See-Dub’s search for reasons to climb down off the ledge has taken him to strange hallucinatory places that only the diehard Fredhead knows, so let’s give him something a bit more reality-based. 30-30-21, a two-point gain for Mitt from the day before although he and Maverick have been bouncing around within a few points of each other for the past week. How to square this with Fox News’s suicide poll yesterday? Gallup has it 39-24, more in line with FNC than with Ramussen, but the national polls mean less than the state polls anyway so let’s look at those instead. There’s cause for hope in California, but otherwise, er…
I’m hoping Mitt has some surprise endorsements lined up for Monday although I can’t think of anyone so big that they might turn the tide. It’s safe to say no Republican governors will be among them. George H.W. Bush would be nice, as would Condi Rice, but neither’s in the offing. The best hope is for some sort of coordinated effort by talk radio to all endorse him on the same day: Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingraham, etc etc. That’d make for a sweet headline on Tuesday morning as people go to vote, but then that gets us back to their dilemma: If they pull the trigger and McCain wins anyway, they’ll never live it down. The media won’t let them.
Update: MM highlights the Times’s account of Romney’s last-ditch strategy:
Operating in survival mode, Mr. Romney’s circle of advisers has come up with a detailed road map to try to salvage his campaign. The plan is complete with a new infusion of cash from Mr. Romney, a long-term strategy intended to turn the campaign into a protracted delegate fight and a reframing of the race as a one-on-one battle for the future of the party that seeks to sound the alarm among conservatives about Mr. McCain.
The advisers have drawn up a list of states, dividing and ranking them into those considered relatively easy and inexpensive targets, along with a broader grouping of more costly battlegrounds where the advisers hope that Mr. Romney can be competitive.
Remember, he outspent McCain 10 to one on ads in Florida.
Update: Oy. That’s a five-point pick-up for Maverick in 24 hours and 12 points since Florida.
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