While party rules
may prevent Newt Gingrich from being presented for the Republican
presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, ABC News notes that this isn’t as meaningful as some have made it out to be.

“If
Gingrich fails to meet the five-state threshold, he won’t be eligible
for the nomination when the convention begins. No delegate will be able
to nominate him for the nomination, technically, on the convention
floor. This rule doesn’t nix Gingrich’s chances, even if he fails to win
five states. Effectively, anyone can win the GOP’s nomination in Tampa,
without having won or even campaigned in a single state… An RNC
official acknowledged that on later rounds of voting, it would  be
possible for a motion to be made to nominate a candidate who did not
qualify on previous rounds. Essentially, the
nomination-for-the-nomination process begins anew. At that point, a new
candidate could demonstrate plurality support from five states and
qualify.”

The Hotline
notes that the Florida Republican party has made a “very substantial”
television ad buy touting Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) record as he
seeks to recover from dismal approval numbers.

A bit early: “When was
the last time a state party tried to boost a governor’s image with a TV
ad more than two years before he faces reelection?… Some Republicans
are concerned Scott could drag down the presidential ticket in the swing
state.”

The Hill
reports on a rift that has developed among House Republicans between
House leadership and the rank-and-file over primary battles that feature
two Republican incumbents.

Said an anonymous House Republican, “Some members are angry… If leaders get involved…I think they risk a revolt.”

Last fall, polling in the single digits for the GOP presidential nomination, Rick Santorum was giving paid speeches, NBC News reports.

He made $18,200 in two speeches, according to an amendment to his personal financial disclosure released today.

It only took the DNC a few hours to put the Etch-A-Sketch comments from a Mitt Romney advisor into a new web ad.

Meanwhile, BuzzFeed notes Rick Santorum’s campaign tweeted a photo of Santorum playing with an Etch-A-Sketch saying he was studying Romney’s policy positions.

[Read more…]

Walter Shapiro looks at the story of Mitt Romney’s dog Seamus “heroically riding for 12 hours in a dog carrier atop the family’s station wagon during a 1983 vacation to Canada” and says it has less to do with his treatment of animals than it does his treatment of people.

“What gives the Seamus story legs (four) is the inadvertent glimpse it offers of Romney’s rigidity. For all the natural parental annoyance with the constant are-we-there-yet demands and the bodily needs of five boys on the trek to Canada, it is a rare father who would so zealously limit bathroom and food stops. Remember: The Romneys were not exactly desperate refugees racing to get across the Canadian border before they were stopped by the authorities. They were an affluent American family on vacation, but with all the spontaneous joy of an automotive assembly line. Seamus was collateral damage. What matters is the suck-it-up discipline that Mitt Romney tried to impose on his family.”

“People are not cyborgs — they have human needs, including a propensity for rest stops and, in politics, healthy egos. But an awareness of these personal factors does not seem to be part of the Romney repertoire.”

Nate Silver: “At the betting market Intrade, Mr. Santorum is now given just a 1.5 percent chance of winning the nomination — lower than the combined total for a series of dark-horse figures like Jeb Bush, Sarah Palin and Chris Christie, who together have about a 3 percent chance. The race will continue on until Mr. Romney clinches or everyone else quits, but the only real question is whether Mr. Romney could somehow beat himself.”

NBC News highlights a RNC rule stipulating that candidates seeking the nomination must have won a plurality of votes in at least five states to have their name presented for the GOP nomination.

Said RNC Chairman Reince Preibus: “It’s an important rule. So when these candidates are adding up their delegates or when people out there have a particular issue that they would like to move at the convention, they had better make sure they at least have a plurality of five states to make these things happen.”

Newt Gingrich has only won two primaries so far — South Carolina and Georgia.

“Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.”

— Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom, in a CNN interview, on whether Romney has moved “so far to the right it would hurt him with moderate voters in the general election.”

[Read more…]

The Palm Beach Post reports Jeb Bush has ended his neutrality in the 2012 presidential race and “now is the time for Republicans to unite behind Governor Romney and take our message of fiscal conservatism and job creation to all voters this fall. I am endorsing Mitt Romney for our Party’s nomination.”

A Quinnipiac poll finds Virginia Gov. Bob
McDonnell’s (R) approval rate at 53% to 32% — a drop of 13 points in his net approval rate since last month.

The change is almost entirely the result of a shift by women that occured during the state legislature’s debate over a new law that
requires women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound examination.

First Read: “One, Obama’s fundraising and cash on hand is on par — more or less — with Bush’s numbers in ’04 (which is surprising given what many, including us, thought he was capable of raising at the beginning of this race)… Two, Romney’s burn rate is over 100% (which might explain why the Super PAC, and not the campaign, is airing ads in post-Illinois races)… Three, the pro-Santorum Super PAC has just $365,000 in the bank (Foster Friess, you have a call on Line 2)… Four, Gingrich now has more in debt ($1.55 million) than cash on hand ($1.54 million)… And five, the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA continues to be a flop, with it raising just $2 million (half of which came from Bill Maher).”

“By the way, don’t overlook the spending numbers for the campaigns. It’s where you learn the philosophies of the campaign. Obama’s campaign is putting a LARGE emphasis (read: money) online. A large chunk of the February spending was devoted to online advertising. Also, do note that the Obama campaign continues to keep overall STAFF salaries down, at least compared to what other campaigns pay, including Romney. In fact, Romney has at least five staffers who make more than Obama’s campaign manager.”

Dan Balz notes that Mitt Romney has won every state where evangelical Christians account for less than 50% of Republican primary voters while he’s lost every state where they’ve been more than 50%.

If recent history is any guide, enthusiasm among evangelical voters will be crucial to the Republican nominee in the general election.