Romney Campaign Spins Another Defeat

By: Scott Conroy
Topics: Mitt Romney

(CBS)

From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

DERRY, N.H. -- Mitt Romney's candidacy was built on the premise that the former Massachusetts governor needed to win early and often in order to build momentum. He is now 0 for 2 in Iowa and New Hampshire, but Romney's campaign shows no signs of giving up.

Saying that John McCain has been referred to as the "President of New Hampshire," due to his solid base of supporters here, Romney's national press secretary Kevin Madden told reporters tonight, "We were running essentially against an incumbent here."

Madden floated the idea that McCain may have benefited from independent voters who assumed that Barack Obama had a safe lead on the Democratic side and turned out to vote for John McCain in the Republican race.

"Worrying is for those without a plan," Madden said. "And our plan is to continue to be competitive in these early primary states."

Standing on stage along with his wife Ann and other family members, Romney delivered a very brief speech after the New Hampshire results came in tonight. The former Massachusetts governor reiterated his new campaign message that Washington is broken and touted his record as a successful manager and turnaround artist.

"Look, if people wonder what direction America is gonna head if they choose a Democratic leader like Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, all they have to do is look at a state like Michigan, which has had Democratic leadership, where taxes have been going up and jobs have been going out and where the industries are struggling," Romney said, as he looked ahead to the next primary contest. "We want to make sure that we strengthen our economy, and finally when we strengthen our military to make sure we're safe here and abroad."

Scott Conroy
Scott Conroy is a National Political Reporter for RealClearPolitics and a contributor for CBS News.
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by tbholsinger January 9, 2008 6:24 PM EST: What is up with the media spin?!!

Since when do 1 or 2 states get to decide the nominee?

So far, the first 3 voting states have given more delegates to Romney than any other candidate -- but still the media are so anxious to defeat Romney. It really makes you wonder...

The "Drive-By" Cauci has spoken -- they want McCain...

They say that Romney''s strategy was to win the most delegates from the early states, and so far it is working!; Reply to this comment


by sdkittel January 9, 2008 4:43 PM EST: It seems that Huckabee, his camp and supporters have a clearer objective of "beating Mitt" than getting their candidate the nom.
Chip Saltsman, a Huck camp spokesman, last night on Fox spent his segment ripping Romney. Another poster above did also.
They know Huck can''t win; this is nothing but a Holy War for Huck supporters who have slowly eroded the GOP Coalition by voting religiously.
And McCain. If you support him you are not a conservative. He''s an honorable man, a great man, but he voted against Bush''s cuts is pro-amnesty and constantly sides w/ liberals.
Romney discussed ISSUES in his "attack" ads. McCain & Huck very immaturely insulted him (and the dignity of the race for the presidency) during both the NH and Fox Forum debates.
All the contention from these 2 camps are strongly indicative of the Romney threat.
Romney is the best for the economy, that is the single-most important issue facing us in thia selection process. We cannot win the war on trror without a strong and vibrant economy. Romney is a business turn-round master...he can and will do the same for the US economy when elected.
Conservatives need to ask themselves: does "straigh-talk" from McCain outwiegh the very principles this entire party is for? Are you a Republican or an independent?
LOOK AT THESE: http://myclob.pbwiki.com/Why+I vetoed contraception bill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G9hydflwEQ; Reply to this comment


by cbsespo January 9, 2008 2:45 PM EST: Great title for the article.Anyone that takes a objective look at Mitt Romney will quickly observe that he has serious problems. I think that his ego overrides his brain. He is good looking,wealthy, and appears very presidential and dapper. Once you get past that you quickly realize that he thinks he can BS and Flip Flop on anything, at anytime and get away with it.
He speaks very sincerely, with apparent sincerity and conviction and then he will shed that stance
like a dirty T-shirt. This is not a one , or two, time occurrence it is
a deeply entrenched behavior pattern. Be it Abortion, Gay Rights, Gun Control, etc he seems to need to lie to convince people he is real. The hunting lies, the "saw my dad march with Martin Luther King Jr " lie are just a few of the doozys he expects people to
ignore. I don`t buy his phony sincerity for one second. He spent millions to be on TV bashing other republicans in Iowa. It backfired. He changed his game in New Hampshire, he changed to the anti Washington candidate. The day will come when Romney has to make a decision and that day will be when his ego meets his wallet and says
"shoot me , I guess I was wrong"
A man who is prone to visions,constantly backtracks on important issues, and makes up toilet paper thin explanations (and actually expects people to believe them ) is not fit to lead us.; Reply to this comment


