You’d think so, but Jimmy Carter wasn’t very popular in Georgia when he ran for President. He likely couldn’t have won another election to state office in Georgia, but he won the Presidential nomination, and wound up carrying Georgia in the general election (more on “favorite son” principles than anything).
The average MA voter wonders why his state government is so corrupt-but doesn’t connect the dots. as you point out, there is nothing to restrain crooks like DiMasi (mob lawyer), and Travalini (looking for a cushy job). That is why corruption reigns. I think Romney did what he could, then realized he was beating his head against a wall. You don’t think crime pays? look at william Bulger-crime paid off for him, big time!
Which makes Deval Patrick’s governorship so potentially fascinating. He’s beholden to none of the established party structures, he’s brilliant at engaging the public directly, he’s smart, and so far he’s handled everything thrown at him with aplomb. If the establishment decides to hamstring him, he’ll have a rough time, but I suspect the Democratic honchos are already realizing they don’t have a pushover in the corner office.
I looked up presidents who lost their home state, but won the election.
James K. Polk - Tennessee - 1844
Woodrow Wilson - New Jersey - 1916
Richard Nixon - New York - 1968
I was surprised, but Nixon was a resident of New York, not California in 1968.
Anyway, the home state shouldn’t rule out Romney or Gulliani. As we’ve seen the last couple elections, a few mid-size states like Ohio and Florida can win the election.
Agreed. Patrick has really benefited from his cleanness, which is probably what sold him to the voters more than anything. The Republican Party these days is so woefully out of touch with most of Massachusetts that they’re done here, so we in Massachusetts will have to rely on Democratic primaries to weed out politicians we don’t like. Not the easiest way to do things, but it’s about our only option. Patrick will remain a popular governor, I predict, since he doesn’t have that whiff of corruption that seems to hang on too many politicians around here. I put my Deval Patrick bumper sticker on my car in October, and I haven’t taken it off yet. Probably won’t.
Why not?
Hard to believe it was a colony founded by Puritans . . .
Well, then those Irish came in & ruined everything. 
Racial politics, mostly. He came into office in 1972, denounced segregation in his inaugural speech, and proceeded to appoint many blacks to state office and the bench. All the right things to do of course, but in 1972 Georgia was still regressive on racial matters and these measures cost Carter politically.
Call me another one who doesn’t think Romney has a chance – at the presidency. In some ways, he might be seen as the ideal compromise VP candidate, though. His neither-fish-nor-fowl quality might play well in that job.
Right. They’re so clueless that even the GOP Senate candidate last November came in third , behind Kennedy *and * the Green Party guy. They’re out-of-touchness especially showed in Healey’s campaign for governor, which showed only that she’d been taking direction from Karl Rove instead of, you know, *listening * to people to find out what they want from a governor.
And also because he didn’t have to go dirty in his campaign. Mihos did the hatchetwork on Healey for him in the debates. He most likely ran (as an independent) just so he could get back at Romney for spending so much of his administration trying to fire him from the Turnpike Authority. Patrick got to look like Obama’s brother as a result. But he hasn’t tried to get anything much done since his inauguration, and as soon as he does, he’ll collect some enemies, don’t worry.
If past behavior is a fair predictor, President Romney will spend the bulk of his term in Saudi Arabia stumping about the sinful, liberal U.S.
They promised us we could worship at their church, forced us out, then took our church apart when we built our own darn one.
Serves ya right! 
Sorry. Sometimes that happens with me. :smack:
Maybe he did; maybe he was really pro-choice, pro-gay, etc. from 1994 through late 2004, then had a change of heart (as he claims) in late November 2004.
But isn’t it rather presumptuous of someone who’s only believed the things he believes for a mere two years now, to already be running for President on the basis of those beliefs?
The other thing is, he can’t exactly attribute his newfound convictions on those issues to the strength of his religious convictions. After all, he didn’t exactly convert to the LDS faith in 2004; he grew up in the faith.
Something similar can be said for Obama.
America seperates Church and State. Both candidates give America an opportunity to demonstrate this.
Patrick is already making his own corruption real-he bought a Cadillac limousine for himself (state funded). He also likes to travel via State Police Helicopter…Reformer? HA! 
What do you mean? Obama is a practicing mainstream Protestant, not exactly a religious group that’s never seen the inside of the Oval Office.
You do understand, don’t you, that that meme about him being a Muslim is total bullshit?
Yes, I do, but as the saying goes, ‘the perception is the reality’. Why do you think politicians spend so much time smearing each other? Even if he were Muslim, it should not matter one whit. America professes to have seperation of Church and State; it’s time to stand up and be counted.