[xzins]

Newt. I agree. I’ve had to really consider this over the last few days, but what turned the corner for me was Newt’s response to the Iran question on Saturday evening.

It was so far and away above anything said by the other candidates. He incorporated the entire Middle East and our strategy for dealing with it.

Suddenly, it seemed, every other candidate, Romney included, was saying, “I agree with Newt.”

It was so evident then that they all knew it. Newt is the class in that field.

He just is.

It hit me then that I had to go forward with Newt.

[wmfights]

Newt is the class in that field.

One problem, Newt can't seem to get out of his way. He always says something controversial when he is out front. Don't get me wrong, I will be happy to vote for him against obama. However, in the primaries I still see a small govt social conservative in Perry and as long as he is in the race I don't want to settle for less.

[P-Marlowe]

For all his faults, Newt is the only republican in the field with the all important "Gravitas". Santorum looks like an Ivy League college preppy from the 1960's and Romney looks like a used car salesman. Newt comes across as a serious world leader, someone with a grasp on issues that nobody else in the field has.

I like Santorum, but there is nothing about him that excites me. Perry comes in a distant second in the Gravitas department. If Perry could speak off the cuff with the authority that Gingrich has, then he'd be leading the pack right now. But Perry seems to have withered and died on the vine. We will see how South Carolina pans out, but I think ultimately it is going to be a two man race between Gingrich and Romney.

[onyx]

You're right, xzins, they all had to agree with Gingrich on the Iran question, because they know he's the most knowledgeable and deepest thinker in all matters, particularly foreign policy, which is the major role of Commander-in-Chief. It's not “job creator”, because government does not create jobs, except in democrat regimes wherein government grows.

My hopes and prayers remain with Newt to first stop Romney and then kick the Marxist out of the White House back to Chicago where he belongs.