Personally... I think Ron Paul would have done BETTER than Romney did against obama. Remember just how bad Ron Paul was treated by the republican media because he refused to promise to nuke iran like the rest of those sheep candidates?
I am SURE there are a shitload of conservatives who would have voted for RPaul that didn't bother voting for the gun bill, pro-choise Romney. A lot of anti-war libs would have voted for paul. Anyone with a fiscally responsible bone in their bodies would have voted paul over obama.
I do think Paul would have been closer than romney - and maybe even won. All those college kids that didn't bother to vote would have leaned toward Rpaul.
But no, the party establishment needed to "unite" behind a guy like Mitt, who didn't stand for a thing, and kept stepping in shit 24/7.