Mississippi and Alabama weren't kind to the Republican Party today. Instead of acting like the good 'ol Reds that they have historically (well, since party sorting) been, they bucked the party and wore their rebel label for all to see tonight. Romney has finished third in both states.
Romney's got a problem connecting to rural voters, Southern voters, and poorer voters. This is well documented. But does it matter so long as he wins the nomination? I really don't think it does. Once he's crowned in Tampa, that won't matter at all. I don't know that there's ever been a base more motivated to oust a president--anti-Obama fervor will make up for his weaknesses. These "weak areas" are the exact ones where Anti-Obama Mania is strongest. All Romney has to do is stoke the fire. It doesn't matter if they like him--he's the de facto messiah.
As for the other two candidates? Gingrich's George Wallace Regional Plan fizzled, and perhaps we can expect him to drop out in the next day or two. After all, he's only won two states and endorsing Santorum might do more damage to his nemesis, Mitt Romney, than staying in the race would. Then again, it's Gingrich--anything could happen. And besides, it's not like Mitt hasn't won the nomination already. Pundits may try to beat around the Bush (pun intended) for the sake of a story, but this game is over. All that's left to do is sit back and wait for the final score.
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At this point, Gingrich should certainly be the bigger man and step aside if he wants a "true conservative" to win the nomination. He is primarily splitting the conservative vote and harming Santorum, as Dylan said. The way that things are shaping up, Ginrich is destined to hand the nomination to Romney, unless he bows out.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303717304577280193748476520.html
Although Gingrich should drop out of the race, the man is like a dog with a bone with the vision of his presidency. According to this article from the Wall Street Journal, Gingrich's persistence attitude is less than phased by the results of the Mississippi and Alabama primaries. Moreover, one of Gingrich's political strategists was quoted, "When you've been thinking about running for president for many years, and you've been running for a couple of years, what's three more weeks, or even three more months?"
Will Gingrich faces the reality of his lost cause campaign? Or will he have to completely run out of money before the former speaker silences his campaign?
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