Quinnipiac University released a poll this morning showing Newt Gingrich atop the Republican presidential field at 26%. Mitt Romney was second at 22%, Herman Cain was third at 14%, and no other candidate was in double digits. This is the third national poll in a row (Gallup and CNN) showing Gingrich in the lead. And with another debate, again on foreign policy, scheduled for tonight, Newt will probably continue to stay atop the polls through Thanksgiving. But, like Rep. Michele Bachmann, Gov. Rick Perry, and Herman Cain before him, his flaws will eventually become all-too apparent and he will fade back into the pack.
Newt has so far benefited from two things: 1) He was mostly ignored after his disastrous attack against House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. An Iowa voter told Gingrich back in May, “You are an embarrassment to our party. Why don’t you get out before you make a bigger fool of yourself.” Since then, no other campaign has bothered attacking Gingrich. 2) Newt is a strong debater. While other candidates have been attacking each other, Newt has been attacking the moderators and the media, while delivering great one-liners. Conservatives seem to want someone who can embarrass President Obama in a debate. Many think Newt can be that guy.
But at best Newt is a long-shot to get the nomination. As The Washington Examiner‘s Tim Carney has detailed this week, his record as a politician-for-hire in Washington is too deep for him to maintain any long-term credibility with the Tea Party, which represents the center of gravity in the GOP these days. But Newt’s fall will not come fast. The Washington Examiner‘s Byron York notes that most Republican primary voters are too busy with their jobs and other priorities to follow politics incessantly. But word will eventually spread. Newt will fall. The only question is if anyone else will rise to challenge Romney.
Around the Bigs
The Washington Examiner, Obama blames GOP for deficit panel’s failure: Speaking after the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction released a statement acknowledging failure, President Obama blamed Republicans, “There are still too many Republicans in Congress who have refused to listen to the voice of reason and compromise,” Obama said in perhaps the most predictable statement of the year.
The Washington Post, Why the supercommittee failed — in 3 easy steps: Chris Cillizza lists three reasons why the Super Congress failed: 1) The public didn’t care/didn’t expect anything:; 2) The deadline wasn’t a deadline; and 3) Disagreement is fundamental.
The Los Angeles Times, Congress prepares for payroll tax battle: The current payroll tax cut, worth about $1000 to the average worker, is set to expire on December 31st. Now that the Super Congress has failed, there is no known path for its extension.
The New York Times, Wall Street Layoffs Take Heavy Toll on Younger Workers: The Times profiles a Marine Corps veteran who has been fired twice from investment firms since 2008.
USA Today, ‘Occupy’ movement fails to capture Americans’ interest: Despite the headlines, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows that the “Occupy” movement has failed to capture the attention of a majority of Americans, indicating either ambivalence toward it or lack of interest. Only 25% of American support the goals of the movement, while 75% either oppose them or don’t know what they are. Thirty-one percent of Americans disapprove of the way the Occupy protests are being conducted while only 20% approve.
The Washington Examiner, Maryland spends $2.3m on renewable energy for $637,000 in savings: A report by the Maryland Energy Administration. found that Maryland spent $2.3 million last fiscal year on a renewable energy grant program that brought in only $637,000 in savings.
Indianapolis Star, Indiana Republicans aim to get right to work on ‘right to work’: Indiana Senate Republicans said Monday they will fight to make Indiana a right to work state. “We miss about a third of the opportunities because businesses want a state where this protection is provided to workers,” Gov. Mitch Daniels said last week in South Bend. “In this tough economy, the state needs every edge it can get.”
The Washington Examiner, Mexican drug war rages as U.S. focuses on Afghanistan: President Felipe Calderon’s policy to use the Mexican military to wage war against the drug czars has failoed to stabilized the country, leading to 50,000 deaths in the last five years.
Campaign 2012
Romney: Mitt Romney will launch his first television ad of the campaign today in New Hampshire. The $134,000 ad buy comes just six weeks before votes are cast in the Granite State. The ad attacks President Obama for his handling of the economy and does not mention any other Republican candidates. You can watch it here.
Righty Playbook
In The Wall Street Journal, Joint Select Committee on the Debt Co-Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas., explains why the Super Congress failed: “Democrats were unwilling to agree to anything less than $1 trillion in tax hikes, and unwilling to offer meaningful reforms for health-care entitlement spending.”
Big Government‘s Wynton Hall reads Peter Schweizer’s Throw Them All Out and lists all the ways the George Soros made millions by investing in companies to which he encouraged Obama to give stimulus money.
AEI‘s Thomas Donnelly and The Heritage Foundation‘s Baker Spring preview tonight’s foreign policy debate.
Lefty Playbook
The Washington Post, Ezra Klein notes that scheduled tax hikes and the August debt-limit-deal sequestrations will cut $7.1 trillion from the debt over 10 years, and advises Obama to just veto any change to these policies.
The Huffington Post touts a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll of New Jersey resident showing that Fox News viewers knew less about Egypt than people that did not watch any news at all.
The Atlantic‘s Tina Dupuy notices that Occupy has a woman problem: “Women may be the 51%, but the Occupy camps and General Assemblies look as gender-imbalanced as Congress.”
