I think Newt would be a great alternative if Hunter fails to connect. What I hope is in time Newt will come out in support of Hunter. That would give Hunter a huge boost.
Newt was blackmailed by the Clintons while he was Speaker of the House. It led to his being totally ineffectual in the end and caused him to resign.
That is not a record I would feel comfortable with in a Presidential nominee.
I like the way you hope!
There seem to be several scenarios in which Hunter gains media attention. That's a good one.
1) (My favorite) Jim Robinson and most of FR endorse him.
2) President Bush asks Dick Cheney to resign due to health reasons and nominates Duncan. Even if he doesn't get ratified, he gets the media name recognition.
3) Newt endorses him
4) Duncan lines up some endorsements from Right-to-life groups, NRA, Focus on the Family. This is actually a better scenario for these groups than they realize because there is always so much jostling to try to figure out who is the front runner and then groups line up for endorsements. But if Hunter's candidacy proves to be a flameout, these groups would be able to pick another candidate later on to endorse, all the while generating the leverage for their causes.
5) Youtube, Macaca moments. That's probably what's going to determine this election cycle.
6) He starts winning more straw polls like the one in McCain's home state.
I think this thing has started to snowball.