Sunday Open Thread [1.8.12]

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A new Public Policy Polling survey in South Carolina has Mitt Romney leading, but not as big of a lead as with other recent polls. Romney leads with 30%, followed by Newt Gingrich at 23%, Rick Santorum at 19%, Ron Paul at 9%, Rick Perry at 5%, Jon Huntsman at 4%, and Buddy Roemer at 1%. Now, keep in mind that South Carolina is the LAST chance for any of these horrible alternatives to Romney to pull off a win. If Romney wins South Carolina, the nomination is his.

Sunday Morning NBC GOP Debate

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My prediction for this mornings debate is... I got nothing. You see, I actually believed the not-Romney candidates when they were threatening attack on the Romney. I believed it because it made sense to go after the front runner. It's flippin' Politics 101, for crying out loud. And if they weren't going to follow through with all their trash-talking why did they even bother to show up? I swear, I truly expected everyone one of them to end last night's debate conceding to Romney, because, hey, that's what they did.

Saturday Open Thread [1.7.12]

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So Romney is heading for a blow out win in New Hampshire, although one poll show a Huntsman surge. But it is probably an outlier, and even in that poll, Romney still leads with 37. After New Hampshire, Huntsman drops out. The conservative remains divided until South Carolina between Perry, Gingrich, Perry and Santorum. Which is why Romney is leading in South Carolina, aided by a polling boost from a "win" in Iowa. If Romney wins there, it's all over. And conservatives will be left a candidate they absolutely hate.

Prediction Thread For Tonight’s Republican Debate

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Expectations are high for tonight's debate, so let's discuss what might happen. Amazingly, tonight looks like it may be the first time the frontrunner, Romney, faces serious attack. Not sure why he was given a pass until now, and even with the field suddenly realizing they've given Romney the advantage, it may be too late to derail what they created. With that said, here's what I'm looking (hoping?) for:

Question

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Can Santorum be the Not-Romney candidate? Can he seriously become viable? I honestly don't know. Here's what I do know. The GOP base is desperate for anyone but Romney - and I'm beginning to feel they'd rather say President Obama than President Romney. But can Santorum be turned into a viable candidate? Confession: In the back of my mind, I keep thinking that the Conservative money men are searching for a way to get Perry into the race again. Not sure if that's even possible, but he's always been their guy. Sorry, just can't shake this feeling.

Wow.

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The U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in December, beating expectations. The unemployment rate fell to 8.5%. If the economy really starts roaring back to life in the first half of 2012, the election will be pretty much over. Just like in 1996.