas, focus, and preparation were on full display.  He clearly had the best night among the candidates.  Gingrich and Paul did a fine job overall as well.  Santorum, on the other hand, was on the defensive all night and to my view just did not come across well at all.  If I were to encapsulate the entire debate in one statement, it would be Romney's directed at Santorum in the discussion on "earmarks" directing federal financial support to various projects: "While I was fighting to save the Olympics, you were working fighting to save the 'Bridge to Nowhere.'"  Santorum and Gingrich (both of whom made an art form of passing their earmarks in the past) tried to claim that they are all the same, but Romney's comment shows how ridiculous that idea is.  An Olympics hosted by the United States of America has a legitimate claim for national support and as Romney noted, it was specifically for help with transportation and security for the Games.  Compare that with "pet projects" like the 'Bridge to Nowhere' which give local benefits but can hardly be claimed to be a national issue.

Well, I'm a bit late on this but wanted to pass on a video and a  few photos from a Romney rally in Chandler, Arizona yesterday morning, all taken by my brother (and contributing blogger), Mark, who had prime seating for the event.  Lucky dude...

Radio for Mitt

Recommended radio interview of one of the contributors to Evangelicals for Mitt blog.  Take the time.  Good stuff.

By the way, props to my bro. Mark for being front and center at a large rally for Romney in Tucson this morning.  Will post some of his photos and video later tonight.

Santorum's Problem

I have a number of concerns with Santorum, as I've mentioned before.  But this excerpt from an article today I think nails another I hadn't quite put my finger on yet:

Moreover, the hysterical and wildly distorted mass onslaught against Santorum over the past few days — which must be understood as an example of the nearly overt way the mainstream media have declared war on the Republican Party in the run-up to the election — is certain to provoke a backlash among voters who’ll know they’re being fed Democratic campaign propaganda.

No, Santorum’s problem is — forgive the technical graduate-school political-science terminology here — that he’s a sourpuss, and sourpusses don’t get elected president. The former Pennsylvania senator looks like he swallowed a lemon — and he acts like America is the lemon he swallowed.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/the_real_trouble_with_rick_heWQPU8VoNAHl6Qu2ESYfO#ixzz1n2oij2bd

Mitt's Personal Style

I believe it's a truism that the media do a poor job of getting a true sense of what candidates are really made of, what really drives them. I ran across this great personal story about Mitt Romney that I want to repost here, as I think it's more enlightening about Mitt than almost anything you would read or hear in the media about him:

"The following account is provided by Greg Davis:
'I noticed an earlier blog entry surrounding the 2007 [California wild]fires. Below is my recollection of that period and my morning “stumping” with Mitt Romney. I will never forget the fires of October 2007. That year unusually hot, dry, Santa Ana winds wreaked havoc in Southern California. Gusts touching 85 mph carried ash and cinders for miles seemingly touching off a new fire every day. Entire cities became ghost towns with an estimated 1,000,000 people being forced to evacuate (myself included). When all was said and done, over a thousand homes had burned to the ground and billions in damage had been done. While my house had been spared, the homes of many friends and neighbors had been burned or damaged and the entire region embarked on a massive clean-up effort. About this time, the national GOP nominating contest was heating up and Mitt Romney was among the front runners. Mitt was coming to San Diego for some political events and wanted to get a better sense of the damage. His son, Matt Romney, invited Mitt to participate in an early morning service project at the house of a friend. Our friend had lost a giant pine tree to the fires (thanks to firefighters his home had miraculously been spared). The tree had been cut and hauled away but a giant stump dominated a pocket of earth in his front yard. Our friend needed help digging it out. Mitt arrived bright and early in sneakers, jeans, and an old cotton shirt. He surveyed the stump and a wry smile crept across his face. I sensed this was not the first foray in stump removal and he knew (far better than I did) the scope of what we were trying to accomplish that morning. The tree had matured and closer inspection revealed a complicated labyrinth of large roots compacted by the surrounding cement sidewalks. Armed with chainsaws and axes we went to work. Our progress was difficult to measure. The moist sappy wood and surrounding earth quickly dulled our chainsaws. I found myself questioning our effort and wondering if we were making any progress at all. After burning out three chainsaws my resolve was weakening and I was ready to hang it up, but not Mitt. It was time for the ax. After several hours it was time for me to go to work and time for him to return to the campaign trail. The stump remained but, surprisingly, we had made tremendous progress. Thanks a timely visit from a neighboring backhoe the stump was out by lunchtime (much to the joy of our friend who figured it would take days to remove). There are several things I remember about this day. I remember Mitt’s focus and work ethic. Our friend bought us breakfast burritos, but Mitt politely declined citing his desire to, “..make some progress first.” I remember moments of ingenuity (Mitt used a crowbar to pry apart cuts in the wood helping our dull chainsaws be more effective). I remember the look on a neighbors face as they passed by walking their dog. Was that really Governor Mitt Romney chopping at his neighbors stump? For me the morning was a microcosm of what I envision a Mitt Romney presidency would be like. Every morning showing up early and ready to work, quickly assessing the challenges of the day, tackling them head on with a heavy dose of hard work and ingenuity, and leavings things in much better shape than he found them. It has been said that our character is what we do when we think no one is looking. Notably, on this morning there were no bright lights or press corp. And as the prolific sweat on his cotton shirt would attest to, this was no token visit to merely score political points. Mitt had come to work and to serve. If America decides to offer Mitt Romney the privilege of being president, I know we’ll be getting a man character; one that not only talks the talk, but walks the walk.'"

