You can't go too far without reading political coverage documenting how solidly Mitt Romney is as a presidential candidate in 2011, compared to his first run in 2007-2008, and CL doesn't disagree with that general sentiment.
Forget about comparing him to Rick Perry in the debates - Romney's finest moment, in this reporter's opinion, was when he addressed that Jim DeMint Tea Party event in South Carolina back on Labor Day, where he refused to pander to one of the most conservative audiences he had addressed in the campaign.
Romney made the decision early on this year that he wouldn't compete in any straw poll after pouring tons of money into Iowa's in 2007, and it makes sense. Michelle Bachmann victory in Iowa last month wasn't a game changer, and Herman Cain's victory on Saturday won't be either.
But Romney has been campaigning a lot in Florida, and the fact that he finished a distant third behind Cain and Perry is nothing his camp should be crowing about. In fact, a conservative blogger named Sandy Rios asked this question on the TownHall website.