Does anybody REALLY find Mitt more unlikeable than Rick or Newt?
Not that I'm doubting Mitt's famous "unlikeablilty" but sheesh every time I see Santorum or Gingrich mouthing off they strike me as even MORE unlikeable.
Ron Paul is the only one of this group that I can even kinda sort see as 'likeable" in that "oh don't mind old Uncle Ron, he's a bit of a character but he means well" way.
The other three are just straight up assholes! If they were not running for office, if they were just regular guys WORKING in your office, they would EACH be the office a-hole that nobody could stand.
Pandering Richie Rich guy, holier than thou guy, conceited old perv guy. What a bunch!
I can't imagine anybody, even Republicans, wanting to "have a beer" with them or all those other silly things they say motivate people in the voting booth without them even knowing it. The Republicans have been screaming and yelling about Obama since day one and all they can come up with to run against him is THIS? It's just all so strange!
= new reply since forum marked as read
Something about the lack of warmth......
The thought of the other two as president is just plain alarming IMO.
Romney is as phony as a $3 bill, and he can't even hide his phoniness. Because he has spent his whole life in a bubble of extreme wealth he has no clue what to say when he feels he needs to talk like a regular person - he doesn't have any idea about how most people live, work or think. So he often has what Howard Fineman referred to as "Conehead moments" where he says stuff that makes him sound like he's from another planet (e.g., he loves Michigan, where "the trees are the right size"
. You can almost see the gears turning in his head as he struggles to come up with a "regular guy" remark. He reminds me a bit of Michael Scott from "The Office" - he thinks he's awesome, loveable and cool when he's being phony and smarmy, but everybody else knows he's a fake and thinks he's lame.
Santorum is unlikeable for pretty much the opposite reason: He's a raving extremist and he's completely sincere about it. He's not phony; he's a true believer. He's Torquemada; he's the Ayatollah. He'd condemn you to the stake for heresy because he sincerely believes that's the only way to save your soul. He is much more frightening than the opportunistic Romney because there seems to be no limit to his extremism. And while he doesn't radiate insincerity like Romney, there is something really skeevy about him beyond (or maybe because of) his Talibanish religious rigidity. This is a guy who spends way too much time obsessing over other people's sex lives, and that's very creepy.
And then there's Newt, whom almost nobody likes, and with good reason. He's a pompous, condescending, arrogant, nasty, hypocritical asshole. And that's just what other Republicans think of him. Peggy Noonan (who is not especially likeable, either) called him an "angry little attack muffin." That pretty much says it all.
Take your pick: you can have phony, crazy, or mean. There is nothing to like about any of them.
Am I just not that aware of popular culture, or did Howard come up with that phrase himself? That's fabulous.
Also 
over "angry little attack muffin."
I think your comparison with Michael Scott is spot-on. 
with Santorum & Gingrich. Santorum has, at times, surprised me about how far out his views actually extend but I don't find either of them quite as "threatening" as Romney because Obama would crush either of them like a bug in the GE. Mitt worries me more because, some of his comments notwithstanding, has the kind of record- as Governor of Massachusetts- that people voting in GE might ultimately decide is "moderate" enough to win their support in a GE (if Romney can make it there). Romney is a panderer and would do whatever Grover Norquist wants him to do if he got elected POTUS but he just doesn't come off as being as "scary" or "unlikable" as Gingrich or Santorum and it will be harder for the Obama campaign to make him look as scary as Gingrich and Santorum.
Romney's "electability", as of late, has been challenged by the Republican Party but that is primarily because the party "base" has moved (and continues to move) further to the right and they command the most influence at the moment. It remains to be seen if Santorum can broaden his appeal to the "base" to the whole of the Republican Party. If he does, then he could very well knock Mitt out and win the nomination. If not, then he will be the latest "not-Romney" to enjoy a brief surge in popularity only to ultimately fade away just like Bachmann, Perry, Cain, Gingrich have all done before him.
If he and Romney continue to tussle and neither achieves a commanding lead, I wouldn't be surprised for them to discuss a combined ticket. Romney could present the more "moderate" face of the ticket and Santorum would keep the fundies riled up and get them to the polls on Election Day. That, at least to me, would be the more worrisome scenario though the thought of Santorum being a heartbeat away from the Presidency would definitely energize the Democratic base as well and would probably cost Romney some independent support just Palin scared them away from voting for McCain in 2008.