Michigan's Home Boy

Romney's Conservative Case

In an interview with National Review Online over the weekend, Romney discussed his speech to CPAC (Conservative Political Action Committee) and his history and policies as a conservative.  It is reviewed here and is an important read for anyone following the campaign and wanting to understand Romney better. Enjoy.

Also was reminded of this Rick Santorum quote - yes, that Rick Santorum - just four years ago when he said this: “Conservatism is a way of life - Mitt Romney understands that. It's not just in his head; it's in his heart."

There's more.  I highly recommend watching this little video.  David French, the award recipient, is with his wife the force behind the "Evangelicals for Mitt" blog, is a lawyer defending freedom of religion and freedom of speech, and joined the military after 9/11 to serve our nation in Iraq.  What an incredible person and family.

The Rational Vote, Part 2

I'm not entirely sure how accurately I perceive the various fracture lines in the conservative coalition in the past few years, but let me take a stab at it.

First, we have a historical problem, which is that - for various reasons, mostly political - Republicans in Congress haven't been much better than Democrats at preventing the growth of government and the expansion of the federal bureaucracy.  So there's some latent hostility towards what is perceived as the "Republican elite" - and I would say it rubs off on most of the Republicans in the Senate and some in the House.  It's hard to find a known name in the Republican field that is not to some degree tainted by this, and it has affected enthusiasm for some of the candidates.

Then, there is the length and cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan [disclaimer: I did and do support our purposes in going into these conflicts, and while we've made some mistakes in the execution of them, I support the troops and realize how complex the environments we have been operating in there].  Some war weariness - understandable - has undercut some of the usual enthusiasm and agreement on foreign policy and military matters.

Perhaps the most volatile and problematic issue is on social issues.  Not that there are significant divisions on policy - that's the funny thing about it.  This is where it gets tricky.  Because these tend to be "close to the heart issues" it sometimes devolves into "identification politics" where a candidate's church affiliation, their accent and manner of speech and language, even their choice of clothing or hair styles, seems to make groups feel "more comfortable" or "less comfortable" with a candidate.

There are other issues from immigration to tax policy and other issues, where there are disagreements.

How do these affect Romney?  Social conservatives hear various claims as to his credentials and history on some policy issues.  They see a northeast politician (making him suspect from the get go in some conservative voter eyes) who established his political credentials in liberal Massachusetts with a mix of moderate and conservative positions.  And, of course, he's Mormon.  That, and a generally fractured conservative coalition, has made it hard for any candidate - including Romney - to create strong momentum and overwhelming support.

What can be done?  There are times where I have my doubts, but I still believe once we get to convention and a nominee is selected, the desire to get Obama out of the White House will kick into gear and it will be a fight down to the wire.  I think the conservative groups will mute their criticisms then and work to get Obama out and the Republican in.

