by insulting the people that are supposed to buy it."
Posted on 03/16/2012 2:20:05 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
It was unbelievable: After Newt Gingrich failed to win both Alabama and Mississippi in the GOP race for president, most members of the mainstream media and political strategists with whom I talked readily admitted, off the record, that he was the most qualified among the Republican candidates to serve as president.
Now these are objective pros that have been around presidential politics for years. I have no doubt they were telling me the truth because these folks only tell you this stuff when it is relatively clear that the candidate is no longer a viable alternative.
Best on foreign policy The Gingrich campaign is pushing the concept that, by staying in the contest, Gingrich could help take away enough delegates to deprive Mitt Romney the numbers needed to have the GOP nomination locked up by the time the candidates reach the convention in Tampa.
Obviously, as a friend of Gingrich’s, I am not going to argue with their decision to press forward. Their frustration is that their candidate knows more about foreign policy and defense matters in his little finger than the other two leading candidates know in their entire body.
It is likely they find it incredible that a man who could out-debate Barack Obama is now in this predicament.
But the reality is that no camp agrees with any other camp’s delegate math.
Romney, who has spent a fortune to amass his delegates, believes the numbers suggest that he will have no problem locking the nomination up by or before the last contested state.
The fact that Romney continues to gather delegates in areas he himself considers “away games” suggests that his staying power might just deliver a requisite number of delegates before the convention.
As for Santorum, his camp believes their best chance is for Gingrich to exit stage left and allow there to become a consolidation of “conservative” voters who, by their calculations, would leave Romney pulling his usual 35 percent in most states and give Santorum huge wins in critical upcoming contests.
That sounds great for Santorum, but it might not work out as planned. Unless Santorum received an outright endorsement from Gingrich, a portion of Newt’s votes might stray to Romney.
The truth is no one knows what will happen. But for my friend Newt there are certain things I hope will take place.
First, I hope that if the money starts to truly disappear, he will scale his efforts back appropriately. That does not necessarily mean leaving the race, but it does mean picking and choosing battles and making sure that the end result of those battles will not be disastrous.
The second thing I hope he will do is start to put aside any personal feelings he might have toward any of his fellow candidates. It appears he is well on his way as to Santorum. But it is also clear that the path toward a relationship with Romney seems rocky.
What Romney should do And really, who has the responsibility to repair that relationship? The answer is Romney.
If Romney’s math is right and he does get the GOP nomination, he is insane to believe that followers of Gingrich or Santorum will flock to the polls to support him. He would need Gingrich, Santorum, Rick Perry, Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann on his team to have a prayer of not repeating a “John McCain, Part Two.”
Oh, and add to that Sarah Palin, whose voice has only been made stronger in recent weeks.
No, I would not ask Newt to leave the race. I have seen his seemingly impossible schemes work too many times. But what I would ask of the other two major GOP candidates would be to show this man some respect.
He has earned it, and they will need him in November ... if not sooner.
Timing is everything.
Newt is more a pilot light.
I trust pilot lights more than fireworks, but they both have their place. That’s where Sarah shines.
Brokered Convention, Brother, Brokered Convention........That’s when Sarah steps in, or we start a whole new party! With Newt and Sarah at the helm.....(Imagine the possibilities)
It ain’t over til it’s over.
No matter what they try, Newt’s pilot light just keeps on burnin’.
Yes it does! Like the Energizer Bunny!
I just finished reading through the comments and all the wisdom — I pray someone is listening.
She would have to get out of her contract with FAUX.
JediJones is here to say that mathematically, Romney will get to the convention with enough delegates to win on the first ballot, UNLESS Newt stands down and endorses Santorum and Newt’s backers vote overwhelmingly for him. And Santorum asks Newt to be VP.
NOW.
I have already given my response to that.
Your response to the mathematically “it’s Romney’s nomination unless...” argument?
THAT is exactly right. It is comfortable punditry. Would she dare to take a dive off a cliff?
Would Newt dare to announce such a ticket NOW, with her name on it, even though he is in AWFUL shape, bruised and thought beaten entirely.
NEWT NEEDS TO RISE AGAIN AND ANNOUNCE SUCH A THING!
Announcing a ticket when you’re thought to be dead and left for dead, could be awesome rather than laughable.
Tally UP, Newt & Sarah. Be willing to SEE what you can do for us and bring your message with you!
...while the trolls hope they're NOT.
FR has lots of smart lurkers, as txrangerette mentioned. That's why trolls abound and will be pouring out of the woodwork even more.
Did you ever see THE INCREDIBLES from Pixar about the family of undercover superheroes?
The last villain at the end describes Newt's enemies perfectly.
It's a giant mole-like drill monster that blasts up from beneath the pavement and growls thunderously,
"I'm the UNDERMINER!!! I'm always under you, but NOTHING IS BENEATH ME!!!"
Thanks, lonevoice.
Love your lil’ dawggie and the ‘view’ out your window!
It is too late for Newt, almost too late for Santorum. Once Santorum is dispatched like Newt, Addleson will pull the plug on Newt. After all, it was worth it to make sure Romney gets the nod. Santorum’s moneyman will pull the plug on Rick next.
Who would continue to fund someone who has no chance of winning?
As for a brokered convention. The GOP has that covered too.
Get ready for your candidate, Mitt Romney.
Thanks! That moose’s head was easily twice the size of my little dog. :-)
Initial diagnosis confirmed...
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