To be honest with you, I didn’t know how well Mitt Romney’s “Sign Up America” drive was going to work. Using organic debate parties across the country as a springboard, Team Mitt had the goal of signing up 24,000 new supporters in a 24-hour period. And by supporters, they meant volunteers or financial contributors. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting them to meet what seemed a rather lofty goal.
But now, on the other side of it, Team Mitt has pulled it off. Something must have gone right during that debate, and they now have over 24,000 more volunteers and contributors on their campaign. Nice work, Team Mitt.
By the way, quotes like these from debate reviews might have had something to do with that number:
Governor Mark Sanford: “I thought that Romney looked very Presidential.”
David Yepsen (Iowa political writer): “Best overall debate performance: Romney.”
T.J. Walker (NR): “”Mitt Romney is too slick. Of course by ‘too slick’ what I really mean is that I can’t think of a single way to fault Romney’s style, intelligence, grammar, emotion, or ability to connect with an audience. (‘Too slick’ is the last refuge of a scoundrel political/media critic who can’t think of any other way to attack someone who has communication gifts beyond mere mortals).”
Mark Levin (NRO): “For what it’s worth, Romney looks stronger and stronger to me. He’s in his zone, he’s nailed down his positions, he’s confident and articulate, and he has charisma.”
Dean Barnett (Townhall): “Mitt gains from every one of these formats. The more the country gets to see him, the better it is for him… Anyway, about Iraq, his answer was so much more scholarly than the others. It’s almost like he’s a doctorate holder who actually knows the facts, while the other guys are platitude spewing high school students. His command of the facts and authoritative delivery have to be the envy of the field.”
Sister Toldjah (blogger): “Who do I think won? I have to give the edge to Romney. He came off as the most prepared, and sounded very presidential and looked it, too… I have to say as someone who has struggled wondering who to support, Romney is starting to sound very good to me.”
May 16th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
[...] post by HeavyM and software by Elliott [...]
May 16th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
I’m not saying it isn’t true, but is there any independent varification that he truly signed up 24,000 new people? I mean, that could be me, my brother, mom, dad and girlfriend.
May 16th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
You got to hand it to this guy: he’s Mr. Innovation. At every turn he’s making history with his campaign strategy. I think he’s for sure been the most fun to watch in that regard.
May 16th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Interestingly, I still haven’t donated or offered to volunteer for Romney’s campaign. I plan to try to donate around 100-200 in the primaries, and volunteer (though I’m not aware of any serious organization in NJ), but somehow I haven’t done anything beyond blogging yet.
May 16th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
He’s certainly good at organisation. But it doesn’t mean much more than that. The question is whether he can translate that strength into votes. Early indications in early states are promising, but the rest of the country is yet to be convinced…
May 16th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
He’s doing a lot to prove himself, and I can admire that.
May 16th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Off topic, but what effect do people think this new immigration bill is going to have on the race? From what I’m reading in early reports, it looks even worse then the last one. Or at the least, equally bad. Where do you think various candidates are going to come down on it? My guess is everyone but McCain opposes it. Rudy, and Huckabee, and Brownback are all illegal huggers, some even moreso then McCain, but they’re not as publicly tied to the issue and could probably get away with opposing it. I’ll tell you what. If Rudy’s “straight talk” leads him to support it, he’s blown whatever good will this debate brought him and then some. Illegal immigration is a bigger issue with the base then abortion and a bill that invites family members of illegals to come over to the US (actually INVITES THEM!), is going to be absolutely infuriating to conservatives.
May 16th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
I predict Mitt’s Q2 fundraising totals will be impressive.
May 16th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Rush Limbaugh gave some interesting analysis about the debate today-
“Now, all the other candidates on that stage wanted to respond to Ron Paul, too. They weren’t allowed to. Rudy just got the first shot in. This is not to criticize Rudy, but, folks, how hard is it to sit there and criticize anybody, Republican or Democrat, who essentially says something that most people are going to hear as criticism of the country? So people say, “Well, big-time score for Rudy Giuliani!” I understand how people think of it. That’s more, “Let’s analyze the game of this rather than the substance of things.” The substance is important to me. A lot of people disagree with this, but I think Romney’s getting stronger. He seems to have his positions nailed down. The flip-flopping charge nevertheless seems to take him off step for a second, but he looked like he was in command to me. That’s just my opinion. I’ve formed no conclusions about anything. I’m giving you the game analysis of the debate last night.”
