Mitt Romney: A rock and a hard place.

Mitt Romney is now confidently sauntering towards the Republican Presidential nomination as he comfortably beat his nearest and fiercest opponent Newt Gingrich in the Florida primary. Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, appeared last week to be making a serious challenge after winning the South Carolina primary. However, a series of setbacks including some effective negative advertising campaigns has seriously undermined his bid to challenge Barack Obama for the Presidency in November. The other candidates Rick Santorum and Ron Paul both failed to make double digits.

The results reflected the amount of money spent on campaigning. Both Santorum and Paul spent nothing in Florida taking fewer than 350,000 votes. According to CNN, Romney outspent Gingrich by 5-1 and crucially takes all 50 votes from the Florida delegates.

After his victory Romney reflected that he hoped to return to Tampa in August to be officially confirmed as Republican Presidential nominee. Perhaps most importantly, he added that he hoped that it will be a time for all Republicans to reunite behind him.

This is where the issue lies. At his State of the Union address, President Obama set out his agenda on how the election will be fought: fairness. He believes that the positioning of the Republican delegates places his party in a better position to speak to ordinary Americans.

We have already discovered that Romney pays 13.9% income tax on over $21 million whereas Gingrich received a $1.6 million advisory fee from the insolvent mortgage lender Freddie Mac. It is a tactic that may easily play into the hands of Mr Obama, who will also be glad to see a growing economy and lowering unemployment. A few months ago, Republicans were certain Obama would be a one-term president, now they're not so sure.

The ultimate problem for the party is that they still have an identity crisis. Similar to the Left in Britain, there is still an ongoing argument on where the party should be positioned. This was reflected in the votes, where four out of ten Florida voters thought Romney was not conservative enough (Washington Post). Much of the debates are dominated by issues regarding immigration and ‘European-style socialism’. Although no Tea Party backed candidate is running, their spirit is evident.

Yet it would be unwise to pander to such ideologies. Nearly 40 per cent of Americans declared themselves to be independent voters and many of the issues raised by Tea Party members do not function in the day-to-day lives of ordinary Americans. It could be a vote loser.

Romney will most likely win. His message is more consistent, he is better organised, he looks more like a leader; but it may not be enough to take him to the White House. If not, then what do the Republicans do?