COMMENTARY | Conservatives seem to have reconciled themselves to a possible Mitt Romney candidacy and have declared Romney will be OK with them, according to the Associated Press. It seems Republican voters are lukewarm unless the discussion is about getting President Barack Obama out of the White House. Then they say they will turn out the vote and do what it takes.
I find it hard to imagine GOP voters getting serious about the vote in November when many of them don't even care who the nominee is. According to The Note, GOP voters are suffering from a general lack of enthusiasm. Voter turnout is significantly less than in 2008, and 52 percent of Republicans and Republican leaning voters feel the choices offered for this election are fair or poor.
This erratic GOP voter performance is making it difficult to count on trends. Newt Gingrich attributes his victories to better voter turnout, but he has the facts wrong, according to the Miami Herald. He might think that voter apathy applies only to Mitt Romney, but it applies to him as well.
Rick Santorum's surprise victories in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado could have been fueled by evangelical support, as postulated by, U.S. News, but could it also be these supporters were the ones who participated and the rest didn't care?
GOP voters have a major dilemma before them, and while it's clear that many just don't want another Obama presidency, beyond that there are major hurdles. The main contenders continue to be Romney, Gingrich and possibly Santorum.
They all present significant flaws, and Republicans will have to reconcile themselves to getting behind a candidate that does not excite them. Rather than being galvanized in November, GOP voters will do their duty to party and country, if it seems important enough.
Romney lacks charisma, repeats the same stump speech over and over, and has demonstrated repeatedly that he just doesn't understand the plight of the average struggling American.
Gingrich has such a messy past that even his staunchest supporters squirm and admit, "well, yes, there is that" and try to move past it. I saw it happen exactly that way, in my mother in law's living room last Thanksgiving. They just can't make it go away.
Santorum did not have the support to remain in Congress, and his more extreme conservatism, especially regarding gay marriage and abortion, is more than some voters are comfortable with, especially women.
And Ron Paul? Just one more wild card to add to the confusion.
Will dismay over another Obama term be a powerful enough motivator to overcome the apathy of the nation's GOP voters? Maybe the fear of any of these candidates will be enough to keep Obama in office.
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