These are interesting times for Mitt Romney. The media ignored his win in Wyoming, which some people might argue makes sense given that it was, well, Wyoming. It isn’t a state rich in delegates, nor does it represent the cutting edge of society. But this is not really fair. After all, how much of a population or cultural Mecca is Iowa? No disrespect towards either state is intended on my part, but neither one should have more than 1/50th of a say (if even that much) in who the next President should be. Yet the media has been all over Iowa for a year.
Anyway, Romney won in Wyoming—and the nation yawned—but now he has won in Michigan, too. He leads the delegate race, and recently he accomplished something else of significance: he got an endorsement from Ann Coulter.
The reason the Republican race has been so turbulent is that conservative voters are not sure where to turn. Giuliani talks tough on foreign affairs, but he is socially liberal, and he’s had some marital issues. Thompson is a social conservative, but he crossed conservative icon James Dobson (and Thompson has run a lethargic campaign). Can he recover from either of these in time? McCain talks as tough as Giuliani, and he’s more conservative, but some of McCain’s solutions to problems have been, um, rather creative (read: non-conservative), and some are concerned about the elderly McCain’s age. Mike Huckabee is quite conservative socially, and quite not-a-conservative on other issues. This begs the question: Is he the next Teddy Roosevelt (no), the next Jimmy Carter (oh no), or something unique? Mitt Romney has taken some hits along the trail for fighting mean and for being a recent convert to conservatism. Conservatives wonder, is he a true believer or just another shady politician?
Though it won’t help him in the blue states, winning praise from the staunchly conservative Ann Coulter will probably give him a bump among her like-minded friends. Endorsements are generally over rated, I believe, but the Coulter endorsement should have some horsepower behind it. For all the eyebrows raised at the Republican candidates, nobody doubts that Coulter is a conservative. If she believes in Romney, some conservatives who have been lukewarm on their choices will feel better about the Republicans’ newest frontrunner.