Revenge of the Establishment

Barack Obama can begin early to prepare himself for his opponent in the U.S. presidential election — the odds in the GOP race are in Mitt Romney’s favor. His political success, however, comes at a high price in his own ranks too.

The Republican establishment struck back, and Barack Obama can begin to prepare himself for his future opponent. The fact that the U.S. media immediately went on to look for something to quibble about is typical of Mitt Romney’s hitherto labored campaign.

Surely, it is still at least theoretically possible for much to happen. There were only ten days between the primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, respectively, and Mitt Romney has experienced one of the most unpredictable roller-coaster rides in the history of U.S. primaries. Thus far, only five percent of the delegate votes for the nomination have been distributed.

Nothing Short of a Scandal Can Save Romney’s Opponents

But Romney’s rivals can only be saved by a miracle or full-fledged scandal around the front-runner. After his setback in South Carolina, Romney brilliantly overcame the first major crisis of his campaign. During two televised debates, he succeeded in cutting down Newt Gingrich precisely on the one territory where the demagogue had previously excelled.

As in Iowa, in Florida, too, Romney has now succeeded, for the second time, in discrediting the former Speaker of the House with the help of embarrassing facts drawn from the former’s long political career. In doing so, he exhibited an unscrupulousness of which many people thought him incapable. Is Romney alone the opponent with good prospects against Barack Obama?

The spitefulness in the Republican field came at a price. Romney had to battle his way through his party. His high standing among the voters in general, however, has been damaged by revelations about his wealth and opportunism.