Axelrod wouldn't be doing his job if he wasn't, on some level, worried about Romney as a candidate. I think Romney's on the short list (top 2, maybe 3, candidates) of Republicans who would be most difficult to beat if they make it through the primaries. Not saying he's definitely a serious threat to Obama, but he certainly has the potential to be one if he makes it to the general and the economy doesn't improve in the next 20 months.

Axelrod is on some level worried about Romney as a candidate.

He should be. If -- and this is a huge "if" -- Romney can actually swim through the septic tank that is the GOP primary process, he would be an extremely solid candidate. He's telegenic, well-spoken, and has "real-world" business bona fides. If the primary Republican narrative for 2012 is going to be that Obama has mis-managed the country's finances, running a successful businessman is a no-brainer. And remember: Romney won the governorship of true-blue Taxachusetts, and came pretty damn close to knocking off Ted Kennedy a decade earlier.

Now, is the GOP's base of goldbugs, nativists, know-nothings and evangelical Protestants actually going to swallow the pill of electing a RINO who's a Mormon to boot? It's gonna be an uphill battle, to say the least.

Of course they're worried about Romney. He's everything Obama is with the honesty to put an (R) behind his name. In a contest between a Republican and Republican-lite, the Republican generally wins. In a contest between Republican-lite and bat-shit crazy, Republican-lite wins.

Guess which campaign Obama & Co. have been setting up for four years?

I think they worry too much.

Yes, Romney could be a viable candidate in a general election. He is a relatively centrist republican who would appeal to moderates and swing voters.

But he'll never make it to the general election. He'll get creamed in the primaries. Particularly in this surging tide of teabaggers, he doesn't stand a chance. And none of the christian conservatives will vote for a mormon.

@4 I agree. Those evangelicals hate themselves some Mormon.

Paul Constant: The Readers Digest of uninsightful political blog posts.

He draws the asinine conclusions from a whole internet's worth of other asinine conclusions.

Does Nevada really have a "large Mormon vote"? You'd think Utah might be more relevant.

@7... They talk about Nevada because it is an early primary/caucus state, so like NH, IA, and SC, it matters more in the process than states who don't hold their primary until late spring or early summer.

If they don't think they have a serious chance of knocking Obama out, it'll be Palin 2012 - you betcha!