It is looking like quite a slog, isn’t it?

Rarely has a victory given a candidate less to cheer about.

It’s not exactly Pyrrhic, but it’s… well, it’s something ugly. Something in Latin or ancient Greek that expresses the idea of  ‘icky and kind of sad and pathetic, but at least no one died.’

And while the 2008 Democratic primary also dragged on for a very long time, the difference is that Obama, who became the frontrunner after winning Iowa (and never relinquished that status even after losing New Hampshire), grew in strength and further demonstrated the breadth of his appeal in that extended primary.

Romney is highlighting the narrowness and limitations of his appeal during this extended primary.

Arguably, one of the reasons that this primary just refuses to roll over and die, i.e., give Mitt his nomination, is that the ‘establishment’ that has so consistently backed him is having these limitations shoved in their face with every loss and with every unimpressive victory.

An extended primary can be a good thing. It can sharpen a candidate’s skills and highlight his strengths. But that’s not happening here. Mitt Romney is just limping ahead.

Partly, this is because Obama faced a strong challenger in the 2008 Democratic primary in Clinton, so his setbacks were seen as part of contest between relative equals and his victories as hard fought and well won.

Romney’s victories are seen as shallow signs of weakness, because his opponents are seen as rather weak. Neither Santorum nor Gingrich have raised much money in comparison to Romney, but Mitt has still been forced to hemorrhage cash just to eke out meager wins over underfunded opposition.

That’s why we’re seeing establishment figures talk about a brokered convention and hint at a ‘white knight’ (like Jeb Bush, for example) coming in to save the day. Because if Mitt isn’t actually a strong, competent candidate, what the heck is the point of candidacy? They’re thinking that the only way he’ll get to the White House is if he repaints his sprawling, Southern California mansion like a Greek ruin (there’s a metaphor in that; something about ruins, collapse and maybe hubris).

That’s not going to happen, of course, because supposed ‘white knights’ are also seeing Obama’s numbers steadily rise and solidify. Instead, we’ll likely see a slow, painful Bataan march towards a weary and uninspired narrow win by virtue of the slow accumulation of delegates and an ugly to watch process of attrition.

It really is like looking at a car accident.