Newt keeps on promising anti-Romney folks a good time ... but never delivers
(Phelan Ebenhack and Chris Keane/Reuters)
GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, who apparently
didn't even say the words "Romney" or "Bain" yesterday, thinks Jon Huntsman's withdrawal could have a
profound impact on tonight's debate and the rest of the Republican race:
It narrows down the field and I think the next five or six days are going to tell the tale. If the conservatives consolidate, it's clear that I'll beat Romney. I think it'll be interesting tonight. I mean, I'm having to regear myself. Notice that they said we're now going to get 90 seconds to answer. The next five days are going to be wild. Really, the test here is really simple: if the conservatives consolidate, Romney loses decisively. If they don't consolidate, it's going to be very close.
To put it simply, Newt's nuts. Mitt Romney now has almost as much support as the next three candidates—Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum—combined, and he's the second-choice candidate for many of those who support the Not Romneys.
Romney's not exactly blowing away the field, but PPP's latest survey put him ahead of each of those three rivals in hypothetical matches. He's basically the least bad alternative in a weak field, and by the end of January it's hard to imagine that there will be any suspense left—if it hasn't already disappeared.