First, there's this from Pew Policy Polling:
Among the people who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 but don’t approve of his job performance:
-Mitt Romney’s favorability is 32/31 (+1)
-Newt Gingrich’s is 32/40 (-8)
-Mike Huckabee’s is 20/39 (-19)
-Sarah Palin’s is 33/63 (-30)
Palin continues to be the most well liked of the leading 2012 contenders with GOP voters.
Key data point: Palin is -30 approval among indies (you know, those dumb asses we screamed to in order to warn them that Obama was a race-baiting socialist do-nothing but they voted for him anyway and now act surprised to learn Obama is a race-baiting, socialist do-nothing) but Romney has a +1 favorable. IOW: Romney--at this stage--can carry the indie vote while Palin has a huge gap to cover.
So, what does that mean? It means Romney can look strong for those looking to hedge the accommodationist/hold-your-nose pragmatist vote.
But what about the base?
Well, today Time.com decides to sink Romney before he makes it to the primaries a pair of his advisors decided to engage in an act of canine copulation:
Still, few express much regard for Palin's ultimate chances. One adviser to Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and, by traditional standards, the putative 2012 frontrunner, says of Palin, "She's not a serious human being." Another Romney intimate warns, "If she's standing up there in a debate and the answers are more than 15 seconds long, she's in trouble."
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2003956,00.html#ixzz0tlekHlOD
Mitt, you may look yummy to the indies--who owe the GOP a serious ****ing apology--but you just pissed away the base. You can collect your hat and coat at the door. Call us maybe we can do lunch next Tuesday after Never.
That's not to imply I'm being a Palinista and I'll assume Palin isn't even trying to be a candidate but simply put: such a cut will erode his base support especially in a climate where the GOP is looking to dodge RINOs. Romney is no McCain but his RomneyCare and other New England centrist-aligned appeasement policies already have the primary voters looking askance. The last thing you want to do is take a swipe at the person already established as a king-maker.
Romney has some stupid, stupid advisors...and that's his fault.