But GallupUSA showed Santorum beating Obama by a point and Gingrich trailing so far behind Obama that he fell out of the rear view mirror.
So?
Seriously, any of this head-to-head polling between GOP candidate X and Obama right now, eight months before election night, means diddly. This would be true, even if Gingrich were leading Obama in it by 20 points. Again - polling eight months before the culmination of what is almost assuredly going to be one of the most dynamic elections in American history is absolutely meaningless.
Or, to put it into perspective, at this point in 1980, Reagan was trailing Carter by twenty points in putative head-to-head pollings, which was of course an "extremely powerful and overwhelming argument" for not nominating him.
And before you try to retort with the childish comment that "Newt ain't Ronald Reagan," keep in mind that at this point in 1980, Ronald Reagan wasn't Ronald Reagan.