CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
ALL
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
  • Travel
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Fever Dreams
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Right Richter
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Confider
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    INNOVATION
    • Science
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDBs Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      FOOD & BEVERAGE
        CULTURE
        • Power Trip
        • Fashion
        • Books
        • Royalist
        TECH
        • Disinformation
        SCOUTED
        • Face Masks
        • Clothing
        • Technology
        • Bedroom
        • Kitchen
        • Home
        • Fitness
        • The Case For
        • I'm Looking For
        • New Kids On the Block
        COUPONS
        • Adidas Promo Codes
        • DoorDash Promo Codes
        • H&M Coupons
        • Hotwire Promo Codes
        • Wine.com Discounts
        • Vitacost Coupons
        • Spanx Promo Codes
        • StubHub Promo Codes
        Products
        NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
        FOLLOW US
        GOT A TIP?

        SEARCH

        HOMEPAGE

        Media Hype About Mitt Romney’s Iowa Showing Is Wrong

        KUDOS

        Peter Beinart

        Updated Jul. 13, 2017 10:19AM ET / Published Jan. 03, 2012 10:45PM ET 

        Khue Bui for Newsweek

        When watching election-night media commentary, always remember: pundits have a bias. They want an exciting race.

        Mitt Romney sailing merrily toward a Republican nomination that many considered foreordained is not exciting. So all over cable television talking heads are claiming that Romney’s inability to win more than a quarter of the vote in Iowa constitutes a loss.

        Huh? Iowa is such a bad state for Romney, dominated as it is by Christian-right activists who have long distrusted him, that he considered not even competing there. He’s much stronger in New Hampshire, where economic conservatives predominate, and in the big states where what you need is gobs of money. For Romney, a three-way tie for first place in Iowa is manna from heaven. It’s especially lovely because the two people he’s tied with—Rick Santorum and Ron Paul—probably can’t win the nomination. Santorum has no money and has hardly faced a negative ad. Paul is loathed by virtually the entire GOP establishment.

        To understand how well Romney has done, consider his success against the bigger-name conservatives. If anyone had told pundits a year ago that Romney would win four times as much support as Michele Bachmann in Iowa, or six months ago that he’d get two and a half times as much support as Rick Perry, or one month ago that he’d get double the support of Newt Gingrich, they would have been astonished. Now commentators are suggesting he didn’t do well enough.

        Republican presidential history is littered with moderate frontrunners who got creamed in Iowa—George H.W. Bush in 1988, John McCain in 2008—and still won the nomination. In 2008, Mitt Romney invested heavily there and lost by 9 points. This year, he kept expectations low and managed a tie for first place with two candidates who almost certainly can’t beat him.

        That may be boring, but it’s pretty darn good.

        READ THIS LIST

        DAILY BEAST
        • Cheat Sheet
        • Politics
        • Crime
        • Entertainment
        • Media
        • World
        • Innovation
        • U.S. News
        • Scouted
        • Travel
        • Subscription
        • Crossword
        • Newsletters
        • Podcasts
        • About
        • Contact
        • Tips
        • Jobs
        • Advertise
        • Help
        • Privacy
        • Code of Ethics & Standards
        • Diversity
        • Terms & Conditions
        • Copyright & Trademark
        • Sitemap
        • Coupons:
        • Coupons:
        • Vistaprint Coupons
        • Samsung Promo Coupons
        • Home Depot Coupons
        • Office Depot Coupons
        • eBay Coupons
        • Ashley Furniture Promo Codes
        © 2022 The Daily Beast Company LLC