I'm not sure why Romney fans are so excited.
1. Romney is basically going to tie Rick Santorum, a guy who was going nowhere as soon as last week. People are so desperate to not have Romney that they fueled Santorum to the top. Are you really going to celebrate that?
2. Romney didn't improve on his 2008 record, and he's only in 1st is because so many folks split the social conservative vote. With no Perry or Bachmann (who now have no chance), Santorum would be up by nearly 20% more.
3. The race gets harder for Romney now, because tonight's losers are as good as gone, and their support will undoubtedly shift to Santorum.
Forgive me, but I'm unimpressed.
Romney ignored Iowa and would have been totally crushed again by the social conservatives if they hadn't divided up the vote four different ways. Instead, he's going to fall into second place, with a similar vote share to 2008, after running as the inevitable front runner for four years.
As Santorum is going to win tonight, once again no Republican will win both Iowa and New Hampshire. And what is that they say about whoever wins South Carolina?
