The Spin of Super Tuesday

Last night, Mitt Romney won 6 of the 10 states. His delegate count is now 404--more than double the number of delegates Rick Santorum has at 161.  In fact, Romney has more delegates than the totals of Santorum, Gingrich and Paul combined.

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images

The biggest news of the night was that Mitt Romney won the crown jewel--he won Ohio.  (It is important to mention that no Republican candidate has ever won the White House without winning the primary in Ohio). It is a big deal.

Mitt Romney has turned a crucial corner.  Mitt Romney is beginning to surge.  Mitt Romney is on the path to win the nomination.

It is interesting however, to watch the media spin it.  If I didn't know better, I would think that Mitt Romney's campaign took a catastrophic hit last night and that he is now on the verge of conceding the race.   It is ridiculous.

Rather than focus on the fact that Mitt won more Super Tuesday races than anyone else and has won more states than any of his rivals, or that he somehow managed to come from behind and win the most pivotal race in Ohio, the media is choosing to focus on Romney's narrow margin of victory, his minimal support of the ultra conservatives and also that Romney outspent Santorum in Ohio 5-1.

Eric Gay/Associated Press

It is absurd that the focus isn't: 1) Santorum blew a double-digit lead in just 7 days. 2) Santorum hasn't raised enough money to be able to adequately compete in a must-win state. 3) Santorum still doesn't have endorsements from his colleagues. 4) His campaign staff continues to make sloppy, novice mistakes that have cost him crucial delegates and a loss in his home state of Virginia.

Instead, Romney is being vilified for running a successful campaign. Wow.

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Super Tuesday historically marks a significant change in direction for the candidates.  It should.  This year is different however, because we have two candidates that are brazenly vowing to stay in the race until the convention at the end of August.  Vowing to fight even though the likelihood of accumulating enough delegates is virtually impossible.  Vowing to fight even though countless polls show that this nomination process is hurting the conservative cause, damaging the image of the GOP and is actually helping President Obama's approval ratings.

Santorum and Gingrich are vowing to fight, but I would ask them, at what cost?  Mitt Romney is winning...by a lot.  More people are voting for Mitt Romney than any other candidate.  These two candidates are not getting enough wins.

I would invite Gingrich and Santorum to ask themselves, at what point does the drive for political pursuits overshadow the "will of the people?"

I hope they will remember that much more is at stake than simply winning the race for the White House.  If this drawn-out infighting truly damages the conservative brand, then gaining seats in the House and Senate will undoubtedly be compromised.  Losses which affect the future of Obamacare, Supreme Court nominations and out-of-control spending.

Much more is at stake than simply who will be the GOP nominee.

Opinion writer George Will wrote an interesting column about this here.

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I would invite Santorum and Gingrich to realize that their political pursuits are hurting the party.  Please continue to play a role in the fight for the conservative cause, but maybe just play a different role.  As I mentioned here, not everyone can be the quarterback...

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It is time to rally behind the one candidate who has demonstrated that he can win, has the right organization, has enough money, the expertise and the resume to take on the Obama campaign machine.

This candidate is undoubtedly Mitt Romney.