Wednesday, January 09, 2008

I'm Not Dead Yet!

I can't help thinking of the scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with the man bringing his father out to be carted off with the corpses, despite his vigorous protests that he's not dead yet. Hillary Clinton is definitely not dead yet, having squeaked past Barack Obama in New Hampshire (although they actually tied in delegates). John McCain is definitely not dead yet, having convincingly defeated "favorite son" Mitt Romney. What's scary to me, actually, is that so many people take Romney seriously. The Union Leader and the Concord Monitor got it right in their anti-endorsements of Romney.

For purely partisan reasons, I would love to see the Republicans nominate Romney, because I think he could challenge the electoral college tally amassed by the last Massachusetts governor to run for President: Michael Dukakis. (Dukakis lost by 426 to 111, with one rogue elector voting for running mate Lloyd Bentsen.) America needs a landslide Presidential victory, and with Romney on the red side, even a Mike Gravel–Dennis Kucinich ticket could win 40 states. Hell — even Dukakis would have a tough time losing to Romney!