Things are changing. At Wednesday night’s debate an uncharacteristically flustered Romney was caught off guard and seemed distracted at times, at one point denying one of his own positions on immigration policy (a debate moderator read a prior comment Romney had made on the issue to set him straight). Worse, Romney has reportedly chosen not to advertise in the more than 20 states set to vote in Tuesday’s critical round of Republican primaries. Romney communications director Matt Rhoades declined to comment on the campaign’s strategy in an interview after tonight’s debate, but he did not specifically deny a report by the Associated Press that asserted Romney has decided against going on air in the crucial Super Tuesday states. “We’re not gonna show our playbook,” Rhoades said. “He’s not gonna drop out. He’s very serious.” However, Rhoades did acknowledge that less than a week away from Super Tuesday voting, Romney is not yet on the air in any of the states that will likely determine his party’s nominee. Much of the money Romney has pumped into advertising in the past has been his own; during his concession speech in Florida last night, Romney joked with supporters that they were family, but should not “expect to be part of the inheritance. I’m not sure there’s going to be much left after this.”
Meanwhile, John McCain, Romney’s chief rival, received the endorsement of Rudy Giuliani Wednesday and is expected to win the endorsement of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the coming days. The bad news is piling up for Romney, and his game seems to be changing in response to it. On Monday, reporters traveling in the Romney bubble were warned they’d be opening their pocketbooks for a “fly-around” of California tomorrow. There was mention of a visit to Sacramento, which is nearly 400 miles north of Simi Valley, where Romney and the other candidates convened for Wednesday’s debate. Fly-arounds—campaign lingo for whirlwind days where candidates jet in and out of as many cities as possible—by definition entail visits to several far-flung media markets and are expensive because they require chartered private jets instead of buses. Now Romney’s schedule in California Thursday features just three stops—two at small Los Angeles area venues and one in San Diego. Tellingly, the travel will be by bus.
Notwithstanding their candidate’s mood, Romney’s advisers are still in the fight. They have taken to casting the race as one that will change the future of the Republican Party, and are sounding a drumbeat of alarm in an attempt to drive the right wing of the party into Romney’s arms. The hope is that as it becomes clearer to Republicans that McCain is cruising to the nomination, more conservatives who have thus far supported Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson will embrace Mitt. During tonight’s debate Romney aides sent out a research briefing elaborating on Romney’s debate assertion that conservatives should oppose McCain in part because he received the endorsement of the New York Times. (The briefing quotes a Fox News commentator calling the Times’ endorsement “just a big body slam” for McCain.)
Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom told NEWSWEEK that Romney’s battle with McCain for the nomination is “a fight for the soul of the Republican party. John McCain has taken positions at odds with Republican principles—against tax cuts and in favor of amnesty, to name a couple of examples.” Via email Fehrnstrom said the Romney campaign believes the former Massachusetts governor will do well “out west in Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Utah, in Missouri where we have the backing of Governor Blunt, in Georgia, where we have the endorsement of the state’s largest newspaper, in Tennessee, where we’ve picked up the support of large remnants of the Fred Thompson organization, in Massachusetts, where he served as governor for four years, and in neighboring Maine and Connecticut.”
The candidate himself has sounded less certain. There were signs of Romney’s frame of mind Tuesday night, during his concession speech in St. Petersburg. He spent several minutes introducing and thanking a long list of family members and supporters, to an extent he has not done before. Romney’s speech had a wistful tone, one of frustration—there was no talk of silver medals—and he stumbled over words a few times, which is not typical of a candidate who has been criticized for coming across as too slick and robotic.
Wednesday ended on a fitting note. On the bus ride back from the debate to the Beverly Hills Hilton where the Romney press corps is staying (thanks, Mitt!), the John McCain bus passed us on the right. A wire service reporter noticed the other bus and shouted to everyone else. Dozens of heads that had been bowed over computers or resting against seats, snapped to attention as the other bus glided past, faint fluorescent lights glowing green from our rival reporters workstations inside. It was hard not to see the moment as symbolic.
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