Between Newt and the Palin family they could eviscerate Obama and turn him into sausage meat. It’d make for great Pay-Per-View!
My impression is that the Republican Establishment would rather see Obama win, assuming that he would be a lame duck from day one, than letting Newt or Gingrich, or even Santorum have that sort of power. I don’t think they really oppose Obama’s policies per se, just think he has taken matters to extreme.