What will be interesting is if we succeed...will those same fractures reappear and make it hard for the new president to succeed and maintain the necessary support?  Time will tell.  But it gives even more impetus to Romney and team to build strong bonds with all these elements and invite them to understand the balance needed to keep everyone in the big tent, which is necessary to the goals of all types of conservatives.

When I hear Romney criticized as "say anything, do anything to get elected," I think first off it's ridiculous because he's not pushing liberal policies and has been consistent in the conservative policy proposals developed in the run of this presidential campaign.  That said, what I think people might be reacting to is simply the effort Romney is making to speak to and bind these various types of conservatives as well as independents/moderates that are needed in the coalition in order to beat Obama.  Romney's challenge is to let all conservatives know that he does hold conservative policies and instincts and should be trusted by them.

United we stand, divided we fall.  So if you, or any of your friends, are aggressively attacking and deepening these divisions on the conservative side, here's an invitation to hold off.  Let's work together and gain confidence in one another.  Romney's win at CPAC before the weekend was good to help reinforce his credentials among conservatives.  His strength continues to be the west and the northeast, and in Florida.  I'm anxious for the South and the Midwest to join the ranks in a stronger way, and give Romney the boost he needs to represent all areas of the country for Republicans.

The Rational Vote

Coalitions are interesting creatures.  Take various groups of voters motivated by "overlapping enough" issues and throw their support together to win an election.  Both the Republican and Democratic Parties are coalitions, of course, but you wonder as you watch this particular Republican Primary process if the Republican coalition is the more fractious of the two.

The Republican/conservative coalition has been described and reported quite a bit over the years and is again a current topic.

I've seen various labels given to different elements of the Republican coalition...here is my attempt to describe them:

Fiscal conservatives ('small government conservatives' etc.): main concern is national debt, balancing budgets, fears of over promising on "entitlement" spending, etc.

Constitutional conservatives: motivated by limited government, sticking to original intent in interpreting the US Constitution, tend to be more libertarian.  Think Ron Paul and some Tea Party groups.  Also, Second Amendment (gun ownership rights) voters.  "Get the government off our backs" conservatives.

Social conservatives: think of religiously motivated voters, issues including pro-life, protection of traditional marriage, importance of religious freedom, etc.  Within this group, there are fractures which can be related to identification with particular churches or branches of Christianity, etc.

Military/Foreign Policy conservatives: care a great deal about maintaining the strength of our military and using American strength with firmness and integrity to support American ideals of freedom and peace around the world.

Unfortunately, it seems that these groups have been working more at cross purposes than with common purpose in recent years.  Romney's challenge is in large part a reflection of the difficulty of inviting these groups to join together and trust him with the charge to stand firm for all of the above if he is elected president.

More to come on the challenge, and how this might be done...

What's the Best Way Forward?

I was just reading a couple of articles this morning that got me thinking.  The first was an article (actually, a collection of articles) in Time magazine by various conservative writers on the topic of where conservatism stands right now with regard to American politics generally and the Republican primary this year specifically.  The second was an opinion piece by Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post with her ideas on what Romney might do to make a stronger, better connection with voters as he looks for ways to get back on the winning track.

I believe anyone paying close attention to the Romney campaign should recognize that he is very aware of the issues brought up in these various articles, and has worked to build and bind the Republican/conservative coalition together and establish a clear reason for his running, which is, in a phrase to get government under control, limit it to constitutional bounds, and establish policies that allow our economy to boom out of the morass it has been in.

That said, campaigns are about getting people to understand your purpose and plan, and buy into it with enthusiasm.  With no illusions about the complex, fractured, roller coaster nature of this Republican primary season, I believe Romney and his team can do this more effectively.

