Mike, I wonder how that Romney counterfactual, gloomy for conservatives, improves Mitt's chances in 2012? Ever since he lost the GOP primary, Romney's practically redefined the word "obsequious" vis-a-vis McCain. But he seems to feel there's an opening now to gently suggest that a Romney '08 campaign wouldn't have been such a Hindenburg. This week he took his first, timid step towards criticizing Team McCain, telling Joe Scarborough that "holding Sarah Palin to just three interviews and microscopically focusing on each interview I think has been a mistake."
One Massachusetts strategist suggested this comment was actually an evil ploy to lure McCain into letting Palin give more interviews, thereby sealing her reputation as an idiot for a forthcoming Romney-Palin showdown in 2012. Say it ain't so, Mitt! I didn't think you had such trickery in you!
--Eve Fairbanks
For Michael Crowley's original post on a hypothetical Romney candidacy, click here.