MSNBC First Read: First Thoughts: Romney's tough week

[OmahaBlueDog]

*** Romney’s tough week: Last week, we wrote that Romney took a few nicks but no major blows in this campaign. Well, the first major blow came with a Gallup poll (and other robos NBC doesn’t report on) showing him being knocked off his front-runner perch -- and Rick Perry leading by double-digits. It led to a round of headlines like this one from his hometown paper The Boston Globe: “Mitt Romney is the Republican front-runner no longer.” On the one hand, being a front runner this early is not always a good thing – it didn’t work out so well for Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani. In track, it’s always good to be a few paces behind the leader and make your kick in the final stretch. (But what happens if you don’t have that kick?) The Romney camp says it’s sticking with its non-interventionist (against the GOP field) strategy -- for now, but as Reuters notes, “

ressure could mount for a more aggressive approach as his poll numbers worsen.” And to that point, here’s David Brooks: “It’s more likely that sooner or later Romney is going to have to prove his own toughness by taking Perry on directly” because it’s “unlikely” that Perry “passively” “implodes.” Still, it’s too early to panic, especially since there is no national primary, and Romney continues to hold a substantial lead in New Hampshire, a key early primary state. (Romney has real problems if you start to see him slip in the Granite State.) What this likely means, though, as we pointed out yesterday, we could be in for a LONG campaign.

Read more at: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/26/7484322-first-thoughts-romneys-tough-week

[DonCoquixote]

1. NO pity

Let's be honest, the tea party wants it's Perry/Bachmann ticket, and they will throw the Bushes under the bus, or anyone more liberal than Adolf Hitler. Mittens was bound to be turned on.

[OmahaBlueDog]

2. Agree 100%

The MSM has presented him as the front runner. I never bought it. He has every problem he had in 2008. They didn't nominate him then - why would they now?

My bracket is busted, since I figured their nominee would be Huckabee.

[PonyJon]

3. Elections not for a year and a half and DUers are giving it up for Republicons?

What's up with this? Please ignore these bullshit posts giving credibility to Republicons by writing about them. Let's talk about what Democrats have done and will do that is constructive for America. Let the Rethugs hang themselves.

[OmahaBlueDog]

4. It's a political website. I like to look at what our opponents are doing

[DonCoquixote]

5. as a saying goes

Know thy enemy