I actually am impressed with the themes/focus suggested in the Jennifer Rubin article referenced above.  Let me restate them in my own words:

BRING BACK FREE MARKET PROSPERITY AND FREEDOMS

LIMIT GOVERNMENT (TO AVOID FINANCIAL COLLAPSE AND TO ALLOW PROSPERITY AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS)

AMERICAN NEEDS TO LEAD THE WORLD FROM THE FRONT (WITH INTEGRITY AND STRENGTH)

RESPECT AMERICAN CITIZENS, OUR CONSTITUTION, RULE OF LAW, AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN AMERICA

AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY IS THE RALLY CRY; GIVE INDIVIDUALS MORE FREEDOM OF CHOICE TO SEEK SELF IMPROVEMENT THROUGH EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT, AND ACTIVITIES DICTATED BY THEIR CONSCIENCE

I will add one more:

RECOGNIZING THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE TO OUR SOCIETY OF STRONG FAMILIES AND HEALTHY, VIBRANT RELIGIOUS AND OTHER PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS, ROMNEY POLICY WILL SUPPORT THEM WITHOUT CONTROLLING OR HARASSING THEM.

Each of these six themes can easily be fleshed out by the positions and policies Romney has already put out there and spoken about, but this can give a simple focus while still providing endless variations of ways to communicate with and connect with voters so it never becomes stale and can be enthusiastically understood and bought into by the many people who will be needed to bring Obama down in November.

The Case for Mitt by the Donald

Donald Trump of course endorsed Romney this past week...today he wrote a very well done editorial explaining why Romney is the way to go for conservatives, Republicans generally, and for America.  Whether or not you like his hair style or watch his show, take a look...

OK, So Let's Look @ Romney v Santorum

Let me start off by saying that Santorum would be my second choice after Romney in this campaign.  He has an at-times compelling personality and understands conservatism - at least, social conservatism - well. I think overall, he's capable and a good candidate.

That said, Santorum has not been heavily vetted, and we need to learn a lot more about him quickly.  He's given himself some momentum again after yesterday; but he had that after Iowa as well and it didn't go very far.

Here's a problem with Santorum: his emotional appeal lies in a rather narrow band of voters - mostly evangelical and similar very conservative social/religiously motivated voters.  This is a good and important group, and it's large enough to win small Republican caucuses in certain states, like they did yesterday.  But they are not nearly a big enough group to win a national presidential election against Obama.  On his emotional appeal/approach, read this article arguing that Romney has the temperament most like Reagan, whereas Santorum clearly does not.  It's a good read.  This article by Charlotte Hays, makes a similar point on Santorum's narrow appeal in a general election.

Another problem with Santorum: although most voters (and media) tend to think that media headlines and a perhaps surprising win or two (or three) predict how things will go in these elections, the fact is that breadth and depth and discipline of organization across the nation - as well as the resources to run a national campaign - still matter a very great deal.  This is true not only for the Republican primaries but even more so in the national campaign against the Obama machine.  Santorum has so far produced very limited organization and very limited resources.  Romney is at the other end of that spectrum, with the most developed and disciplined organization and the resources to support it.  That is much more important - and difficult to achieve - than many may realize.

There are other issues to be looked at.  One that Mitt mentioned in his speech last night that I think is important...all the remaining candidates made their fame in Washington DC except for Romney himself.  Romney's fame and success have been built in private business, in the Salt Lake Winter Olympics, as governor of Massachusetts, as a family man and dedicated member of his faith, and for his more recent years campaigning on the national stage.  Nothing from Washington DC itself.  Want someone that can take a new perspective and help change DC from all its dysfunction?  Mitt's the man.

So yes, let's take a very close look...

Perspective

Overall not a good night for Mitt and crew.  The loss in Missouri is less important to me given it is non-binding and there is another vote in the same state that means something next month; i.e. this vote doesn't matter.  The only concern is when placed next to the loss in Minnesota.  To me, the meaning of this is pretty basic: evangelicals and other "social conservatives" in the Midwest are still hesitant to support Romney.  I'm pretty sure Romney's religion is a factor there still...but that doesn't mean this hesitation can't be overcome.  Problem is that time is running shorter for this to change.

Romney's other problem right now is disappointing to me, and that is that most of the media, being liberal, is naturally going to try to find ways to slight and undermine him, but for him, much conservative media is also doing the same from the other direction.  The only thing I can figure is that somehow they don't see Mitt as a "movement conservative" and so in language and manner they find fault with him.

