Eugene Robinson Live: How Romney got the lead in Florida
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Eugene Robinson is an Associate Editor and twice-weekly columnist for The Washington Post. His column appears on Tuesdays and Fridays. In a 25-year career at The Post, Robinson has been city hall reporter, city editor, foreign correspondent in Buenos Aires and London, foreign editor, and assistant managing editor in charge of the paper's award-winning Style section. In 2005, he started writing a column for the Op-Ed page. He is the author of "Coal to Cream: A Black Man's Journey Beyond Color to an Affirmation of Race" (1999) and "Last Dance in Havana" (2004). Robinson is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and has received numerous journalism awards.
About the topic
From the heart of Miami, Eugene Robinson live chats with readers about the Florida primary, Mitt Romney's lead, and more. Submit questions and your opinions now.
Eugene Robinson :
Hi, folks. Welcome to this week's chat. I'm coming to you from South Beach, where I have to report that the weather -- not quite as nice as yesterday -- is still pretty nice. Hey, somebody has to cover the Republican primary... Let's get started.
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January 31, 2012 1:02 PM
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Primary
Mr. Robinson, In your opinion, which Republican candidate has the best chance of defeating the incumbent in the general election? Your advice will be appreciated because I vote in the primary tomorrow. Thanks
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January 30, 2012 7:42 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
I feel compelled to give an honest answer, rather than suggest you vote for Ron Paul. All the polls suggest that Mitt Romney would be President Obama's toughest opponent this fall. We've learned in the past few weeks that Romney has vulnerabilities, but he's still the one who would give the president the toughest challenge.
– January 31, 2012 1:04 PM
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Gingrich
Gene: You are without a doubt the best writer on the Post. You are steady, honest, and brilliant. Why can't we convince the public how dangerous it would be to have Gingrich as President. The only reason he soared above in South Carolina was because he did not answer any decent questions but he just ranted and raved so that he could not be cornered in. The speech he gave during the debate had already been heard twice earlier that day. He played his game once again. Help us to get rid of him. P.S. By the way, I am a former Republican who is a great supporter of the President! I just want to get rid of Gingrich once and for all.
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January 31, 2012 5:33 AM
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Eugene Robinson :
Thanks so much, but there are a lot of tremendous writers at The Post. You'll probably get your wish about Gingrich, but maybe not quite yet. He vows to go all the way to the convention, and if he has enough money I'm sure he'll do just that. But the Republican establishment is so set against him that there's no way, in my opinion, that he could actually win the nomination.
– January 31, 2012 1:06 PM
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Romney's Lead
So I assume that Romney's team is trying to bury Gingrich as early as possible. But even if Florida is a big win for Romney doesn't Gingrich have enough money to keep going for a while? And does Gingrich have any chance of winning the nomination?
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January 31, 2012 11:21 AM
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Eugene Robinson :
Gingrich could run into money problems. He's okay as long as billionaire Sheldon Adelson keeps bankrolling the pro-Gingrich PAC, but there's a long stretch between now and Super Tuesday with few opportunities for Gingrich to put points on the board that would encourage campaign donations.
– January 31, 2012 1:08 PM
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To the Moon, Newt!
How's his lunar colony idea playing? Should we expect him to carry the "Space Coast" of Brevard County?
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January 31, 2012 12:53 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
If Gingrich doesn't do well in the Space Coast, given his advocacy of lunar colonies and the like, then he'll have to chalk up Florida as a total failure. The buzz a couple of days ago was that if there was any movement here, it was toward Newt. But that seemed to fade yesterday.
– January 31, 2012 1:11 PM
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Will networks "call the winner" right after Polls close in Panhandle of Florida?
Thanks for your columns and informed perspective -- I am wondering if viewers are going to be told who "won" as soon as the Poll and Ballot counters are actually able to present data or just "projections". It still amazes me that the Iowa Caucus final results are not what they seemed when the Victory speech was being given and Network Pundits were calling for Perry and Bachmann to leave the race within minutes or hours. Thanks for this information/opinion!
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January 31, 2012 12:36 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
Your recollection of election night in Iowa is a little off. The Romney-Santorum race was too close to call -- for all the networks -- until very late in the evening. In fact, when MSNBC went off the air, Santorum was leading by 27 votes -- but a couple of precincts were still out. The candidates both spoke, but nobody could claim victory. It wasn't until 3 a.m. or so when the state GOP announced that Romney had won by eight votes. Then, two weeks later, after a recanvass of the votes, the state party found that Santorum won after all. As for Perry and Bachmann, though, it was clear they hadn't done well -- and clear that their campaign treasuries would start to wither. Here in Florida, if the polls are right and Romney really has a big lead, the networks will probably call the race quite early.
– January 31, 2012 1:17 PM
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Your accusations of racism are divisive (and laughable)
In a recent column, you "accused" Gingrich of "race-baiting" and went on to say, "Romney's approach, however, is more subtle. On Monday, he made the pitch that Obama had to be replaced right now, because if he remains in office for four more years, the country will be transformed into 'something we wouldn't recognize.' Bingo. The Obama Administration, to state the obvious, doesn't look like any of its predecessors." To state the obvious, Romney was not talking about a black-and-white photo of the Administration. He was talking about a fatal blow to the federal system envisioned by the Founders, with a federal government "delegated" "few and defined" powers, while the states "retained" "numerous and indefinite" ones in Madison's words. Your attempt to make something racial out of this is despicable but in keeping with your normal writings. "Stuff" like yours, at best, preserves the racial problems in this country, not ideas like Romney's.
