Romney-Ryan?
12:25 AM, Mar 21, 2012 • By FRED BARNES
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Mitt Romney is close to finishing off his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, talk of a brokered GOP convention in August, and the prospect of a new candidate suddenly entering the contest.
This would be a political hat trick once it happens, and the moment is likely to come quite soon, now that Romney has won an overwhelming victory in the Illinois primary. It would take a collapse of historic proportions for Romney to be denied the nomination.
Could that happen? Sure. But the chances are mighty slim. Rick Santorum would have to whip Romney in the big state primaries—California, New Jersey, New York—and also in states like Maryland, Delaware, Oregon, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Utah.
As things now stand in the campaign, Santorum is more likely to lose all but one or two of these states than he is to capture a majority of them. Pressure for Santorum to drop out, quietly at first, is probably not far off.
Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul—forget them. Gingrich responded to Romney’s win in Illinois by whining about what he said was Romney’s 7-to-1 advantage in spending, as if it were improper. Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said this was like accusing a basketball team of cheating because its players are too tall.
In recent weeks, we’ve seen a different Romney—more conservative, more critical of President Obama, and more adept at explaining the contrast between himself and the president. Santorum insisted again Tuesday night that he would offer the strongest contrast, but Romney one-upped him in his post-victory speech.
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