By Nitya

Jan 9, 2008 8:10am

Romney Camp Drops the ‘D’ Word

ABC News’ John Berman Reports: Romney advisers insist the race is not over yet.  Harassed repeatedly by this reporter to find out if Romney would stay in the race until Michigan on January 15th, one strategist wrote back, "If I could sing the Michigan fight song over the Internet I would."

And then, music to the ears of any political junkie, people close to Romney are starting to use the "d" word: delegates.

"We still have a great shot at winning this.  And we have more delegates than anyone else at this point," says someone close to Romney.

Could this really be a long battle for delegates? 

User Comments

“Could this really be a long battle for delegates?”
Um….. that’s what primaries ARE!!!

Posted by: golfmann | January 9, 2008, 9:17 am 9:17 am

“Could this really be a long battle for delegates?”
You’re kidding, right? You people at ABC DO know the purpose of primary elections, right?
Please…

Posted by: jdawg | January 9, 2008, 9:42 am 9:42 am

I think what he means that this might actually go all the way to the conventions. Usually, it doesn’t matter exactly how many delegates you have by the convention, because you’ve won so many states everyone else has dropped out. If they’re really focusing on delegates and not states, then they think it might actually be decided at the convention.

Posted by: Chuck | January 9, 2008, 10:11 am 10:11 am

Why is the msm in such a hurry for everyone to just dropout and surrender the race after 2 meaningless primaries? It is about delegates, and Romney can win enough of them with nothing but 2nd place finishes as long as they are not all or nothing states. I hope this goes for 50 states in both parties. I’m sick and tired of 75,000 voters in N.H. deciding our nominees for the other 300 million citizens in this country. Screw Iowa, srew N.H. We want a real contest in every state.

Posted by: Roninacreage | January 9, 2008, 10:38 am 10:38 am

duh! Smarten up ABC. Your news broadcasts are horribly slanted to the left. Hillary is just a severely mentally inhibited candidate. Obama hasn’t a clue on anything. And they are both PRO-DEATH.

Posted by: Alan | January 9, 2008, 11:58 am 11:58 am

Remember, the media covers every political contest as though it were a sports tournament. We have hundreds of times more information on who is “ahead” in polls of every possible kind than we do on the stands or history in office of any of them. We should not be surprised therefore that reporters do not know that delegates (“Delegates?”, he said in shock) are how the process is actually decided. Reporters have the whole thing confused with American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and the Academy Awards.

Posted by: Michael Burns | January 9, 2008, 12:14 pm 12:14 pm

What a silly post. Would the reporter be shocked to learn that a nominated candidate was “really in a battle for electoral votes”? Shouldn’t we be thrilled if a candidate was able to muster enough delegates to win the nomination if no other single candidate is able to muster enough to win outright? Such a candidate would represent a compromise and consensus — a candidate whom the most people are the most comfortable with. It’s a likely scenario, with Huckabee, McCain and Rudy all drawing strong support from some constituencies but disdain from others. If Romney is the candidate who can always finish second, and no one else garners enough delegates, that’s a strong indication that the winner in individual states was never someone around whom the nation could rally, and that we OUGHT to turn to someone who was able to produce the MOST consensus. This is elementary. I agree with Michael Bruns — this isn’t American Idol. Wake up ABC

Posted by: Dave | January 9, 2008, 7:18 pm 7:18 pm

Funny how nothing was mentioned about the primaries in Wyoming on Jan.5th & Romney took Wyoming. Ya, Wyoming isn’t NH but the votes still count! There are 4 phases of a presidential election. Phase 1: Endorsements
Phase 2: Early Primaries & Caucuses
Phase 3: Super Tuesday/National Primary (21 states vote this day)
Phase 4: The rest of the race — which doesn’t end until June 3rd when New Mexico and South Dakota vote
WOW, and I am not even a reporter for ABC. They just make themselves look uneducated.

Posted by: Millie | January 9, 2008, 9:03 pm 9:03 pm

Yah, I agree with what Roninacreage said. Two suburb states shouldn’t have such a big influence in how our elections go. I never understood that.

Posted by: Greg | January 9, 2008, 11:20 pm 11:20 pm

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