Let me give you some inside info that will probably make you sick. I was in the Super PAC that bought that stupid Bain film and started running against Mitt. I argued, bitched, cussed, and called the folks writing my checks crazy and out of touch for doing that attack.
I told them to just keep running against Obama, and we’ll peel off the soft (at the time) Santorum support, the Cain and Palin folks who have not landed, and the undecideds craving an attack on liberals. I begged, cajoled, reasoned, and told them that running Bain would bring down a hell storm of derision from Rush, Levin, Hannity, etc.
And it did. Newt got back on track in SC, and routed everyone. Went to Florida, and listened to his stupid consultants again. Before the Florida debates, out of SC, I thought we were looking at America’s Churchill: fat, frumpy, pompous, brilliant, but perfect for the times. It was over 10 minutes into the Monday Florida debate, and Mitt was nominee at that time in effect.
I so so so wish Newt had kept doing what he did in Iowa early and then in SC. He did not.
I so so so wish Newt had kept doing what he did in Iowa early and then in SC. He did not.”
In retrospect, politically speaking, the day after the SC primary was the best day of the year. When Newt smacked down those CNN idiots, that was true greatness.
Back to Reagan. In reading Craig Shirley’s books, it seems to me that Reagan’s campaign was always his. Yes, he used consultants. But they followed the big picture lead that he gave; they were on the same page as him. And it showed, and they (and we) won.
Newt had no base outside of GA and SC, home territory. If he had withdrawn after Missouri and Santorum’s sweep - Santorum could have taken down Mitt in Ohio (lost by a percent), and in Michigan (same).
That changes the whole tenure of the race.