Rich Lowry expresses surprise that Rick Santorum does not have more momentum and attributes it entirely to his exchange with a college student — a symbol of his lack of message discipline.
To find out if it was a mistake, watch what happens in South Carolina. Santorum’s campaign did not spend a dime of its new wealth in buying ads in New Hampshire, and telegraphed a third-place finish as victory.
Gingrich is also not playing seriously in NH. The bloodbath will begin in South Carolina.
Can Romney survive the attack? If not who will benefit from Gingrich’s bloodbath? If Gingrich strips Romney of his aura of inevitability, by demonstrating Romney cannot survive a hardhitting attack from the left (i.e. the sensibility of the white working class), the whole race changes overnight.
Someone will pick up the pieces. Gingrich? Perry? Rick?
I’ve never seen anything like this election, so far.