Powerline’s pulling a National Review and endorsing Mitt Romney.

“It is time for Republicans to get serious. After flirting with just about every candidate in a large presidential field, is is time to come home to the one candidate who has the demonstrated ability to run the largest organization in the United States, the Executive Branch of the federal government; who has never been touched by the slightest taint of scandal; whose success in the private sector makes him the outsider that Republicans say they are looking for; and who has by far the best chance of beating President Obama: Mitt Romney.

The “anybody but Romney” mentality that grips many Republicans is, in my view, illogical. It led them to embrace Rick Perry, who turned out to be unable to articulate a conservative thought; Newt Gingrich, whose record is far more checkered than Romney’s; Ron Paul, whose foreign policy views–indistinguishable from those of the far left–and forays into racial intolerance make him unfit to be president; and Michele Bachmann, whom I like very much, but who is more qualified to be a rabble-rouser than a chief executive.

The knock on Romney is that he is “not a real conservative.” Well, I am sure he is not as conservative as I am. But he has a solid record of conservative accomplishment as governor of Massachusetts, and if you check out his economic plan, you will find it to be entirely Reaganite, updated for the crisis we face today. The “Romney isn’t conservative” meme is, frankly, a little weird: in December 2007, National Review endorsed him for president. Has he somehow gotten more liberal since then?”

So John is endorsing Romney because he’s wink, wink, nod, nod kind of conservative? So we pretty much go for Romney because he’s the only one that can beat Obama? So we can compromise core conservative beliefs just to kick Obama to the curve?

The fact is that Romney can’t win. He won’t win the south and no one in recent memory has won the presidency without winning the south. As far as he’s never been touched by the “taint of scandal”, we simply don’t know. I don’t care who the candidate is they have something in their past lurking and I’m sure that it will come to light should Romney become the nominee.

He’s wrong for all the right reasons, and it’s a compromise of core conservative principles to endorse this RINO. No thanks.