The Miami Herald has the story here. ''If anyone can provide a rallying point for the party -- give them something that offers hope of success -- that person can move quickly to the front,'' this advisor said. ``But you have to find the message.''
That is the main challenge -- along with the others -- that Romney faces. But the position from which he is running is now an advantageous one. He still trails well behind Rudy Giuliani in national polls, and newcomer Fred Thompson also runs ahead of him. But no one is close to him at this point in the Iowa polls, and no one has the grass-roots organization he built in order to win the straw vote. New Hampshire is closer in the polls, but the support there for both John McCain and Mike Huckabee means that Romney conceivably could win with a plurality well short of a majority.
No Republican in the modern era of contested nominations has won both these early states, and the plausible belief in the Romney camp is that his doing that would have the effect of vaulting him into the lead nationally. As of now, those contests will be followed by Michigan, where Romney spent his boyhood and the Romney name is a familiar one, thanks to his father's service as governor. Then come South Carolina, where Romney's challenge is simply to exceed low expectations, and Florida, which in the Romney calculus could be decisive in setting the table for the Feb. 5 super-primary day.
Many events could upset this scenario. But the methodical, businesslike Romney campaign has had a clear strategy -- and, unlike Thompson, a stable, professional management team. For them, January -- not February -- is the decisive month.
In the end, everything rests on Romney himself -- and that is as it should be when the presidency is at stake.
Mitt has the message and the skills. January will be good to Mitt. But, we've got a lot of work to do between now and then.
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