[x]

More often than not, the person making such a sweeping statement is communicating their own personal bias, or is presenting what turns out to be the opinion of two or three people they know.

Maybe, but read back over what I was responding to and see if that was any more accurate. The "old white guy" explanation comes closer to the mark than the "they hate America" one. But you can't assume that the results of the SC Republican primary indicate how independent voters in other states will react. If that were the case, McCain (and Dole) would have been elected President.

Part of what I said was based on people I know, part on how many people form their view of the world based on what television comedians tell them, and how those television comedians treated McCain and Dole. To think they'd treat Gingrich much better would just be dreaming. He won't be portrayed as an old duffer, though. There's going to be more edge to the jokes this time.

Part of what I said is based on what many (most?) of us thought about Gingrich when he first started running: that he was in it to promote his book and keep his speaker fees high, that he wasn't serious. If you've been convinced by him, fine, but it's not going to be easy for other people to overcome first impressions.

[Windflier]

you can't assume that the results of the SC Republican primary indicate how independent voters in other states will react. If that were the case, McCain (and Dole) would have been elected

Again, you sound vague and over-generalizing. I'm not making assumptions here - you are.

I based my last comment on quantifiable and documented results. You're telling me that I can't trust those results to form an opinion, and that because McCain and Dole both lost their races for president, that somehow makes the SC results meaningless.

First of all, I don't think anyone's ever made the claim that the winner of the SC Republican primary is a shoe-in to win the general election. Past results merely point to the fact that whoever wins that contest is very likely to win the Republican nomination.

Second; I countered your earlier generality about Gingrich by pointing to the national polling data, which clearly shows that likely Republican voters favor Gingrich (the fat, old, white, rich guy) over the other candidates.

Now my opinion is, most center-right voters aren't going to give a hill of beans about Gingrich's weight, his hair color, his age, or his bank account, come November. They're clearly looking for a bare-knuckled, patriotic fighter to take Obama down, and to roll back his Marxist agenda. The country is teetering on the edge of a precipice, and right now, he looks like the person most willing, able, and ready, to pull us back.