The GOP's Worst Week

Romney is caught in an inauthenticity trap: How does a notorious political chameleon recast himself without it seeming like more of the same shape-shifting?

Romney now staggers into what is shaping up to be less a Super Tuesday for the GOP than a Stupor Tuesday. Early polls put Santorum up 11 points in Ohio and Newt Gingrich (yup, he's still around) up 15 in Georgia. As New York magazine's John Heilemann notes, Romney faces a tough road in states like Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, where a majority of the voters figure to be evangelicals. Throw in GOP primary voters' habit of fleeing the most recent victor and you have a formula for a fractured decision that leaves an already weakened party with the prospect of a lengthy string of really bad weeks.

• See a collection of political cartoons on the Catholic contraception controversy.
• Read the U.S. News debate: Can Mitt Romney Close the Deal With Conservatives?
• See pictures of Obama's Re-election Campaign

Reader Comments Read all comments (16)

Add Your Thoughts

Comment Name State Select One AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY International Email

Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image.

Incorrect please try again

Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear:

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.