No candidate is perfect, and I think Mitt can continue to improve his message and style to communicate effectively to more and more voters.  But at the end of the day, what I want most from the next president is that I can trust him to effectively lead and get our economy moving, and efficiently change the giant bureaucracy of the federal government to get us out of our current and future load of debt, while keeping our nation strong and vibrant.  That, to me, is precisely why I support Romney.  He is for me by far the most prepared and the most likely to realistically accomplish all this.  We will be a stronger, freer, and better nation with Mitt Romney as president.

Colorado's vote is still being tallied.  Too close to call.  I hope Romney wins, but win or lose, it's clear there is a long hard fight ahead, so let's put our back into it!

[Update: Colorado went to Santorum also.  One reminder: yes, Romney did better in these states in 2008, but in 2008 McCain still got the nomination.  This time Romney's in the leaders position.]

We Are All Catholics Now

Important read...spread the word.

Some Jobs...Need MANY, MANY More

Two improved job reports, which is better than bad for sure.  But a little perspective is in order.  We need our economy to grow much, much, much faster than this for many reasons. Consider:

"If we keep adding jobs at roughly the pace we added them in December and January, then the United States will return to full employment some time in 2024. That’s unacceptable. To get back to full employment by 2017—a pathetic goal, by the way—job growth would have to further accelerate so that we add an average of 321,000 jobs per month, each and every month, for more than 50 months in a row."

We need Romney in the White House, as soon as possible.

CO, MN, MO Up Next...Poll Notes

Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota vote tomorrow - again hoping to see positive momentum building for Romney.  Minnesota is the tightest upcoming race in the polls, suggesting Santorum and Romney are very close there.  I haven't seen polls in Missouri but I expect we will see similar trend where some conservative and evangelical groups in the Midwest and South are taking longer to come around to supporting Mitt so the voting there may, like Minnesota, be close.  In Colorado, Maine, Arizona, and Michigan - all coming up soon - Romney has a lead in the most recent polls.  Nationally as well we are seeing Mitt at his highest point among voters to date.

This will be an ongoing, steady slog but a very important time in the campaign.  Come on Colorado, Maine, Missouri and Minnesota!

Romney Wins Big in Nevada

Finally results still coming in but per exit polling upper 40's to low 50's likely to be the final tally for Mitt. Tremendous thumping of Newt and the others.  [Update: the final result came out right at 50% for Mitt.]

I Want These

While we wait for Nevada caucus goers to vote today - and hope Romney supporters get out there en masse to produce a big victory - I ran across this...and I want a pair!



Also, if you have a few minutes, this is an interesting article on Romney's appeal to Tea Party supporters. Rings true in many ways; this is an important group to have in the Romney coalition to beat Obama in November.

Religious Liberty in America

This article is a must read for all Americans...an editorial written by Mitt Romney and printed in the Washington Examiner today.  It is pointed in contrasting Obama's war on religion in America with the constitutional principle of the freedom of religion, guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.  Obama has made a grave mistake in his plan to force Catholics and others to either stop helping people or obey their government overseers.  We need to make him regret it by working hard to kick him out of the White House.

Read it now, and spread the word to others to read it.  And here's another on the topic.  Excerpt: "These immediate battles may be about abortion or contraception, but ultimately they are about whether we stand firm on our nation’s core beliefs in freedom of conscience and religious liberty...Coercion and intimidation are the tools of mobs and tyrants and have no place in this calculus."

Rebuilding broken trust in military will be a huge task!

Coming on the heels of Obama's announcement to the world that the US would be slashing funding to our military, and the fact that dangerous regimes are testing our resolve, and finding that Obama has none, I read 2 articles recently that really scared me.

The first one is from Mitt Romney Central. Even though it came from the campaign, the fact are the facts, and it really lays out the fact that Obama had a pattern of not being able to handle the sacred responsibility of Commander in Chief, and putting personal gain ahead of human life.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/MittRomneyCentral

The second one was from the Washington Post, and really scared me. As we all know, Israel CANNOT allow Iran to have nuclear weapons, and neither can we! Well, due to the fact that Obama has been completely inept in dealing with Iran, and has done everything to show Israel that they cannot count on us to support them physically or even politically! So, as we all know, Israel has said they will go it alone if they have to. Then I hear that Panetta told media that Israel will preemptively strike Iran in the next few months. (why can't this administration keep private information private, even at the highest levels???)

