Romney vs. Allen

National Review's Rich Lowry has reached much the same conclusion that I have. The race to compete against Sen. McCain is fast coming down to a battle between Gov. Romney and Sen. Allen.

Romney is off to a strong start. He is a polished performer on TV, and people are noticing. He is good-looking, charming and articulate — so impressive that at times one has to wonder how he found himself tossed among all of us mere mortals.

The governorship of Massachusetts isn't a natural launching pad for a Republican presidential run. But Romney has shrewdly leveraged his position there into an ongoing social-conservative credential. He has been in fights with liberals on every social issue imaginable — gay marriage, cloning, abstinence education, emergency contraception, gay adoption. At times, it's almost been as if the conservative capital of America has been in that tiny slice of Boston occupied by Romney's office.

Romney isn't running for a second term this year, which frees him up for energetic presidential stumping and organizing, all for the cause of getting a leg up on Allen.

Excellent analysis of Gov. Romney's strengths.

Let me say that I'm not a Sen. Allen detractor. I believe he's a good man. I'm just not overly impressed by him at the moment. He has a few years to get me excited, but I don't believe that he has a spark of greatness to him that I'm looking for in a president. Could he beat Sen. Clinton? I do believe that he could. As could almost any other person on the Republican short-list. But I don't believe he would squash her like she could be, and wouldn't bring any coat-tails with him.

He's an insider's pick right now. But I do believe that he will fade over the next year while Gov. Romney will surge.