Republican voters have all the internal consistency of an IBS sufferer.

WTF Indeed: He has supporters but not staff. Iowa Caucuses require a large staff with lots of money. Newt has neither of those things.

He hasn't spent a dime in Iowa. I wonder how that's going to work out for him. He can't rely on NH to recoup. Huntsman's share there is growing.

His supporters will be equally unsurprised by his epic failure he's sure to achieve in the next 1-2 months..

He is as viable as the folks who want ratings will him to be.

Right now, he's good theater. So's Cain, but that's a ship that's sailing, and folks know it.

Newt has many fathers, while Herman is an orphan.

WTF Indeed: Diogenes: He hasn't spent a dime in Iowa. I wonder how that's going to work out for him. He can't rely on NH to recoup. Huntsman's share there is growing.

He hasn't spent a dime anywhere because he isn't running for office. He is currently the favorite of 33% of 30% of the GOP primary voters.

I believed that at first. Cain, too. But the way things are shaking out I honestly wonder if Newt is saying to himself, "Hmm...maybe this will actually work?" His ego knows no bounds.

Anyone get the feeling that Newt never actually expected to get this far and is now doing things that will purposefully mess up his candidacy like arrogantly saying he will be the nominee? It seems like he ran for publicity or to promote himself as a brand but now that he's actually leading in some polls he's scrambling.

coco ebert: Anyone get the feeling that Newt never actually expected to get this far and is now doing things that will purposefully mess up his candidacy like arrogantly saying he will be the nominee? It seems like he ran for publicity or to promote himself as a brand but now that he's actually leading in some polls he's scrambling.

His ego cuts both ways. At first, I think he was in disbelief he wasn't leading more and didn't know how to handle it. Now, he's leading and doesn't know how to not trip over his own feet while promoting his fictional self.

I think the sudden surge to Gingrich is more that trend towards better past time, towards some magical better past, though I think we can all agree we were much better off before Dubya got to fark us up. Nobody really knows what he'd do or says, but they know he was partially in charge during the '90s, so that's good enough. The affairs, the crybaby shutting down the government, nobody knows or cares.

WTF Indeed: He has supporters but not staff. Iowa Caucuses require a large staff with lots of money. Newt has neither of those things.

Exactly... This is just Herman Cain 2.0. He's going to cash in by getting the rubes and yokels in the GOP to send him lots of money and buy his shiatty books.

He has very little campaign infrastructure. That tells you all you need to know about the "viability" of Newt Gingrich.

Like Cain, he's out to bilk the retards dry and it will work spectacularly.

WTF Indeed: Diogenes: I believed that at first. Cain, too. But the way things are shaking out I honestly wonder if Newt is saying to himself, "Hmm...maybe this will actually work?" His ego knows no bounds.

There are only two people actually running for office, Perry and Romney. They are the only ones that have the will and the means to run for President.

I think that Santorum is in it for real... I get the feeling that he's completely perplexed and frustrated that he's not winning... he truly believes that his 18th century worldview is 100% mainstream.

WTF Indeed: Plus Huntsman is running for a GOP base that hasn't been around in 40 years and Santorum is running for President in a country that only existed in 1950's sitcoms.

Heh... well put.

Hm. You'd've. I guess you don't see the double contraction written out very often.

Newt may be evil, but at least he isn't stupid and evil.

"We'll go with Newt. Sure, he's a Washington insider and is a morally reprehensible human being, but he's not a complete idiot and he's not a Mormon, so uh...yeah...we'll go with him."

Lando Lincoln: "We'll go with Newt. Sure, he's a Washington insider and is a morally reprehensible human being, but he's not a complete idiot and he's not a Mormon, so uh...yeah...we'll go with him."

He's also old and white.

Lando Lincoln: "We'll go with Newt. Sure, he's a Washington insider and is a morally reprehensible human being, but he's not a complete idiot and he's not a Mormon, so uh...yeah...we'll go with him."

And he stuck it to Bubba!

coeyagi: DarnoKonrad: EvilEgg: Newt may be evil, but at least he isn't stupid and evil.

Newt doesn't come off as all that bright to me. He's all rhetoric and no substance. The idea he's "what stupid people think intelligent people sound like" is pretty apt.

Or, more succinctly, they confuse eloquence (i.e., not gaffe-prone) for intelligence.

I would love Fox to have one of their speech and body language "experts" analyze Newt. If you closely parse what comes out of his pie hole you can see lots of examples where he inserts language that's not germain to the topic but intended to influence the listener's thinking. He also just outright invents terms. It's either filler or a smokescreen.

For example: "I'm clearly the more conservative candidate by any rational standard."

He doesn't have to prove anything in terms of his conservative creds. He doesn't have to evade on his health care mandate and carbon and climate change flip flops. He's implying your dumb if you don't believe he's more conservative than the other candidates.

His speech and writings are littered with the stuff. And he has a mastery of it.

If it's eloquent, it's eloquent bullshiat.

"you are"

Oy.

Citrus Shindig: This man will be the next President of these United States.

Mark my words.

If he gets the GOP nom, Obama will reduce him to an oily spot under his shoe.