Mitt Romney's less-than-suspenseful win in New Hampshire – the base of his five-year presidential campaign – drained whatever drama this primary season had left.
Maybe.
There are at least two other potential pitfalls waiting to derail the Romney White House Express.
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The first is the damage done by Romney's deluded field of challengers – are there really five other people so untethered to reality they think they have prayer? I mean, besides Santorum, and that's all he's got.
Between Gingrich's oddly left-leaning attacks against the former turnaround CEO to Perry's own disconnected free market charges, this GOP field of Energizer bunnies is drafting Obama's playbook for him. Forget the unemployment rate: The longer this crowded field of confused contenders squabbles over things they should already agree on, the easier the president's job becomes once November rolls around.
The other would be the worst case scenario – or what I'd call the Ron Paul Postulate. Remember Ross Perot? That was nothing compared to the damage done by a Ron Paul third-party run would do to Romney's chances against Obama.
While the polls might favor Romney now, we're looking at a close race in November, so the votes Crazy Uncle Ron could siphon off would be crucial.
And while Romney's victory was clear, it's also worth mentioning that after five years of campaigning, his vote total in Iowa remained the same while his New Hampshire share only climbed 4 percent – when he finished second to Sen. John McCain in 2008. This tells me Republicans remain lukewarm to their eventual nominee.
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