Florida Primary Blog: Post-Mortem
10 very long days ago, I made three predictions regarding the Florida Primary: 1. Rick Santorum would benefit from the Romney-Gingrich scrum and finish strong. 2. Mitt Romney was in serious trouble. 3. Newt Gingrich would finish with between 23 and 43 percent of the vote. .333 is a great batting average in baseball, but not so great in prognosticating, especially when the correct guess had plenty of margin (though Newt did fall right in the middle of the range). What happened? Romney actually had enough money to "carpet bomb" Florida. One of my assumptions was that the immense cost of saturating the state would mean even Romney would face limitations. Incorrect. He spent $17 million and it worked in three ways: First, much as when he went nuclear on Newt in Iowa, Romney managed to throw Gingrich completely off message, turning the Conservative Warrior of South Carolina into the Great Whiner of Florida. Second, while Santorum seemed like the comparative adult in the … [Read More...]
Features
South Carolina Primary Blog: What’s Inside Newt’s Cranium?
In case you didn't get the memo, Newt Gingrich is mad and he's not going to take it anymore. The New Newt, 68-year-old grandfather, happy warrior, and above the fray historian, is now in mothballs for the primary season. Newt the Destroyer is blanketing the free media airwaves, with Mitt Romney in the crosshairs. Meanwhile, Rick Santorum, considered by Dick Morris and many others as a threat to Gingrich's chances in South Carolina, is the … [More...]
Obama’s Trump Card?
Photo used under Creative Commons from Gage Skidmore (http://flic.kr/p/9hHrit)Apparently one ditches The Donald’s Debate at one’s peril. After refusing to rule out an independent presidential run (after the conclusion of the next Apprentice season), The Man with the Golden Building has officially changed his registration from Republican to Independent, furthering speculation he will jump in as a fall spoiler. While the odds are still … [More...]
Does it Matter if a President Served?
Ron Paul is blasting Newt Gingrich for his enthusiasm in supporting military engagements in the Middle East after taking advantage of student deferments in his youth. While Gingrich tends to favor an active military presence, Paul, who served as an Air Force flight surgeon, is the most isolationist Republican candidate in generations. This brings up two important questions. Should what a young adult decided to do in their late teens or … [More...]
The Establishment Strikes Back
On the morning of December 11, Mitt Romney was in trouble. It looked like his $10,000 bet was the Gaffe heard Around the World. Newt Gingrich was ahead in every imaginable non-New Hampshire poll. Mitt’s minions were beginning to take shots at Newt’s temperament, management skills, baggage, etc., but it didn’t look like Republican voters were getting the message just yet. Worst of all, the same pollsters showing Gingrich … [More...]
