horse of george

I've heard the refrain that the rise of the various not-Romneys etc etc is actually a good thing for Romney, that the competition will make him a better candidate and that it's usual for the eventual republican nominee to have survived some trials and tribulations - often the comparison is made to Obama vs Hillary and how that battle made Obama a better candidate. There's some truth to this - but missing is recognition that both Obama and Hillary were viable presidential candidates and so the battle between them could serve to burnish the image of each - Romney on the other hand is engaged with windmills, some of very shaky construction - none of his opponents are viable outside the prison walls of the republican primary - hard to see how he'll be ennobled by a drawn out battle with that lot. Let's also remember that the uber left was heavily invested in Obama - if Hillary had won they would have become disaffected and Hillary may have had to drift too far from the center in order to re-engage them - I fear the same dynamic working against Romney except of course viz a disaffected uber right.