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January 31, 2012 12:36 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
I stand by those columns. I notice you didn't defend Gingrich. As for what I wrote about Romney, you conveniently leave out the preceding paragraph, which reads as follows:
"Romney and Gingrich, especially, have taken pains to create the impression that there is something alien and illegitimate about the Obama presidency. They portray Obama not as a political opponent but as a usurper."
That is what the column accuses Romney of. And that's what he is doing.
– January 31, 2012 1:24 PM
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Presidential Election 2012
So I figure it boils down to four states: Nevada, Colorado, Ohio & Florida. The president has three possible scenarios: if he wins Ohio, he wins; if he wins Florida, he wins; if he wins Nevada & Colorado, he wins. The Republican nominee (most likely Romney) has to win all four to win the election. That being the case, I figure the president already has it in the bag. My question is (assuming that Romney is the nominee): do you really believe he has a shot at winning the election? Because I don't see it.
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January 31, 2012 12:04 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
There are some other states in play, too -- Virginia, North Carolina. I've always said this is going to be a close election. I believe Obama should be favored to win, but it will be no cakewalk.
– January 31, 2012 1:28 PM
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How did Romney get the lead?
Despite Newt's many, many negatives - the main reason - about 4 to 5 times more money for "Romney's" PACs to spend on attack ads. Reverse the money and I'd bet Newt would be ahead, moon base or no.
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January 31, 2012 1:10 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
It's hard to be confident in that what-if scenario, I think, because Gingrich is capable of political self-immolation at any given moment. But it is true that he has inspired more fervor among conservatives than Romney has, or perhaps ever will. Romney is the establishment's choice, largely because he has the best chance against Obama. The party rank-and-file still haven't fallen in line.
– January 31, 2012 1:33 PM
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Downside for Democrats?
Is there any downside at all for the Democrats to having Romney and Gingrich keep whaling on each other for as long as possible? Could the public become inured to the criticisms of Romney too soon? Also, I've heard it said that having to fight Hillary made Obama a stronger candidate. Could that be happening here as well?
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January 31, 2012 1:10 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
From the Democrats' point of view, I don't see the downside. There is no way the Romney campaign is happy about the way Gingrich is defining their candidate. And while it's true that a candidate can be made stronger and sharper by a primary fight, it's not clear to me that this is happening with Romney.
– January 31, 2012 1:37 PM
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All the way to the convention
If the Republicans go all the way to the convention without formally declaring a front-runner, won't that be detrimental to their changes of winning the election? I'm thinking specifically of Ted Kennedy and Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election, and that in-fighting giving Ronald Reagan the advantage as a result.
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January 31, 2012 1:12 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
I've heard people compare this contest to that 1980 campaign. And it didn't work out well for President Carter in the end.
– January 31, 2012 1:39 PM
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Romney v Obama
Eveyrone says that Romney is the best Republican candidate to face Obama but aren't there concerns about voter apathy in the Republican party? Independents might break for Romney if the economy doesn't approve but I think Democrats would be energized to put Obama in for a second term while the right wing might be demoralized because no one who they truly believe is conservative is running.
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January 31, 2012 1:24 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
What's really changing in the Obama-Romney equation is that the economy is getting better. Polls show brightening attitudes about how the nation and the economy are doing. The shift is not huge but it is measurable, and if things continue to move in that direction, Obama becomes harder to beat.
– January 31, 2012 1:43 PM
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singing contest
Does Romney think that singing "America the Beautiful" makes him more "human" and "relateable"? I think smooth Obama wins that singing contest.
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January 31, 2012 1:27 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
One of the odder things about Romney's campaign has been his decision to recite "America the Beautiful" as part of his standard stump speech. Now he has begun actually singing the song. In that category, I'm not sure either Romney or Obama is the equal of Herman Cain.
– January 31, 2012 1:46 PM
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What happens when Santorum drops out?
Newt talks a lot about the "conservative candidates" (aka him plus Santorum) are added up, they win. Assuming Newt is serious about staying in the race through the convention, when Santorum drops out, is it really a sure thing that his support will all flow to Gingrich?
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January 31, 2012 1:35 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
No, but I think Gingrich would get most of it. Many conservatives just don't believe Romney shares their views.
– January 31, 2012 1:50 PM
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Gender Gap
Polls mostly show Newt Gingrich performing significantly better with men than with women. Do you think this stems from his infidelities? Or his white-hot rhetoric -- something which traditionally plays better with men than with women? Romney sure seems like the "nicer" candidate.
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January 31, 2012 12:46 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
Probably a bit of both. There was speculation, actually, that Gingrich's vote among conservative women in South Carolina would fall sharply because of the whole "open marriage" thing, but the drop-off wasn't that big.
– January 31, 2012 2:01 PM
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Orlando -- Heart of the I-4 Corridor
Romney ads 'round the clock here. Some Newt ads, but not nearly as many.
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January 31, 2012 1:02 PM
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Eugene Robinson :
Romney's got the dough. He blankets the airwaves.
And that's all for today, folks. My time is up. Thanks for tuning in, and I'll see you again next week.
– January 31, 2012 2:02 PM
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