The Downward Spiral

The way today is shaping up, there's a very good chance I may not be able to write as much as I'd like to, so I want to get a few thoughts out as fast as I can.

• In the wake of Mitt Romney's toxic concession speech last week, it was said flat-out by a "senior member of his inner circle" that he'll be running for president again in 2012. Given the begrudging nature of Romney's speech and his implicit but none-too-happy endorsement of John McCain, this strikes me as a slap in the face of Republican voters everywhere: it either means that he has no confidence in McCain's ability to beat Obama or Clinton, or that he thinks McCain will be such a disaster as President that the GOP will have no choice but to replace him in four years.
  
  
• Hillary Clinton is not in a good place right now. She lost four states to Obama this weekend, most by overwhelming margins, and she's almost certainly going to lose Virginia and Maryland tomorrow. She just booted her campaign manager for not telling her that the campaign was essentially broke until after the New Hampshire primary. And it looks as though Obama will have taken the lead in both pledged delegates and total delegates within the next 36 hours. I won't count Hillary Clinton out of this until Barack Obama is handed the keys to the White House, but she's not having her best week.
  
  
• What's going on with the Republican party in Washington is a travesty. Luke Esser should be fired, and John McCain, if he wants to keep his seat on the Straight Talk Express, should be demanding an investigation and a full recount. Take a look at this piece he wrote about why "loudmouth leftists" should be kept away from the polls at all costs. With guys like him running the Washington GOP, it's no wonder Ron Paul got 21% of the vote (thus far).