by wendir8 January 9, 2008 2:37 PM EST: I am so incredibly impressed with Mitt Romney. He loves a challenge, and has a past history of overcoming any obstacles that have confronted him. All you have to do is watch the debates to see how intelligent, experienced and Presidential he is! We are not voting for a pastor, or a former war hero, we are voting for someone who can actually fix a broken government. Only Mitt can do that.; Reply to this comment


by marinepatriot January 9, 2008 6:29 AM EST: Congratulations John Mccain.

I support Mike Huckabee 100%

You did good by defeating Mitt Romney, he is a bad man. Thats 2 losses for Mitt. 0 wins for Mitt.

Mitt is a flip flopper. One former female running-mate said "Mitt is not pro-life or pro-choice, he is multiple choice!" and Its true.

Well the polls were right both times. 1st prediction was Huckabee with a strong win in Iowa. Mike did win 34% to Mitt 24% to Mccain 13%

New Hampshire predicted the same by polling, Mccain to win, Romney 2nd and Huckabee 3rd. and that''s what happened.

Now it shows a close race in Michigan with Huckabee predicted to get number one once again. Nation wide poll stats have Huckabee on top with a huge lead over all candidates.

Signs everywhere that Rudy is out of race completely, largely in part of the NY firefighters making the video calling him a fraud and blaming him for the 121 lost firemen in 9/11. Sad

If you listen to Mike, you know he is the candidate we want.

I endorse Mike Huckabee

Dan Campbell
Sgt., USMC; Reply to this comment


by JedMerrill January 9, 2008 4:39 AM EST: That is quite a respectable showing by Romney. I was expecting maybe 21%. Romney is certainly in the winner''s ballpark and not the losers'' ballpark.

Not sure what this says for Huckabee, who scored less than half of what Mitt did, but more than either Ron Paul or Giuliani.

As for McCain, I am surprised by his numbers, too. I expected 31%, and he did even better, but the numbers seem to have come from Huckabee, Thompson, Giuliani, and Paul rather than from Romney.

Great race, and this will put McCain on the map, although distantly behind Romney in terms of total delegates to date.

http://www.conservativerepublicans.com; Reply to this comment


by JedMerrill January 9, 2008 3:50 AM EST: It is true Mitt Romney has almost three times the delegates McCain has.

Good for McCain for getting into the race, but I doubt he will be as successful in Michigan.

Also, it is worth noting that Romney lost to McCain by 5%, where Bush lost to him by 18% in 2000 and still came back to win the White House.; Reply to this comment


by pogobrian January 9, 2008 3:14 AM EST: Mitt is solid. I read and heard things in the media which seem to be all off base. He''s by far the most qualified and energetic. If he gets the nod, he''s got my vote - if Huckster or McCranky get it, then I''m voting for Obama...; Reply to this comment


by daleesp January 9, 2008 3:02 AM EST: I hear they are going to make "Flipper The Movie". It would star Mitt Romney and include a few moonwalking tail stands and alot dolphin chatter. Romney cannot run away from his flip-flopping.; Reply to this comment


by thanksmitt January 9, 2008 2:46 AM EST: Mitt Romney has more delegates than any other candidate. He is the front-runner. I appreciate that things may change in future contests, but I hope people will really ask why they want a candidate to win. Is John McCain a better candidate than Mitt Romney? If you saw both debates, there was no question who the best candidate was.; Reply to this comment