Let Newt be Newt

Just thought y'all should know that Newt Gingrich says we'd have a permanent base on the moon by the end of a second Gingrich term.

This is a clear example of why a Newt Gingrich nomination doesn't scare me in the least. It's a long way to November, and Newt is utterly incapable of not saying a bunch of stupid shit between now and then.

Romney's big fumble

It's stunning how bad this answer is for Romney. He says, directly:

“I’m not suggesting these people are doing that but I know that Democrats will go after me on that basis and that’s why I want to release these things all at the same time."

Well, that's nice. Your tax return is:
1. Something Democrats will attack you on; and,
2. Something which, due to the damage it may cause you, something which must be handled in a certain way; and
3. Something you won't tell us what is until April, when the nomination will be wrapped up.

Huh, that's interesting. I think I'd have to insist, were I a Republican voter, that you go ahead and tell me right fucking now. It's not like you don't have the records already. It's just a matter of getting them out of a file and slapping them on the desk of an AP reporter or whatever.

Catastrophically bad day for Romney today.

Just throwin' this out there

If:
1. Republican voters have proven in recent years that they'll vote for the person who feeds them the most red meat; and,
2. Newt Gingrich is clearly, as evidenced tonight in tremendous fashion, and generally throughout the campaign, the best in the field at feeding the base red meat,

then:
I'm not so sure Romney will be the nominee.

At the very least, it won't be over before Super Tuesday in March.

Newt's response will win South Carolina, prolong Romney's agony

Newt just got another standing ovation during a debate in the first answer tonight, on a question about the allegation by his 2nd wife that he asked her for an "open marriage". He responded by strongly denying the allegation, offering several personal friends who refute the story, and calling the media "despicable" for pushing the story all day today. It turns the story into a win for him, as he has now positioned himself as a victim of the "mainstream media". What are the real proven facts in this story? That Newt cheats on his wives? We knew that. Now he can play the victim card and urge Tea Partiers to vote for him as a slap to the mainstream media.

Brilliant

Perry out, endorses Newt

slow day at work, where the network blocks blog sites, so i'm typing this on my phone, which doesn't seem to get along with the site, so sorry... anyway, rick perry right this minute is dropping out of the race and endorsing newt. although perry has only been polling in the low single digits, the announcement will help newt in his fight against santorum to be the alternative to romney. were newt to come from behind in south carolina (where a new insider advantage poll, the most recent in the state, shows newt with a three point advantage after being down double digits just a few days ago), it's a wide open race. i still think romney would ultimately win, particularly if he won in the next primary in florida, but he would likely be damaged in such a fight, both by attacks from newt as well as having to take ridiculous right wing stances like cutting all funding to pbs, like he did before. huge night tonight, with another south carolina debate as well as the abc interview with newt's ex, where she will reportedly reveal that newt asked her for an open marriage so he could keep fucking his then mistress/now third wife. needless to say, it is a good day for obama

Santorum wins Iowa

Despite initial results showing an 8-vote win for Mitt Romney in Iowa, the official results, which were certified this morning after a careful examination of results from the precincts, shows in fact that Rick Santorum won by 34 votes. So Mitt Romney goes from an unprecedented sweep of Iowa and New Hampshire to a loss to a homophobe and a win in his own backyard.

That being said, he can still just about put the primary to bed by putting up a clear win in South Carolina on Saturday. What will be fascinating to watch over the next 2+ days is how the Iowa result is portrayed in the media and how it affects the results in South Carolina. On the one hand, Romney might get some negative press about the loss and see his numbers take a hit. On the other hand, much of Newt Gingrich's improvements in the polls in the past few days has been the result of conservatives coalescing behind him as the only "non-Romney" with a chance to stop the freight train, but now Santorum can point to an Iowa win as evidence that he too can be the standard bearer.

Once again, it'll be an interesting few days leading up to the voting.