This just goes to show that a truly dedicated 10% of rabid supporters can give the impression of widespread national support exceeding their true numbers.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aOF3FP8akU0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> My effing God. How much longer is he going to remain the governor?
Newt: "Allow terrorist acts to happen" New RP12 ad: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/X6tYrmyt8v8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Actually, if he is a robot, it makes sense if i-phone autocorrect is editing his spoken words on the fly.
Last chance to make it interesting: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/updates/4247 CNN’s John King reported on-air Wednesday night that during the final day of the network’s South Carolina Republican primary poll, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich surged after his solid debate performance. The overall poll shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with a ten point lead over Gingrich, but King said the trend changed on the last day the poll was conducted — Tuesday, the day after the Republican debate in the state. TPM’s transcript: KING: We begin here in south carolina this evening with the fast changing Republican presidential race. Fast, as in overnight. Our new CNN/ORC tonight shows Mitt Romney leading here by 10 points. 33 percent for the former Massachusetts Governor to 23 percent for the former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, but, and this is important, the final 24 hours of our polling suggests a Gingrich surge. And my sources in several Republican campaigns tell me tonight, there numbers too are detecting a significant shift, a shift that benefits Gingrich heading into the final hours here. Want proof? A senior Romney campaign aid described this to me as a troublesome development, and the response from team Romney was immediate. A tough new tv ad labeling Gingrich an unreliable leader. Working in Newt's favor: one more debate tomorrow night. Working against Newt: the interview with his ex-wife. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. If Newt can pull off a win here, all the inevitability around Romney comes crumbling down. Perry & Santorum almost definitely drop out, and Newt gets the Romney vs anti-Romney race he's wanted this whole time.
I've never thought Romney was inevitable, although certainly he was the guy to beat. In my opinion, his support among the very politically active Republican minority, the fundamentalist Limbaugh conservatives, has always been thin. His underlying weakness has been the unfavorable way his religion is seen, unfairly, by a majority of those people, IMO. The rest of the field has been so weak and inept that he began to appear inevitable, but let one figure stand out from the rest, and the opposition will coalesce around him as the Romney Alternative. Newt appears to have become that guy. As you point out, the wild card is that interview with the Ex, but if he weathers that and has another strong debate performance, I look for a possible upset in South Carolina.
Romney is still inevitable because Newt is the alternative. If you think the anybody-but-Romney movement is large, just wait and see the violent internal reaction if the Republican Party as a whole actually thought Newt had a good chance of winning the nod. I think you said in an earlier post that Newt had been fully vetted. I disagree. He will be avalanched and buried if he does too well. Still a 0% chance for him.
No Republican presidential candidate has not won South Carolina, Newt winning would shake their party. Imagine the overwhelming new support he'd get, it wouldn't even be outlandish to take a guess that if Newt somehow does win it, he'll be the national frontrunner for the nomination. At which point hilarity will ensue until his ultimate embarrassment in the presidential race.
http://blog.chron.com/rickperry/2012/01/rick-santorum-wins-iowa-caucus-after-votes-are-recounted/ Turns out Santorum won Iowa. What a f***ing national embarrassment.
