Mitt does have that executive aura about him- a classiness. That might win him a few votes in the general should he get out there.

But there's the rub, as they say.

I talked at length with a fellow Republican today and asked him who he was going to vote for in the primary and he said "I don't know." I told him I had settled on Ron Paul and he said, "but Paul's defense policy is so wild." So I started telling him all the "wild" things I saw in the other candidates. The guy agreed with me on everything I said. He started leaning on Mitt, just like you did- almost word for word. I reminded him of Mitt's track record on social issues important to conservatives and how he changed his tune once he started running for President, and then he said Huckabee was the only conservative. I told him Huckabee was a social conservative, but liberal on a lot of other things. I told him Paul was conservative across the board, and he said Paul was a libertarian. I said, "if being for the Constitution and small government and free trade is libertarian and not conservatism, then I'm a libertarian." Then the guy started saying goofy things, and I could tell it was time to end the conversation. The guy was a sheep, and was waiting for someone to tell him who to vote for. I just did, but he couldn't accept my choice, because Iraq policy trumped every other issue in his book.

All that to say, the GOP is still so divided and non-committal right now. I'd say it's an even 4 way split. I'd be surprised if there isn't a runoff on the GOP side for President. I don't know that Mitt's looking Presidential will help him much. Clinton was hot (shrug- not to me), and GWB sure didn't have any looks going for him, but they got elected anyway.

Donna