New Poll has Mittens opening up a two-point lead on Ricky in Michigan

[WI_DEM]

Still with the margin of error it's still anybody's contest, but Mitten's money is making a difference again:

EAST LANSING, Mich. Mitt Romney has regained the lead in a Mitchell/Rosetta Stone Poll
of Michigan conducted for MIRS (Michigan Information & Research Service). The two front
runners are now in a statistical dead heat with Romney (32%) having a 2% lead over Rick
Santorum (30%) while Newt Gingrich (9%) and Ron Paul (7%) are far behind in a trial
Republican presidential ballot test. About one in five voters remain undecided (22%). Eight
days ago, Santorum had a 9% lead and twelve days before that Romney led by 15% in a topsyturvy
race.
The telephone survey of 420 likely 2012 Republican Presidential Primary voters was conducted
jointly by Mitchell Research & Communications, Inc. of East Lansing, Michigan and Rosetta
Stone Communications of Atlanta, Georgia on Monday, February 20, 2012, and has a margin of
error of + or 4.7%. It was an automated IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Poll.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/docs/2012/Mitchell_Rosetta_MI_0220.pdf

[LisaL]

1. Well I don't think its because of Romney's money alone.

Surely Santorum helped.

[Lint Head]

2. Come on frothy!

[DCBob]

3. Looks like Santorum is flaming out.

Latest AZ poll also has Mittens up by 10.

http://weaskamerica.com/2012/02/21/az-romney-for-now/

[LisaL]

4. Not everybody wants to stay home and homeschool.

[DCBob]

5. Careful, the Ayatollah Santorum could send you to the dunking stool for those comments.

[catbyte]

6. Santorum is scaring even the fundies on my side of the state

I listened to a speech Santorum gave in Muskegon and he was fixated on the culture stuff. He even tied the economic stuff to religion and I think it's a bridge too far even for west Michigan--and that's quite an accomplishment.

Diane
Anishinaabe in MI

[UCmeNdc]

7. Looks Like Rick Santorum is starting to peak

Rick Santorum is losing support with his crazy ideas and crazy talk. All he had to do was keep his mouth shut, smile and nod.

[Mr.Turnip]

8. This is likely going to come down to the debate tomorrow.

On Santorum's side is that he has generally been a slightly stronger debater than Romney, against him is that Romney and Paul are almost certainly going to be teaming up on him. Again on Santorum's side is that if he has a lick of sense he can make Romney look like a hypocrite when he inevitably attacks him on earmarks, and of course he can attack Romney on healthcare which he has done effectively in the past.

Who knows what Newt will do.

[waybig]

9. Surprised it took this long

Yea, I didn't think Ricky could pull this off, and I was surprised to see him maintaining the lead for so long. If the primaries had been today I think he may have squeaked by, but three weeks is a really long time.

[Mr.Turnip]

10. Ras has Ricky + 4

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/michigan/2012_michigan_republican_primary

Done on the same day.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

11. Damn!! All because Icky Ricky can't keep his fucking mouth shut!!!

[LisaL]

13. And why is that a bad thing, exactly?

I've seen nothing to suggest that Santorum would be an easier opponent than Romney in a general election.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

14. It's bad because I'd like to see a hard fought race on that side.

I have always believed, and still do believe, that Romney will eventually emerge as the Republican nominee. But I want him bloodied and bruised when that day comes.

And yes, I DO think either one of these clowns can be defeated. However, I've run into a lot of moderates and Independents who are being duped into believing that Mitt Romney is a moderate with beliefs on the same level as Obama. I can see that argument in some ways, but not in the larger scheme of things. I'm keeping a close eye on the SCOTUS. And for that reason alone, I prefer that Romney is battered when he does become the nominee.

So yes, it is bad in my view.

[MjolnirTime]

12. only 420 people?!?