Romney has little chance either, get used to that too. I was in Massachusetts while he was governor and I couldn't believe the extent of his hypocrisy. For example: implying he was more gay-friendly than Ted Kennedy, which shocked the hell out of me to see a so-called "Mormon" suggest, then abandoning the gays once elected. I have yet to encounter a single Republican who is super-enthusiastic about formerly liberal-leaning flip-flopper Romney.
What Romney does have going for him is his cunning and willingness to do ANYTHING to win, and his good looks, and there are enough superficial Americans to make that a factor, unfortunately. I doubt all that will be enough, though, unless the economy takes a major sour turn before the election. Americans generally prefer to vote for the incumbent unless things are going downhill bad in the economy or a war.
Sure Ron has done some boneheaded things when it comes to race, but it's not like any Republican is going to get many black votes anyway. I haven't seen any Republican even bother to ask for black folks' votes since Jack Kemp. They know it's a lost cause.
With the economy on a bit of an uptrend lately, per recent economic figures, it's looking like Obama will be re-elected regardless of the Republican choice. Given that, I think the top priority for Republicans is to choose a candidate who is consistent in ideology, puts the key issue in the forefront (reckless debt), and can inspire the youth so as to generate voters for Congressional candidates and attract new young members to the party. A candidate in the ideologically inspirational mold of Barry Goldwater and William F. Buckley, Jr. makes the most sense.
Goldwater and Buckley inspired a generation of Young Turk Republicans who later generated multiple terms for Nixon (soured by the Watergate and Vietnam idiocies, of course) and the Reagan Revolution. On all the above counts, Ron Paul appears to be the best candidate. Mitt Romney is crafty and slick, looks good and acquits himself well in debates, as he did in MA, but I don't get the sense that he'll inspire a new generation of Republicans. A victory by Romney would probably spell further deterioration of the Republican party, whereas Ron Paul offers at least the hope of rejuvination.
