In the time since Romney formed a presidential exploratory committee, however, there have also been a number of signs that the man to beat remains extremely beatable. Here are a few of them:
• His fundraising quarter wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a tour de force either. Raising $18.25 million puts Romney way ahead of the GOP pack but behind Romney’s own 2007 performance in his first quarter as a declared candidate. It's half what George W. Bush raised during his first quarter in 1999 and well below Romney's own initial goals. A bigger number from Romney — north of $30 million — would have shown that he was on his way to cornering the market on major-donor support. As it is, he can’t come close to saying that.