Congratulations Mr. Gingrich!

Congratulations Mr. Gingrich!  Your efforts to portray Mitt Romney as a foolish choice has worked.  Since South Carolina, you have hammered the message to conservatives that Mitt Romney is not trustworthy, that he is not a true conservative and that anyone but Mitt would be better than a "Massachusetts moderate."

Your message resonated.

Yesterday's sweeping victories for Rick Santorum were helped by your efforts.  I am just sorry that you forgot to convince the voters that you wanted to be the alternative.

***  

So once again, in this tumultuous presidential election cycle, conservatives are now rallying behind another candidate--another "Candidate of the Week."  One can't help but ask, although Rick Santorum is a likable person, will he truly be able to attract and energize moderate conservatives or independents?  Voters that are crucial to the November election?  I don't know how that is possible when he is having a hard time even energizing his own party.

Our party is rallying--though with much lower voter turnout--behind an extremely conservative individual who appears to simply be "The Anti-Mitt" alternative.  Is that enough to upset an Obama victory in the fall?  Is that enough to stand against a billion dollar Obama re-election fund?

I think it is important to remember that Santorum, like Obama, has never governed a single body.  Santorum was personally responsible for $1 billion dollars in earmarks for his state during his time as a Senator.  A candidate who went to Washington DC and became corrupted by the politics of the system rather than a force for fiscal accountability and change.

Is that enough to beat Obama?

***

So where does Mitt Romney go from here?

Obviously last night's elections offer a deep and lasting sting to Romney supporters.  I am confident however, that Mitt Romney will emerge a stronger candidate.  He will re-focus and present a more unifying message that will help people realize that his expertise and vision for our country will make him the ideal candidate to confront our country's unique problems.

After all, let's remember that Mitt Romney has built his career on confronting and overcoming extremely difficult obstacles.  He has demonstrated time and again that even amid exceptional challenges he knows how to identify tremendous opportunities.

He did it with countless companies during his 25 years in building businesses.  He did it by salvaging the 2002 Olympic Games from bankruptcy and humiliation and despite scandals, budget shortfalls, and fleeing sponsors, Mitt Romney was able to put on one of the most successful Olympic games on record.

He also did it as a Governor of Massachusetts where despite an overwhelming majority of liberal colleagues and constituents, he managed to cut taxes 19 times, bring about lasting legislative reforms and he balanced budgets.

Most recently, he did it when he rose from a difficult political loss in South Carolina and within a matter of days, he emerged the victor in the Florida and Nevada contests.

***

Most would have seen those experiences as insurmountable obstacles--Mitt Romney saw them as opportunities.

Mitt Romney is at his best in crisis mode.  He has built his career on facing exceptional challenges and overcoming every one of them.

I am anxious to see him do it again, because I truly believe that he is the right leader at the right time.