My only concern about this primary process...

[Drunken Irishman]

Is that the dirt is getting out on Romney a tad bit early. If you remember back in '08, Obama was slammed after Super Tuesday with attacks on his pastor, comments by his wife and his association not only with Tony Rezko but Bill Ayers.

Those attacks hurt. It blunted momentum heading into key primaries in Ohio and Texas (Obama had picked up huge steam with 11 straight wins after Super Tuesday) and cost him those states. Had he just managed a split, winning either Ohio or Texas (he did, in fact, win the Texas caucus, which netted him more delegates, but lost the overall narrative), he probably would've wrapped up the nomination a bit earlier and the contested and heated month of April maybe never happens.

Regardless, he lost, the race continued, Obama was hammered in Pennsylvania (comments surfaced that made Obama look 'elitist', which the Clinton campaign played up) and the process continued for a few more months.

In the end, Obama was damaged and doubts began to surface about his ability to beat McCain in the general. Too many people wondered if his past associations would hurt him. They talked up his potential problem with white voters.

We were told Hillary Clinton was writing the play book on how to beat Obama in areas where working class white folk dominate the politics. It was supposedly in those areas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and even Florida, that would cost Obama a chance at the election.

Of course, by the time September rolled around, no one seemed to care. McCain and Palin tried their hardest to retie Obama to his past - trotting out Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers late in the game, but it had no impact because the American people had heard it all before. It was old news. It was like they kind of were desensitized to it.

They basically told McCain-Palin, "you know what, we're going down the craphole...who gives a flying flip about a pastor and a loose association with a guy who has been a nobody for the last thirty years..."

They didn't care. They didn't care because it was old news.

With Romney, the Bain stuff is going to dominate the remainder of this primary process. But will the American people get too used to the smears, too desensitized to it, to care in November?

Give me something new to hate Romney on - not something that I've been hit over the head with since January.

I don't know. That's always been in the back of mind. The Republicans are getting all their dirt out there early enough so that it won't leak out come September or October - where it could really cripple his campaign.

By then, will anyone really care about Bain? The answer to that could decide the election.

[rhett o rick]

1. i agree. It will be old news by the general. nm

[Owlet]

2. I think the difference here

is that the Bain stuff is definitive of who (or what) Romney IS, as opposed to something he did. The Cayman Islands $30 million is still gonna be there in November (unless he decides to give it to charity- right) and his weird detachment from the lives of ordinary citizens will generate more fodder for voters to chew on. He's not going to be able to simply throw a switch and be someone else.

He's an ego-driven elitist moneybags who doesn't give a shit for you or me, and that comes through every time he opens his mouth, open-collared shirt or not.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

5. Yes, it's one thing when Romney chastises his fellow repukes about airing his

dirty laundry. He won't be able to do that later

[JoePhilly]

3. Disagree ... this is why.

The things you describe about Obama were irrelevant attacks manufactured by the crazy right wing. And Obama was not running on anything related to Ayers, Wright, or Rezko.

Romney wants to run on his business experience. Its his only real potential positive. But his business dealings at Bain, and the manner in which he enriched himself over regular people will remain an issue for him specifically because those reflect how he'd handle the economy.

He can't run as a super businessman AND also not get smacked around for the kind of businessman he was.

See the difference?

Obama wasn't running based on his relationships with the people you mention (and all of the associated "dirt" was irrelevant). Romney will be running on his business experience, Bain in particular.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

4. Perhaps Obama turned the Rev Wright deal around when

he gave his memorable "race" speech?

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/03/18/us/politics/20080318_OBAMA_GRAPHIC.html

I can't see Romney saving his ass by giving a more memorable speech on money.

I think we can count on the tax issue not going away since he's only showing one year. Newt
said the subject would be "closed" if Romney ponied up. But, surely some repukes will
keep on demanding more. He's definitely got something to hide there and it's not
just the 'scrutiny of the internet' that he's worried about.

[HopeHoops]

6. Hopefully they will all drop out.