With all the attention on Rick Santorum lately, Mitt Romney seems to be increasingly marginalized. But the fact is that he stands a very good chance of winning the nomination, and a reasonably good chance of being elected President.

The Czar doubts Romney has that many conservatives fooled about his bona fides. His legacy as governor as Massachusetts isn’t as bad as many popular stories about him would have you believe. Here at the Castle, we have even found that some continuing stories about his anti-conservative practices are either untrue or distorted well beyond what really happened.

But let’s not fool ourselves; Mitt Romney is not the guy who will correct all that’s wrong with our country; neither, of course, is Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich. But any of these three would be a vastly better choice than our incumbent.

Or not. There is a persistent libertarian belief echoing around the internets these days, some even by regular visitors of our Castle whom we love (you know who you are), that they would rather vote for Barack Obama rather than Mitt Romney.

Yes, it is over-the-top dramatic, and it joins that long-running tradition of announcing that if Candidate X wins, by God, we’ll leave the country. You remember when a handful of Hollywood types declared this about Bush? It is the same argument. We laugh at those claims not because they are spurious, but because it makes the speakers look paper thin overall. The libertarians may say the argument is not the same, but really, to the rest of us, it is.

They have their reasons. Some say that a re-elected Barack Obama would be so powerless compared to an all-Republican Congress that the country would be put on pause for four years, and this would at least stop the bleeding. This of-course ignores the mid-terms of 2014, which would wind up putting Democrats back in power. Also, there’s no such thing as a hobbled Obama. He could be more dangerous, as he has already repeatedly demonstrated he can damage the country without Congress; fiats, executive orders, and regulations can do the dirty job quietly and with little fuss from the media.

Another reason that there would be so little difference between President Obama and a President Romney that we ought to just stick with the devil we know. This, too, is an argument based more on media pretensions than in careful analysis of the landscape.

No difference? None at all?

Here is a handy chart to help our libertarian friends realize that maybe their worst fears about President Romney aren’t as bad as they dramatize them to be.

	Mitt Romney	Barack Obama
Prior political experience:	Elected Republican governor of heavily Demcoratic state, transformed $3B deficit into $700M surplus two years in a row.	Served incomplete term as state senator and incomplete term as US senator. Presidency likely to be first thing he ever finished.
Educational experience:	BA, English, BYU, delivered two commencement addresses. Cum laude from Harvard Law School, Baker Scholar for graduating top 5% of class with combined JD/MBA	That’s a really good question. Got a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Columbia University, and magna cum laude JD from Harvard Law School.
Business experience:	Highly successful, ranging from night security guard all the way to CEO of highly profitable enterprises.	Put in hours with three law firms, lectured at UC Law School (was not a professor), and let his law license expire. Never hired, never fired, never had to balance the books, never underwent a financial crisis.
Attitude on 1st Amendment:	As a Mormon, Romney has suffered religious prejudice and maintains a deep relationship with God. Has demonstrated willingness to entertain protestors’ questions and even engaged in a protest himself when in college.	Shut up and do what I say.
Attitude on 2nd Amendment:	While not an avid shooter, Romney has opposed many gun control laws in Massachusetts, Although he did support the Brady Bill, Romney joined the NRA in 2007 and has worked to educate himself on lawful gun ownership and now subscribes to the idea that firearms are essential for self-defense.	His Department of Justice allowed thousands of weapons to fall into the hands of Mexican criminals in the hope that enough chaos would result and he could push for extensive suspensions of 2nd Amendment rights; hundreds have been killed in Mexico, and one (possibly more) law enforcement officers are dead in the US as a result of his hatred of firearms.
Attitude on 10th Amendment:	Believes healthcare is an example of where states can make better choices than the federal governmet.	Not quite sure what this deal is about states rights. Believes that governors of states, especially Arizona, report to him on an org chart of federal power.
Foreign policy:	Extensive overseas experience. Believes that a strong respect for America reduces stress on military while making powerful markets for businesses to row.	Makes Ron Paul look sober.
Taxes:	As a business owner, wants them reduced or eliminated.	Are you kidding? Dude, you don’t pay nearly enough.
Regulations:	As a business owner, knows that regulations limit the free market. As an investor, knows that they eat into his personal revenue stream.	Way more effective at turning us into Europe than that pesky Congress.
Religion:	Devout Mormon; performed exemplary and astonishing missionary work in France.	Professes to be some form of Christian, with an eye roll, and frequently misquotes scripture as a way to connect with dumber people. Attended a church which espoused racist views and promoted radical takeover of the US for a couple of decades, but is not certain whether any of that had an effect on him. By the way, Catholics are the biggest jerks he’s ever met.
Primary economic theory:	Low taxes, decreased regulation, and made career of starting businesses.	Bailouts, government takeovers, chronic high unemployment and increased dependency on welfare and handouts.

Well, you get the point. Even at his worst, Governor Romney did a better job than President Obama looking at the numbers. Romney has many, many faults to be sure, but he appears to be learning. Barack Obama, on the other hand, not only knows everything, but he certainly knows more than you.

Additionally, look for Romney to become more stable and strong in his delivery over the next few months. The effect Rick Santorum is having on Romney’s campaign is sending a very clear message: you better take this stuff seriously, because Rick Santorum does and it’s showing up in the polls. Candidate Mitt Romney is seeing firsthand that a President W. M. Romney cannot goof off and get away with it. You better deliver, or you will be delivered.

On the other hand, Barack Obama has yet to demonstrate he gives a shit what you think about anything.

There. Differences clear?

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.