Romney Odds & Ends

Published Dec 15 2006, 02:07 PM by David S. Bernstein

Here are a few Romney items that passed by while I was not posting yesterday:

--The horserace numbers from the new Washington Post/ABC News political poll aren't that interesting, but it is striking that Mitt Romney has a net negative favorable/unfavorable figure: 22 percent have an favorable opinion of him, 24 unfavorable, and 54 no opinion. Sure, this is before he has a chance to get out and pitch his "Mr. Olympics" storyline to the public (and was asked of all respondents, not just Republicans), but one of his main attributes has always been his general likability, so this is has to be a little disconcerting. On the positive side, he was one of just eight politicians they picked to survey on likability -- and one of just three Republicans, along with McCain and Giuliani -- so that tells you how seriously he's being taken.

--Hotline says that Romney's people are being told to tentatively expect a January 8 announcement of his Presidential candidacy.

--At the end of a National Review Online Q&A, which has gotten attention for other reasons, Romney was asked what he's been reading. My former colleague Dan Kennedy will be pleased to hear that one of Romney's "current favorites" is America Alone, the new book by Kennedy's nemesis Mark Steyn. The others are The Cube and the Cathedral by George Weigel, The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright, The Places in Between by Rory Stewart, and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson.