The Bummer Victory

Joe Klein summarizes the problem with Romney's victories:

In 2008, Barack Obama was able to turn his primary-night victories, and even a few of his defeats, into operatic gusts of wonderment. Eventually he went too far, slouching toward pomposity: 'We are the ones we've been waiting for' was a rhetorical bridge to nowhere. But watching him win was fun. Watching Mitt Romney win is as joyous as arthritis. And like Obama, Romney now has his own election-night brand: the bummer victory. He has had nights of sheer triumph, as in Florida. But more often, it's been like Super Tuesday: a handful of expected wins, on home turf like New England and the Mormon West; a handful of dreadful losses, in places like moderate-conservative Tennessee; and a signature squeaker, in Ohio, following similar performances in Iowa and Michigan.

Taegan Goddard described Romney's problem similarly in one word: Asterisk. You can see the video of the conversation with Mark McKinnon, Goddard, and John Avlon here:



I really like Goddard's characterization. Every Romney victory has an asterisk. He is the Roger Maris of presidential politics. He's going to be the nominee but it feels like there is an asterisk next to it. Everyone who is asked "who will be the Republican nominee?" says, "Romney, of course, but ..."