Then I read the Washington Post article which said that the Obama administration still hasn't decided how or even if they will support Israel, if they do strike!?!?! That's the problem with having no moral compass, or any kind of solid foundation on foreign policy!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-israel-preparing-to-attack-iran/2012/02/02/gIQANjfTkQ_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop

What we need now is Mitt Romney, who supports a military so strong that no one will dare test it, and who actually supports our allies, and will deal with dangerous regimes!

One More Time, Slowly Now...

If there's one thing I get most sick of in politics, it's gotcha media seeming to purposefully misinterpret someone's words.  I hate even having to talk about this stuff.  This is like the toilet cleaning part of cleaning your house, but I guess it must be done.

So start with saying that of course Mitt could/should have made his point regarding the middle class with better words.  Fine.  Learn from it.

But here's the point for me: I don't think any fair-minded person could possibly take what Romney said yesterday as any different than what most politicians say all the time.  He clearly was NOT saying he doesn't care about the poor - to the contrary he said he believes the safety net is (and should be) there for them and can be improved where needed.  In what world can that be interpreted as not caring about the poor?  Again, you can't clip out a few chosen words, you have to look at the whole statement.  I could take a conversation from anyone, clip out only the parts I want, and make it sound bad.  But that's unfair and disingenuous.  Get that, media and pundits?

Notice nobody pulled out the line "I'm not concerned about the very rich" - because that wouldn't create the controversy and misinterpretation they want to create.  Oh, no.

In context, you can easily summarize what Romney said this way: "the middle class have been most harmed by Obama's policies, and my priority as president will be to correct this."

OK, now back to my zen state for a few moments...

Vamos Mitteo!

Thought this was funny and interesting at the same time.  Because Mitt's father was born in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, there's been this whispered discussion about whether Romney could be the first President of Mexican-American descent (first "Gringo-Latino" president), and some have light-heartedly started to refer to him as "Mitteo."

Funny, but kind of has a serious aspect to it as well.  I think Romney is right to emphasize the need to get a handle on illegal immigration in order to support legal immigration and make the whole process functional.  At the same time, there needs to be a way to reassure and work with Latino communities that would need to deal with these issues in a new system and allow families to work out being together and supporting one another.

Mitteo has the opportunity to build relationships and inroads that could allow this to happen.  It is also an important source of voter support for him.  Mitteo...I kinda like it.

Yes, Romney Cares about the Poor

Really, media?  This is not hard to understand.  Read this and look at the context.  Should this take any brains to report appropriately?  Wow.

Lest We Forget...

How secular and liberal the Obama administration is:

Notable excerpt: "That means we can't say what we've been saying for 200 years, 'Are you hungry?'" retired Cardinal Theodore McCarrick told Fox News in an interview Tuesday. "We have to say, 'Are you Catholic?' We don't do that."

How Big is Florida?

Huge.  You add the total populations of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina and you have about 9 million people.  The population of Florida?  About 19 million - more than double the total of the others combined.  Florida and it's primary are also a closer reflection of what the general campaign against Obama will be like.

This is a pretty good overview of what a solid, important win this was for Mitt Romney.  In addition to doing very well among independents, Romney did very well among conservatives generally, and conservative Christians/evangelicals in particular, a group people have wondered about in terms of their willingness to support Governor Romney.

And I can't help another dig at Gingrich, as he surely deserves it.  Asked this morning if Gingrich had called to congratulate him on his victory in Florida as is traditional, Romney admitted that not only had Gingrich not called, but he hadn't after Iowa or New Hampshire either, though he himself had called Gingrich to congratulate him after South Carolina.  Does that not say a lot right there?  Romney made the call to Gingrich after his one win, but Gingrich hasn't done the same in return even when all the other candidates have done so.  Amazing.