Mitt Romney Will Be Our Next President

I saw the next President of the United States last night.

Mitt Romney.

I attended in this blog's hometown of Ames last night featuring stump speeches by Mitt and his wife, Ann. They were greeted by a wildly enthusiastic crowd of between 200 and 300 people.

Notice the use of the words "wildly enthusiastic" and "Mitt Romney" in the same sentence. I've seen Romney progress as a candidate over the past few years. His events formerly featured a nice, policy-wonkish guy delivering sppeches on tax relief greeted by polite, "golf" claps.

Romney on Thursday night roared into the rally to the sounds of "Eye Of The Tiger" and channeled his inner-Ronald Reagan in a speech centering around his love of America and his optimistic vision for its future. Who woulda thought that the guy considered "least conservative" in the race would be the one most effectively mimicking Reagan?

Iowa and New Hampshire get the credit for Romney's development. After all, the caucus/primary process is meant to produce the party's best candidate. Iowa and New Hampshire are crucibles which melt away the candidacies of candidates that are not ready for prime time, and sharpen the candidate that will challenge the incumbent.

Romney's Reaganesque approach to the upcoming campaign is pitch perfect. He recognizes that we're about to see another Reagan/Carter scenario. President Obama is forced to defend an anemic economy and constantly finds himself describing the problems that he sees with the country--and by extension, it's people.

Not a winning formula--and the President finds himself upside down in his disapproval/approval ratings in key swing states.

Add to this the consistent focus of campaign ads on scandals such as Solyndra and "Fast and Furious" and you've got the set-up for a big Romney victory.

Why aren't Iowans mad at Romney for not spending a great deal of time in the Hawkeye State? Because most GOPers are simply ready to pick a winner when they head to the polls on January 3rd.