I'd also intuit the elderly are even more inclined to follow name recognition than other demos. Maybe that's not true, but it fits nicely with my stereotype of them as not liking anything new. I'd say Romney's strength with the elderly is stable.
I don't think it's as much name recognition as it is experience and perceived competence. I could imagine olds, for example, going with Daniels if he managed to become a serious contender. That is, of course, contingent on Daniels actually running.
Also, keep in mind that while olds are the most socially conservative age group in the general population, it's slightly more complicated when you restrict yourself to GOP primary voters. The olds in the GOP include people who were around back when folks like Nelson Rockefeller were in the party. That's why I'm not at all surprised that they're not so keen on Huckabee and Palin. Huckabee and Palin are not your grandpa's GOP.
