Mitt Romney is Getting His Political Groove on for 2012

Mitt Romney may not have won the Republican nomination for president during the 2008 election, but that doesn’t mean he’s down and out. In fact, Romney is in better position than ever to challenge President Obama in 2012 and continues to engage in conversations on a national level to keep his name, and his ideas, in the spotlight. Today, he’ll speak at a fundraiser for a candidate for state treasurer. Tomorrow, he’ll be in Washington, DC to headline a fundraiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The next day, he’ll be the keynote speak for a Republican dinner to be held in New York.

There’s no rest for the weekend, either, as Romney will travel back home to California and continue to write both newspaper articles and a book. Romney plays coy when asked about this robust schedule, but those close to presidential politics know better. "This is a quiet time," Romney says. "At this stage, running again is way beyond the horizon. This year is working on a book. The next year will be helping in Republican campaigns. And I don’t know what the year after that will bring." He may claim not to know…but just about everyone else paying attention knows exactly what that year will bring for Romney – namely, another run at the White House.

Strategist Mary Matalin notes that a second campaign is likely. "There’s nothing like going around the track once to broaden the field," she said. "He has an intellectual base. He has a politics-faith base. He certainly has an economic base. If there's anything illogical about it, it's that he - and not some of the other people who may appeal more strongly to one of those elements - has the greatest potential to pull all those factions together."