May 17th, 2007 at 12:08 am
Why not criticize our country’s policies, melstrom?
May 17th, 2007 at 7:04 am
This guy continues to amaze. he has more going against him than any other candidate but seems to every single time beats the odds. He is incredible. I have continued to be proven wrong by him. I am convinced that he is going to win the nomination and then the presidency. He can appeal to moderate voters like no one else can in the general election. If he can get the dems in Massachusetts to vote for him becuase of his shere competence i am sure he can do the same in the general. He is by far the smartest and most innovative of the bunch. I want him to be there when social security is going to be overhauled.
May 17th, 2007 at 8:23 am
Jon, I agree with you. He is the first candidate in a very long time that has come up with some very innovative ideas to solve very difficult problems. He seems to have all the goods.
May 17th, 2007 at 8:44 am
I think Romney has an uphill battle, but I do think he has proven himself worthy of notice. He does seem to have the ability to appeal to moderate voters, however it remains to be seen if he can win over the social cons and the southern cons. His numbers are not good in the south, for someone who has worked for their support. I don’t know if he will be able to tie all the ends together. It will be all the more difficult for him with both Thompson and Gingrich entering the race, and if Huckabee continues exceed expectations. So, realistically, I remain somewhat skeptical of his chances, but I agree that he should not be written off, by any means. He’s a good, and decent man, with some fresh ideas and great organization.
Can he win? I don’t know, but it won’t be for a lack of not trying.
May 17th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Tommy,
your analysis is spot on. Interesting to see how well Thompson and Romney complement each other. A Romney-Thompson ticket would make sense. At this point, unfortunately, I’d definitely say that neither Romney nor Thompson have smooth sailing to the nomination. I’d really like it to be one of those two, and there’s a decent chance, but there’s definitely some obstacles to overcome.
May 17th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Tommy, that is why I am advocating that Mitt announce the VP before the first primary, rather than, as is typically, after the nomination. I think he will need to have a starch soc-con VP from the south. I am curious: Since Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) is very active as a Mitt supporter, could he be the one? You cannot do best than picking from one of the reddest states like SC, and he defnitely has the record as one of the most conservative senators. Umm….
May 17th, 2007 at 9:39 am
And yes, F.Thompson is worthy a consideration for Mitt/Fred or Fred/Mitt ticket! But it is beginning to look like he wants to aim high. Again, if Mitt does announce his ticket earlier rather than later, then F.Thompson is out. Unless he decides before the first primary that voters being splitted among too many candidates invalidate his chance of overcoming Rudy.
May 17th, 2007 at 9:52 am
SGS,
intriguing idea. A candidate would ideally prefer to wait until after the primaries to pick a Veep but if that’s what it takes to win, I can see someone going for it.
May 17th, 2007 at 9:53 am
I still think a Romney/Blackburn ticket would be very strong. Female VP. Staunch Conservative. From the Volunteer State. If Freddie prefers to go back to L&O instead of running as Mitt’s VP, then I think people should not be suprised if Blackburn is Mitt’s choice.
And to everyone who says – Rudy/Romney or Romney/Rudy – please God I hope not. Those 2 are too different.
Congrats to the Romney camp on a successful “Sign up America” campaign. I can’t wait to see Romney get his hands on the Social Security Overhaul that will have to happen during his administration.
May 17th, 2007 at 10:20 am
The immigration bill is terrible. A huge defeat for America if it comes off. I don’t think it will automatically benefit anyone candidate, but candidates who are conservative on immigration could make it pay off for them. They just have to get real vocal about opposing it, ask their supporters to phone their congressmen, etc.
May 17th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
I’ve volunteered on several campaigns including supporting the Regan efforts. Romney’s campaign is by far the best organized I have ever seen! He should be president based on how he’s running this campaign.
In previous campaigns volunteers have been needed for everything from sitting up the donuts to exit poll tracking. Romney’s campaign is the only one that has actually outlined my roll for the specific task, provided me the materials, calling to make sure I had everything I needed and (here’s the big one) actually called after the event to track the activity!
I’m even more impressed with Romney after comparing his campaign with others…I can’t wait for Romney to get his hands on Washington.