Mitt Romney cost crushed in Louisiana last night, losing in every parish except Orleans. Here’s an example of why Romney did so badly:
Jules Richard, 67, an accountant, used a backhanded compliment to describe his feelings about Romney.
“I think he’s the best politician in the race,” Richard said. “He gives people what they want to hear.” Richard said he voted for Santorum but would have no problem supporting Romney in the general election. “I voted for Santorum just to annoy Romney, really,” he said.
Most of the people the Washington Post interviewed expressed at least a tepid intention to support Romney in November despite labeling him a RINO or saying things like, “Gingrich is a straight shooter, and Romney just works around the truth till he gets what he wants.”
In truth, voters will make up the minds about whether or not to vote based on more than just their enthusiasm for the candidate. If the polls show that their state isn’t close, they may find more productive things to do than vote. In the aftermath of the post-Katrina black-exodus, Louisiana is one of the last states that Obama might win. If the state were close, these folks might overcome their ambivalence and go to the polls. Their motivation to vote for a soulless hack who will easily win their state while losing badly nationally may be negligible.
One possible consequence of this is that the Romney campaign will feel compelled to ramp up fear of Obama as a motivator since attracting strong support for their candidate just isn’t possible.
As for Santorum, his immediate project should be to win Wisconsin and figure out a way to appeal to voters in Maryland. Romney has reached the halfway mark in accumulating delegates and he’s going to benefit in April as the race moves to the Washington-New York-Boston corridor.
