http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/09/the_republican_party_needs_a_mitt_romney_why_donald_trump_isn_t_the_gop.html

Think back to this time in the 2012 Republican presidential primary, and it’s easy to see the similiarities. Mitt Romney was the most plausible nominee in a wide field of contenders, but he couldn’t catch fire with the GOP base. Instead, he watched a parade of outsiders and conservative alternatives take their turns in the sun, from Rick Perry and Herman Cain to Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.