1) Per all the e-mails I’m getting and Tim’s post, I’m well aware of all his failings, and wasn’t endorsing his candidacy by any means; 2) J-Pod makes good points, and might be right about how Newt would handle himself in the wake of being right after November. But to suggest he’s just spouting conventional wisdom is unfair–he is offering a pretty clear policy and political strategy in response to the GOP’s troubles, one that seems to me more developed and imaginative than is on offer at the moment from any other major Republican and perhaps from anyone else period; 3) Again, I think Newt will benefit most of the other potential candidates from a GOP debacle. I’m not saying that he will pull ahead of McCain or Romney or that those two won’t benefit too, just that relative to his current standing he will get the biggest boost (McCain is the front-runner no matter what, and Romney is a serious challenger no matter what). A lot of people will be willing to give Newt–as a smart, articulate, seasoned politician with a vision, at a time when the party could use more of those–a serious second look.