Inevitable Romney?

The conventional wisdom right now is that Romney will be the Republican candidate, not because Republicans like him. But because everybody else is fatally flawed in some way. It's a good argument, but it ignores one fact: Romney is fatally flawed too. And the Republicans know it. That's why Romney continues to come in at 20 or 25 percent in polls of Republican voters.

Romney is the one candidate guaranteed to fail to bring out the Republican base. Rather than vote for him, Perry supporters will drive down to the road house and have a few beers; Gingrich supporters will have a swingers party; and Bachmann supporters ... well, their heads will swell up with air until they pop.

One thing that people tend to forget about the Republicans is that they really don't actually believe in the concept of democracy. They believe that the final decision should be made by power brokers. In the national convention, they call these people "super delegates." Anyone who is a member of the RNC, or an elected official, and a number of unpledged delegates from every state (political power brokers) can select anybody they want. The power elite will make the final decision, especially this year.

So, here's my prediction: The Republican convention will be the first one in recent memory to pick a dark horse who isn't even running right now. My guess: John Boehner.