Mitt Romney Maintains His Relevance

After losing a presidential election – especially a primary – candidates typically fade into the background and suffer a severely diminished sphere of influence. Not so with Mitt Romney. The Washington Post places him as the #2 most important Republican to watch.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, has the highest work rate of any modern politician we have observed closely. During his run for president last year, Romney's schedule would often be packed with six events a day, a stunning level of activity. He's keeping up that breakneck pace so far in 2009 -- using his Free and Strong America PAC to seed donations to up and coming politicians while penning editorials and providing counsel to congressional Republicans on economic issues. Another major advantage for Romney: much -- though not all -- of his political team has stayed in touch and intact , meaning that if and when he flicks the switch they will be ready to go from, well, day one.

Considering that the country will still be digging itself out of the cosmic-sized pit that Obama and Congress are leading us headlong into, Romney's economic credentials will be more relevant than ever.