Should Romney run again in 2016? Opinionline

Byron York,The Washington Examiner: "Is Mitt Romney ... really thinking about running yet again for president in 2016? Many Republicans have simply assumed not. Romney has seemed to discourage such talk in media appearances. (But) that belief is wrong. Romney is talking with advisers, consulting with his family, keeping a close eye on the emerging '16 Republican field, and carefully weighing the pluses and minuses of another run. That doesn't mean he will decide to do it, but it does mean that Mitt 2016 is a real possibility."

Marc Thiessen,The Washington Post : "Talk of a Romney 2016 run is heating up. A USA TODAY poll shows Romney with a huge lead in Iowa. ... And after months of Shermanesque denials, Romney recently cracked the door open to another presidential bid, telling radio host Hugh Hewitt that 'circumstances can change.' To which I say: Nooooo! ... Why would Republicans want to relive that debacle?"

Mark Leibovich, The New York Times: "Romney shrugged off the recent attention, citing the natural human tendency to covet the unavailable. ... And yet a confluence of political realities has created a genuine opening for a Romney third act. As Obama struggles through a difficult final term, there is a lack of a clear Republican heir apparent. ... Romney, for his part, is noticeably playing along. He recently told a radio host that he was not planning on running for president but allowed that 'circumstances can change.'"

Peter Suderman, Reason: "Why, you might wonder, would anyone want Romney to run again? He offered almost nothing to the ticket in 2012 except a bland respectability. Against the weak GOP lineup he was facing, that was enough to win the nomination. ... There are some party bigwigs who see him as their best shot, and some campaign professionals would like to cash in on yet another sure-to-be-pricey run. That's not an argument for why Romney should run. It's an argument for why he shouldn't."

Micah Cohen and Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight: "Did ya hear the news? Romney may run for president again! ... Our guess is that, like so many anonymous reports, this one will turn out to be false. ... Still, it's not that uncommon for general-election losers to try again. ... Perhaps Romney could turn to Richard Nixon for hope. Tricky Dick successfully reinvented his public image: the new Nixon!"

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