In 2007, Senator Hilary Clinton was the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party. Senator Barack Obama won the nomination and the Presidency.
in 2011, Governor Mitt Romney is considered the heir apparent of the Republican presidential nomination. We are still waiting, and 2012 is only ten weeks away.
An aura of inevitability is an offense to most rank-and-file voters, who expect to me wooed before they are wed to any one nominee.
Mr. Romney, like the parson of Pride and Prejudice, may have three or four enumerated reasons why he would make a perfect match for the Republican electorate, including the fact that it would consummate his father-son establishment legacy.
Yet Governor Romney does not move the hearts of the faithful. We do not see how such a marriage would make either partner happy. The Republican base wants a nominee who is tried and tests, and willing to say "I do" to all the main planks of the GOP platform. Romney has failed on this point, with his moderate-to-conservative shift in views from Massachusetts Governor to Presidential nominee, many rightfully question his right-wing fidelity.
The lukewarm response from the base, despite the enormous endorsement from Governor Chris Christie, all signal that the GOP is still waiting for a better match, one who will marry fiscal conservatism and limited government with respect for the social conservatives's values.
Romney the inevitable nominee for the past four years, may become Romney the Unelectable, whose overt protestations have done more to dissuade than seduce potential voters.