Mr. Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, has virtually claimed the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. President Barack Obama in the November election. He prevailed in a grueling battle that took a toll on the candidate. Now, he must lick his wounds and refocus his energies on defeating the incumbent.
In most years, the odds would favor the challenger; "it's still the economy, stupid." This time, however, Mr. Romney has his work cut out for him.
While Mr. Romney went into the nomination process as the presumptive front-runner, it took him months to prevail over a colorful but weak field. Many of the most "electable" Republicans (at least those thought to be favored by the GOP establishment) such as Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush declined to run.