“Another swing state — another big victory,” Beeson noted. The memo was brief and pointed out that Romney won key conservative coalitions in Nevada, including tea party supporters, evangelical Christians and “very conservative” voters.

What it did not mention was that caucus turnout dropped precipitously from the 2008 contest, and that Romney did not perform as well on Saturday as he did then.

Ryan Erwin, Romney’s consultant in Nevada, put it this way, “This year, the excitement is different: This isn’t about going to Disneyworld; it’s about paying your mortgage.”

Maybe so, but in Florida and New Hampshire, the former Massachusetts governor’s favorability ratings have declined as negative campaigning in the GOP primary has raged…

Some Romney allies concede that the numbers aren’t good now, but they dismiss the current polling for a multitude of reasons. Their candidate suffered losses over the past month to Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, noted one former Romney aide. And Jamie Burnett, Romney’s 2008 political director in New Hampshire, suggested Obama has gotten a free ride since the State of the Union, while the Republicans are the ones under media scrutiny.