The following editorial appeared in the Dallas Morning News on March 1:

A quick and easy summation of Mitt Romney’s victories last week would be that he simply avoided disaster. A loss in Michigan, where he grew up as the son of a popular governor, would have set off panic among Republican power-brokers.

But in a GOP primary season that has defied quick and easy analysis, Romney showed something beyond personal wealth, uncertain conservatism and big-name endorsements: resilience.

His easy win in Arizona was expected; Michigan was another matter. Even with Romney’s home-state advantages, Rick Santorum had a significant polling edge two weeks out.

Only in the closing days — thanks to a shaky Santorum debate performance and some campaigning gaffes — did Romney rally to a 3-point victory. “We didn’t win by a lot,” he said, “but we won by enough.”

If so, the proof is dead ahead with what could be a decisive Super Tuesday, with GOP voting in 10 states, including pivotal Ohio.

If Romney is right, it could well be that his tight focus on economic issues won the day in Michigan. Exit polls show the economy or deficit as the most pressing concern of about eight in 10 GOP voters, and Romney won them decisively.

This is similar to New Hampshire and Florida, two previous states where Romney bounced back from disappointing outcomes. Tire-kicking Republicans may have some doubts, but they are recognizing his superior business and economic acumen.

Romney outspent Santorum by nearly 2-to-1 in Michigan but did more than money-whip him. The older, wealthier and more educated the voters, the more likely they were to choose Romney. Santorum’s strength was in rural and evangelical voters or those seeking a “true conservative.” The two split the tea party vote and independents, but Romney won by 11 points among self-identified Republicans.

Most significantly, Romney won among voters who rate defeating Barack Obama as a top priority. Romney may have lost his inevitability mantle, but he reasserted his electability advantage. It’s notable that two of his most significant primary wins are Michigan and Florida, key swing states.

He surely hoped to have had the nomination clinched by now, and the road ahead is still difficult and unpredictable. It remains to be seen whether intramural bloodletting will leave the GOP nominee too weakened to seriously challenge Obama, as many key Republicans worry.

Yet they also know that whatever their eventual nominee faces now is nothing compared with the intense heat coming this summer and fall from Obama’s billion-dollar campaign machine.

As voters in 11 states have made clear — and Super Tuesday voters will emphasize — no one will hand the GOP nomination to Romney or anyone else. That candidate must go out and win it. And Republican voters must ask themselves if the time has come to rally behind the guy with the best shot to win in November.

Copy the Story Link