Open Thread

So Mitt Romney is pulling away in Florida. It looks like he will win the state by double digits, if not by 20 points. What does this mean for the Republican Primary race going forward? I suspect the race will continue for some time, and continue to be acrimonious, but the outcome is no longer in doubt: Mitt Romney will be the nominee. There are two question remaining: 1) Will Donald Trump jump in the race as an Independent if it appears Mitt Romney can't beat Obama? and 2) What will Palin and Gingrich do? Given her comments over the weekend on her Facebook page, it appears she hates Romney with a passion, as does Gingrich. Do they cause trouble at the convention? Do they team up with Trump? Do they go third party themselves? Well, here are some polls to occupy us for the time being. They are all pretty boring now.

Two major polls from NBC and ABC show the same thing: Mitt Romney's favorability has dropped dramatically over the course of the Republican primary. In one poll, among independents, 51% don't view him favorably while just 23% do. That is mind-blowingly bad. Sarah Palin bad. Dan Quayle bad. Jack the Ripper bad. So in the end, it doesn't matter who is the nominee of the Republican Party anymore. Whether it is Romney or Gingrich, both are going to lose, and probably lose big, to President Obama.

Two polls yesterday indicated two things: 1) that the Democrats are heading for a takeover in the House, and 2) Romney now has toxic favorability numbers that make him, and Gingrich, unelectable in the general. Meanwhile, President Obama has a 53% favorability rating.

From the files of "What Could Go Wrong:" Romney's new debate coach is Brett O'Donnell, who had been working as a strategist for Michele Bachmann. Gingrich has raised $2 million since South Carolina. Which was only this past weekend, but for some reason feels like a lifetime ago now.

The radical Christian right is dying: Put simply, the Christian Right is getting old. According to the largest and most recent study we have of American religion and politics, by…

Newton Leroy Gingrich is headed for a massive blowout win in South Carolina. In last night's polling, PPP had Gingrich racing away at 40%, with Romney stuck at 26%. In their final three day sample, the PPP poll has Gingrich leading with 37%, followed by Mitt Romney at 28%, Rick Santorum at 16% and Ron Paul at 14%. So you can see the obvious trend. I would not be surprised if Gingrich gets well above 45% tonight. If he gets a majority, then the GOP primary will be rocked to its core.

Tomorrow's the big day: the day when Newt Gingrich actually wins a Presidential primary. I never thought I'd see this day come. Truly horrifying and utterly hysterical all at once.

So long Rick Perry. We hardly knew thee. Thank God for that. What is with Presidential candidates quitting in the middle of the week, only days before the next primary. I understand dropping out right after a poor or less then expected showing in a primary, but why right before a primary? You would think that Perry and Huntsman would like to have see how they did in South Carolina. Meanwhile.... Newtmentum II?

One thing that really stands out in the new PPP poll is the extent to which President Obama has claimed the middle. He's up 68-27 on Romney with moderates. He also leads by 20 points with voters under 45, a group there's been some concern about slippage with, and he has a 66-30 advantage with Hispanics. If that's true, the election will not be close.