That was the buzz at the Big Round Table at the Capital City Club this morning, fed by Preston Grisham, lobbyist and veteran of SC GOP campaigns. This is where the more fertile ground is, and maybe he could get up and running fast enough here, whereas there’s no time left in New Hampshire, with the primary six days off.
It makes sense.
Interestingly, the Republican Grisham was thinking along the same lines as progressive columnist E.J. Dionne, who was already speculating yesterday morning that a win in Iowa positioned Santorum particularly well in South Carolina.
Of course, mix into that the fact that Gingrich is preparing for a serious stand here, and you’ve got a battle.
Also… and I probably need to deal with this in a separate post… I’ve got the feeling that Romney might sew it up here. I need to give Warren Tompkins a call…
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I’ve got the feeling that Romney might sew it up here.
-Brad
Didn’t you also predict Perry would win the GOP nomination? Not sure “feelings” count for much in this business. But hey, I’m a numbers guy.
Romney will almost certainly seal the deal with a win here. But remember John McCain finished fourth in Iowa last time around. Two lessons can be learned from 2008. First, Iowa does not annoint the winner. Second, a poor showing in Iowa for the eventual winner probably means trouble for that candidate (McCain in 2008) because it reflects a certainly lack of enthusiasm by the voters.
Right now it’s not who’s the best presidential candidate, it’s who has the best chance to beat Obama.
Actually, I was going to mention that in my separate post on Romney, which I haven’t written yet — something along the lines of “Remember, I’m the guy who thought in August that Perry would win SC and the nomination.”
But I’m basing this on lots of little things over the last couple of weeks. After thinking for the last couple of months that this year would be different, that maybe SC wouldn’t pick the eventual winner this time, I started getting the sense over the holidays that SC voters would shift to the guy with the best chance to win in the fall, as they have done in the past.
The Iowa result — in a contest he had not emphasized — was one small piece. An even smaller one, but telling — Warren Tompkins getting off the sidelines and going to work for Romney. Warren knows how to pick winner.
Those things, and, to quote Will Ferrell in “Old School,” “… other stuff…”
My brother, ex of the Philly Inquirer, thinks Santorum is not going to go far once he gets more exposure.
re: Perry. Could it be that way too many GOP governors are like our last two, scratch the surface and you run into serious dumb and/or crazy?