And my heart gets officially broken in 2008.

The presidential race Mitt Romney planned for years crashed to a halt Thursday, stopped in its tracks by the surprisingly durable John McCain campaign and by Romney's failure to quell concerns about his shifts on key issues, his political persona and his Mormon religion.

Making the dramatic announcement at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference at a Washington hotel, Romney clearly hoped to preserve the goodwill of his party for another possible bid in 2012. He intends to run again in four years, according to a senior member of his inner circle.

"He should be president. 2012," the confidant e-mailed after talking to Romney.

Asked if Romney will run again, another close adviser said, "HeÂ’ll consider it. He's keeping his options open."

Romney never quite got the traction that many of us on the conservative side of things expected, especially as John McCain surged and a segment of the religious conservatives rejected him based upon faith alone. And yes, there were those who objected to his changed positions on a number of issues, despite the fact that even Ronald Reagan evolved over the years into the essence of what it means to be a conservative.

One possibility was suggested by a columnist from Boston -- challenge John Kerry for his Senate seat this fall.

HereÂ’s a not-wholly whimsical idea for a battered Mitt Romney: Bow out of the presidential race and gear up for a run against John Kerry for the Senate this fall.

That would give Romney an honorable exit, help the national Republican Party unify behind John McCain earlier and allow the state GOP to field an A-list candidate who could keep Kerry pinned down in Massachusetts. And if Romney got really lucky he could even win the seat.

The filing date for the Senate is May 6. ThatÂ’s plenty of time for Romney to switch and mount a campaign that could keep him alive for a second shot at the presidency in the future, instead of remaining a punching bag in the current race.

Yeah, I know this column was something of a jab at Mitt, but the key detail is this.

A stunning 56 percent of voters statewide said it was time “to give someone else a chance” in the Senate, with only 37 percent saying Kerry should run again, in a Suffolk University poll last April. That included independents who, by 62 percent to 31 percent, said it was time for Kerry to go.

In other words, John Kerry can be beat. And by 2012, mitt Romney could have established a conservative record that proves he is the conservative he has claimed to be this year. It really sounds like a great idea to me.

Posted by: Greg at 03:55 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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