Remember the second Florida GOP debate on Thursday night, January 26, in Jacksonville? Mitt Romney came out pummeling Newt Gingrich, Gingrich was ineffectual in response, and Romney sailed on to a decisive victory five days later in Florida. This was soon followed by Romney’s easy triumph in Nevada last Saturday. The Romney inevitabilists were once again out in force.
And once again they were premature. Or perhaps even wrong? Could it be that the most significant feature of the Jacksonville debate will turn out not to have been Romney’s thumping of Gingrich early on, but the exchange late in the debate between Rick Santorum and Romney on health care? Santorum effectively prosecuted the case against Romneycare that night, and he’s kept at it aggressively ever since, arguing that Romneycare disables Romney from prosecuting the crucial case against Obamacare.
