If Newt was the stronger candidate he would have won the nomination. Truth is I was pulling foe Newt but whatever he gained on the right he would have lost on the left and he would have been carrying an awful lot of bagage into the election. I’m not convinced he would have done better
Newt was destroyed on "Bloody Thursday", the day that the entire gope machine went into 'stop Newt in Florida' mode.
Drudge, and Rush, everyone attacked Newt that day to stop him from winning Florida and possibly stopping Mitt.