Victor Davis Hanson, writing about Mitt’s afternoon at The Hoover Institution,
For about one hour, he heard some tough inquiries, answered without notes, kept his cool, and talked analytically rather than in platitudes. I was impressed, and came away thinking that being a conservative governor in Massachusetts must have sharpened his debating skills and given him insights about dealing with the therapeutic mindset. I donâ??t know what he thought of us, but most of us thought him quite impressive.
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Paul Mirengoff of Powerline has a similar reaction after an evening with Mitt,
Tonight I had the privilege of attending a dinner with Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and two or three dozen journalist types. Romney’s statements were off the record but I can report the following three impressions: (1) in many ways, Romney would be an exceedingly attractive presidential candidate, (2) Romney is an instinctive problem solver and an instinctive conservative; most of the time the two sets of instincts won’t collide, but the problem solver instinct is the stronger of the two, and (3) Mitt Romney is a man of real substance.
Howie Carr summed up local Republicans feelings for Mitt in a column this week,
But the fact is, Mitt, you should have been the nominee, not Kerry Healey. You could have won – just step back from Bush a bit, like Schwarzenegger, or, closer to home, Jodi Rell in Connecticut. They’re cruising to victory, and you would be, too.
When you run for governor, it’s assumed that if you win you’ll seek re-election. It’s an implied promise, and you broke it. I know, yesterday you had an early-morning press conference and said the state will suffer if Deval is elected. No kidding, Willard. It was too little, too late. So now you think you’re just going to stroll away from the wreckage, right?
Mitt is an impressive guy, smooth, handsome, all that stuff. But he has abandoned the state, after about 18 months of governing. I am not all that impressed with his ability to fight against the likes of DiMasi and Trav, two big fish in a very, very small pond. How would Mitt do against the pros in Washington? No thanks. I’ll have my vanilla in a cone.