Romney...seemed so perfect didn't he?

Oh Mitt Romney. Such a quick and smooth tongue. So witty and seemingly-personable. Such perfect hair, and teeth. Former Governor of Massachusetts, and rich. Make this man President, right?

I mean, he sounds like a Presidential candidate, like every single one we've seen, maybe even a little better. He's got George Bush-style policies with the ability to form a coherent sentence, and get everyone in the room laughing as he does.

Mitt was the epitome of what the US seems to like in their Presidential candidates, and that was pretty much what killed him in this campaign. Much the same as the John Edwards campaign, Mitt was perfect for a Presidential run, for all the reasons I've mentioned above. Mitt's problem wasn't running into two ground-breaking, once-in-a-generation candidates, as Edwards did, but that people were craving something different, and the a-typical politician just was not their cup o'tea this election.

Romney was also burned by a bit of the loose tongue. And when I say loose tongue, I mean, lying. Mitt is the kind of politician that plays to whatever crowd he is in front of, and when he was running in Massachusetts as a Republican, he obviously had to soften some of the right's more extreme views to be able to have a hope in hell of winning. And he did, coming out pro-abortion, pro-gun law, and not as a tax cutter.

But now, these kinds of views are problems, and so are biting attack ads that include bits of info that aren't quite, what's the word...truthful. Mitt had trouble with both of these things, and it, to an extent, doomed him as well.

So did his religion, as he is a practicing Mormon, and while it helped him take Utah, with a whopping 85% of the vote, there is a real divide with this religion and the mainstream, which I think also caused him problems. not as many as a lot of people predicted, but it didn't help. For example, Mike Huckabee, former priest, won the fundamentalist states. If Mitt's not a Mormon, those states could easily go to him.

A lot of factors contributed to Romney's fall from grace. I've been watching his campaign rise from its beginnings, and I honestly thought, with the man's pedigree, money, look, everything, that he would be the nominee. Even when he was running back in the polls, I was telling everyone to watch out for this man, who was a slicker, more composed and intelligent George W. Bush, and would follow the same type of policies, the failed neo-con policies of the current administration. He would probably have been alright economically, as he is a very successful businessman that turned around the Salt Lake City Olympics and has amassed a huge private fortune, but there's too many other drag-downs that killed his campaign.

Lastly, he had a real cocky sense around him. He was that kid in high school that drove the slickest car, had all the clothes and the girls, and someone most of us weren't, and most of us couldn't relate to. I wish Mitt Romney the best of luck, as he is an intelligent, composed, and well-put together man, but it seems his Presidential aspirations may have to be set aside. For a man that really looks the part, in the end, it seems he can't really fill the role.

Hillary gets New Jersey and Massachusetts

Hillary Clinton has pulled out New Jersey and Massachusetts, where she overcame the high-profile endorsements of the Kennedys, Kerry and Governor Deval. Hillary had gotten the endorsement of the mayor of Boston, which looks to have put her over the top. This is a blow to Obama, he was expected to win here.

Hillary also looks like she is going to pull a lot of Pennsylvania as well, leaving Barack a little shorter in the Northeast than he had probably expected.

Clinton has pulled hundreds of delegates from the two victories in the Northeast, leaving her leapgrogging ahead in momentum and delegates. There is still the mega-primary of California later on tonight to report, but Hillary has moved ahead as of now.

Hillary wins new York

Hillary Clinton has won her adopted state of New York, whom she represents in the US Senate. There are no numbers yet on the vote, but it looks like Hillary has taken 3/4-2/3 of the vote, leaving her with a large chunk of the 200+ delegates up for grabs in the second-most populous state.

All of the other states reporting at 6pm have no clear winner, even in John McCain's home state of Arizona. Surprising that McCain didn't pull his own state so overwhelmingly that it wasn't immediately available to call, as Hillary did.

Tennessee is still up in the air, but it looks like John McCain may have put another state into his pocket.

Clinton is also ahead in early numbers in Massachusetts, which is a tad surprising with all the high-profile endorsements Obama has gotten from the state's politicians like the Kennedys, John Kerry and the state's governor. This could be big for Hillary, from a PR standpoint, as Massachusetts doesn't have a powerhouse amount of delegates, but if Hillary wins, she will have done so in spite of the Democratic establishment in the area turning against her.

Breaking: Barack Obama pulls Delaware, with all 23 delegates going to him.

Multiple State Results - Illinois, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oklahoma

It looks like Barack Obama has won his home state of Illinois, as predicted, and in the same state John McCain has won on the Republican side. McCain has also carried Conneticut, and Mitt Romney has taken his home state of Massachusetts. Hillary Clinton has taken Oklahoma.

More reports on numbers in a bit, but I thought I'd report these early numbers on wins in the Republican and Democratic primaries.