Obviously Newt heard about my advice to Santorum to get down to the Gulf and end the Newt candidacy in Alabama and Mississippi.  If Santorum beats Gingrich in those states, there is no longer even an imaginary path to the nomination for Newt, pressure for him to withdraw will mount.

If Gingrich is allowed to cruise along and win delegates and the occasional Southern state, Romney will lock this thing up in short order – well, by mid-April it will be evident to everyone that it’s over.  Romney took 55% of the delegates Tuesday with just over 40% of the vote.  Santorum cannot just watch that continue and pray for Divine Intervention.

Gingrich may realize this threat – now also picked up tonight by Bill Kristol, who noticed I failed to copyright the idea – or maybe he just is out of money.  Adelson gave another $10 mil to the PAC, but that can’t be used to pay the actual campaign’s expenses, and not many donors pony up for a consistent 3rd or 4th place.

From a standpoint of practical arithmetic, Santorum’s immediate enemy is Gingrich’s continuing candidacy.  If he can force Newt out, he has a chance – by no means will he necessarily consolidate most of the Gingrich support, but he would have a chance to do it.  Otherwise, he can keep fighting with Romney and losing a war of attrition.

Mitt will only get a tiny fraction of Newt’s supporters when he drops out (not If), Rick gets a significant majority of Newt’s supporters.  So it benefits Rick A LOT for Newt to drop out, and HURTS Mitt ROmney A LOT for Newt to drop out!
We Pick Rick!

Right now there is no clear path to nomination (although Mitt remains most likely as leader).  I suspect that stays true even if Newt drops out (although Santorum’s chances then go up).  

Unfortunately where are those GOP Super Delegates going?  Mr. Inevitable…

 If you look at the actual numbers and states coming up, that won’t happen.  In a three-man race, Romney racks up an easy majority.  You have to assume a lot of wildly unrealistic things for it to happen otherwise, sorry.

Santorum alone facing Romney, given the results so far and the upcoming states, would be a big underdog.  Gingrich has ZERO chance – the path his adviser presented last night is a joke, with Newt winning all the Southern states including Texas and all but one of the winner-take-all states, of which he is no higher than third in any now.  Or maybe if a meteor strikes the Earth . . .

 Liar.

There are many considerations involved and cogitated, always without certainty of anything but a known, predictable lingering doubt, when a potential POTUS decides, what a potential POTUS decides round these times.

A chasm between being a potential POTUS — who decides what they decide — and one who isn’t, exists. An unAmerican chasm.

This should be viewed with fear and suspicion as a crevasse would be to a mountaineer.

Preparation, respect, hate, knowledge.

Churchillian NeverQuitedness.

 Put the bong down and step away.  No one will get hurt.

From Real Clear Politics, Mitt speaking on Larry Kudlow’s show:
Well, my message is I’m not going to say outrageous things about the president or about my opponents. It gets headlines and a lot of excitement, and it gets you, by the way, a number of days in the polls to get a nice little bump. But I’m going to talk about the real issues Americans face and talk with respect about people who have differing views. I’m not going to attack them personally. I mean, I know that’s fun, but it’s just not productive. And we need, as a nation, to come together to recognize that even though we have differing views about the country and about where we should go, we all love the country.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/03/06/romney_im_not_going_to_say_outrageous_things_about_the_president.html

Tip of the fedora to Jeff Goldstein:
http://proteinwisdom.com/wp-trackback.php?p=38048

Unfortunately, Newt is the only one who can beat the press.  Rick and Mitt both suck at communicating and they both start at the press’ narrative and go backwards.  It’s like they take the bait every single time.  Let’s face it, we aren’t trying to beat Obama.  We’re trying to beat the press.  With those 2 fighting it out, we’ve already lost.  I realize Newt has a snowball’s chance in Hell of winning, but he’s the only one taking it to the media and Obama that’s being effective. 

I like Santorum, but he’s a lightweight.  He’s a great guy and a so/so Conservative but he can’t string two sentences together without sounding like he’s lost. 

Let’s face it, this is the fork in the Republican party.  It’s done.  And I hated Newt when he first started so It’s not like I’m a cheerleader.  I was on the Cain train and even rode out the derailment.  Between Santorum and Romney I say… Meh.

 Unless Newt convinces his patrons that if he can win Mississippi and Alabama he has a chance to win big in Texas. And who knows, maybe California. Maybe even New York.

Thanks for the map. I have been wondering how to get to Vanuatu.

 Bravo, my thoughts exactly.

Where has Romney gotten a majority of the votes anywhere, other than Virginia, where he barely got 60 percent with Ron Paul as his only opponent?

It’s Adjoran’s standard comeback when he doesn’t have anything else he can say, ThePaganTemple.
 

rsmccain: why are you quoting the liberal media dude. i thought you knew better. please try to promote conservative media. hope you help the cause.

I guess some people can’t tell the difference between outrageous attacks on a person and rational attacks on a policy. I read this as Romney saying doesn’t want to jump out in front of the hotheads and lead a premature and unsupported attack. Which makes sense, unless you’re a hothead.

Santorum should have gone after Newt in Georgia. A loss in Georgia would have been beyond even Newt’s imaginary powers of explanation.