Romney's Psychological Boost is Better Than No Boost At All

By Jill Lawrence // February 11, 2012 | 6:32 p.m.

Surrounded by the Secret Service, presidential candidate Mitt Romney greets guests at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C. on Friday, Feb. 10, 2012. (Chet Susslin)

From a psychological standpoint, there's no question Mitt Romney ended his week a lot better than he began it. Best not to look at the situation too closely. If we did, we'd notice that his two victories involved fewer than 9,000 votes and won him no convention delegates.

I'm not trying to minimize the bullet Romney dodged Saturday. This Republican nomination race has been momentum-proof, as Politico's Jonathan Martin put it. Yet it has had no shortage of the opposite -- that is, candidates falling into deep troughs.