Gingrich: Romney’s worst nightmare?

“And then there were two,” said Joan Walsh in Salon.com. We’ve been waiting for months for the GOP nomination race “to narrow itself to Mitt Romney and the not-Mitt candidate.” And at last, conservatives seem to have finally settled on Newt Gingrich as their alternative to Romney. After businessman Herman Cain and Texas Gov. Rick Perry self-destructed, Gingrich won over many Republicans with his strong debate performances, and this week he picked up the endorsement of the New Hampshire Union Leader. In conservative circles, the backing of the Granite State’s leading newspaper confers a new credibility on the former House speaker, whom polls now show actually leading Romney by several points. We’ve seen plenty of front-runners crash and burn in this campaign, said Molly Ball in TheAtlantic.com. But Gingrich has what his rivals lacked: He is articulate, has national political experience, and comes pre-vetted. “His baggage, though ample, is already well known.”

Have my fellow Republicans truly lost their minds? asked David Frum in the Toronto National Post. As House speaker, Gingrich “made himself one of the most disliked figures in the recent history of American politics,” after he shut down the government, got caught in an ethics scandal, and carried on an extramarital affair while trying to impeach Bill Clinton. His history of hypocrisy, lack of discipline, and penchant for pompous pronouncements would hand the election to Obama—in a landslide. As a Democrat, said Paul Begala in TheDailyBeast.com, I’d love for Newt to be the GOP nominee. At some point, though, the Right will realize he can’t win, and will resign themselves to that ol’ flip-flopper, Mitt. Of course, “I’ve been saying that all year, and I’ve been wrong all year.”

You may be wrong again, said Toby Harnden in the London Telegraph. Polls show Gingrich rapidly picking up support in Iowa, and a victory in the caucuses there might give him enough momentum to win or finish a strong second to Romney in the New Hampshire primary early next year. Then the aura of inevitability that has surrounded the former Massachusetts governor would quickly evaporate. Of course, “there will be plenty of opportunities for Gingrich to do himself damage” before the primaries begin. But as the conservative base begins to coalesce around Gingrich, “Romney’s nightmare scenario” could become a reality.

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