Bob: Political pundits are falling all over themselves trying to convince voters the Republican presidential nomination is not over. They see Super Tuesday as a split decision and not the knockout punch Mitt Romney had hoped for. Cal: Explain that, my politically astute friend.
Bob: Gladly. Despite winning three states and coming close in Ohio, Rick Santorum cannot overtake Romney. Romney has amassed more delegates than his three rivals combined. Soon the GOP nominating process will include megastates such as California and New York, where Romney should dominate. Now, you tell me,
Cal, why are Republicans so unexcited by Romney?
Cal: It's no mystery, Bob. They'd prefer Ronald Reagan. Get behind Romney -- and push.
Cal: You've got that right. Bob: The candidates and their Super PACs have attacked each other with such intensity that all candidates, especially Romney, have come out of the nomination battle with significant negatives among voters. Case in point: Early on, Iowa polls had Romney with high favorability among the all-important independent voters.
Cal: Romney's major problem is his disconnectedness. Despite years on the campaign trail, it appears Romney hasn't learned to avoid missteps. Remember when he told blue-collar workers that his wife owned not one, but two Cadillacs?
Bob: The campaign has done more than expose Romney's shortcomings. There's a bigger issue at play: the fundamental divide between moderate-conservative-Establishment Republicans and the very conservative base of the party. Establishment Republicans, it appears, are more oriented toward winning, more secular and more focused on the economy.
Cal: Yes, they are the ones who gave the party John McCain and Bob Dole, among others.
Bob: It seems the energy of the Republican Party is clearly at the grassroots, especially among Tea Party activists and evangelicals. I seriously doubt that Romney can activate the base of the Republican Party.
Instead of arguing about Obama's policies -- failed or not -- how about demonstrating the superiority of Romney's philosophy? Romney should feature people who used to be poor but have overcome by embracing conservative principles.
Bob: That's fine, but that doesn't change the suspicion of those Republican voters who are solidly pro-life and are skeptical about his conversion from a pro-choice governor of Massachusetts to an ardent right-to-lifer in this campaign.
Cal: OK, how about if Romney touted the thousands of pregnancy care centers that care for women experiencing difficult pregnancies? It goes beyond right-to-life to include Romney's rhetoric about gay rights when he ran for governor. I could go on, but all the creative campaign events in the world can't change the GOP base's perception that Romney is a weather vane.
Cal: Here's another suggestion. Bob: I'm not the one who needs to be convinced, Cal. But besides conservatives, there's another group that needs convincing -- and that's Hispanic voters who make up the fastest growing demographic in the country. In trying to appeal to the far right, Romney has staked out a position on illegal immigration that has turned off Hispanic voters who supported Obama 2-1 in 2008. Without some headway with this group, no Republican presidential candidate can win.
Cal: Which is why Romney should hint that Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida could be his running mate. Rubio has spoken eloquently on this issue and his selection -- if he'd accept -- would help solve the GOP's Hispanic problem, don't you think?
Bob: Cal, you're a political consultant extraordinaire. Rubio would help. But unless the Republicans can find a candidate to unite the party's two wings, I don't believe they can win this presidential election. Mitt Romney is no Ronald Reagan.
Cal: The president has had the luxury of sitting on the sidelines while Republicans attacked each other. Cal Thomas is a conservative columnist. Bob Beckel is a liberal Democratic strategist.