Well, we’ll never know for sure what might have happened, but I do know this: Newt was running away with the race without ever criticizing any other Republican one bit. They were all at each other - Mitt V Bachmann V Perry V Pawlenty V etc - and Newt was criticizing Obama, the media, academia nuts, congress, etc.
If a genie could grant me one wish, it would be to simply see what would have happened had Newt ignored Mitt and simply kept firing at Obama. I think the entire non Mitt contingent would have rallied around him at that time and this race would be over. I really deeply believe that. But we’ll never know now.
No doubt life’s circumstances often turn on a dime and the best we can do is learn from our experiences and look for another opportunity - you know, the “never give up, never give in” thing.