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I'd gladly vote for Gingrich or Cain, but I think Gingrich has the potential to cause conservatives a lot more heartburn.

Cain, I'll have to see how he responds to this recent rough patch. I'm very concerned about his lack of knowledge on a lot of subjects, but I think his conservative instincts are much better than Newt's. If Newt even has conservative instincts (as opposed to being only an "intellectual conservative") -- that's an open question, in my view.

I think Santorum has a lot to offer, except he has trouble making that connection with people and, unfortunately, that is a big part of what the country needs now. (I think that's part of Newt's problem, too -- sure, conservatives are a-twitter now because Newt is whupping up on people and they are getting a big kick out of it, but Newt has never had any sustained likeability over the years. So when Attack Newt has to go away, as he would if Gingrich becomes President, people should wonder what they'll be left with.)

I'd have no problem voting for Perry if he somehow became the nominee. His record has some horrible spots, too. And, really, since he sank so fast, his record has never really gotten the scrutiny that Newt's, as the frontrunner, is going to get. So, I reserve that caveat.

The others -- let's just hope we don't go there.

But why are you implying that it's pure bias, not the facts, that are driving my evaluation of Newt's or any other candidate's record?

That is not the case. Moreover, that's often just an excuse to justify blowing off an evaluation of the facts that one disagrees with.

You have finally answered my question and said that, in your opinion, Gingrich AGREED with the Democrats on global warming and on the need for legislation to address it.

I mostly agree with you. (I do think there is the chance that Gingrich was pandering and trying to up his "bipartisan" Democrat street-cred prior to a presidential run.)

And in my view, that was NOT a conservative position in 2008, and it shows a stunning lack of understanding of where conservatives were on the issue in 2008, and it demonstrates a lack of conservative political instincts.

Again, this is a gut problem for Newt. He certainly is an "intellectual conservative," but, imo, that is not enough to keep Bad Newt at bay.

I t would seem as though you have misunderstood what I was saying & maybe it’s due to the whole cyberspace thing that I’m not really that good at, at least in relation to face to face.

As I’ve stated, I actually agree w/ some of the points you make. They’re valid points. The reason I indicate the seeming bias is that I don’t seem to see you going after the other candidates, some of which have been front runners from time to time, as you have Newt. Maybe I just haven’t followed your posting history enough, but it seems you spend an inordinate amount of time on Newt.

Both Romney & Cain are current front runners as well & yet I don’t seem to see the same scrutiny, even though both of them have significant baggage themselves. It just give the appearance of a bias whether real or not.

As far as the whole AGW argument is concerned, don’t interpret talk radio & talking heads’ treatment as consensus among OVERALL Republican’s. True blue conservative & political junkies like you & I have known the truth for some time, but the public overall, including many Republicans, have just come around, & really only after the email scandal.

Listen, I’m not thrilled w/ his decision. It’s one of the things that really pissed me off. But again, Reagan really pissed me off w/ amnesty, gun control, etc. Pragmatically, we’re just not always going to agree w/ even the most conservative of our elected officials.

Much like you & I. I suspect if you & I were to sit down for a lunch, we would find agreement on vastly more than what we disagree with. Yet here we are hammering out Newt. That’s ok in my book. At least we’re having a reasonable conversation, unlike others here.

You may very well be right in your assertions. I think the odds are in my favor however. Absolutely nothing is a given for any of these candidates. As I stated, it’s a crap shoot for any of them.

Once again, I’m looking forward to the debates tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll be touching base again here. Have a great week.