A look at the Republican presidential candidates this week:
Perry entered the party in style, and a week later, he’s arguably the front-runner. Getting attacked unfairly by the liberal media is a boon — ask Sarah Palin — and so the Left’s racism attack has helped Perry in the short term. Vaguely threatening assault over quantatative easing may not have been prudent, but it didn’t hurt him. Perry is much more exciting than Romney, and as conservative as anyone in the field. The new PPP poll showing Perry in front in Iowa comes as no surprise. His 52-36 lead in a national head-to-head poll with Romney, however, is a eye-opening.
Romney could still be the tortoise who wins the race. Three points behind Perry in the latest poll Iowa, he’s within the margin of error. He’s also quietly done well over the past week. Romney has held his fire against Perry, and continued to raise funds. Perry doesn’t dip too much into Romney’s financial base — Wall Street and K Street — or into political base. With Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan opting not to run, Romney looks more like the natural pick of GOP elites put off by Perry’s gunslinging, prayer-meeting style. Romney can’t be more likable than Perry, but he might be able to outlast him.
Bachmann is the biggest loser of Perry’s grand entrance, as they draw from the same Tea Partyish base. Could she win Iowa? Sure, she’s packed into the top-four in the PPP poll, but Ames might have been her high water mark. If Palin actually does enter, Bachmann would be toast.
Who knew? What Paul needed all along was fake news anchor Jon Stewart to get his back. Paul’s second-place finish wasn’t enough for him to get serious treatment from the media, but after Stewart mocked the media’s treatment of him, he’s gotten his time in the spotlight. Now he’s in fourth place in the latest Iowa poll, within the margin of error of first-place Perry.
Hunstman is making a real push post-Ames. It’s not terribly impressive, but he’s at least coming across as serious. After Ryan begged off, Huntsman will get more attention from the liberal press as a “grown up” candidate.
The Field
Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, Thad McCotter, Gary Johnson, and Buddy Roemer continue to play a very small role. Newt Gingrich is the frontrunner for any votes to be had on the beach in Hawaii.
