PoliticsUSA: Presidential campaign: Gingrich closes the gap between himself and Obama

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Christian Science Monitor (December9,2k11)
— Reposted here by Politicarp

refWrite comment:  I found this article by Linda Feldman in regard to current polling numbers rather astounding, largely due to the fact that Republican and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, hasn't yet won anything — except by very inexact imputations to the effect that he had won such and such a debate among the array of want-to-be candidates for that party's nomination to the h+est political office of the USA.

Notice:  no mention thru-out the article of Ron Paul, some of whose very vocal followers have been spue-ing out anti-Newt polemic, focusing upon Newt's personal foibles (sins) along the course of his professional and more personal life (the line is that he is unforgivable).  And around his role as a "war-monger," especially his support of Israel against the Palestinians (Paul feeds this line of polemic himself as he did in a recent YouTube video).

Where Gingrich's conservatism is seen as too pragmatic, Paul is seen as a rigid libertarian and isolationist.  The polls indicate that Gingrich is regarded more h+ly by most Republican voters, while Paul is often credited with having the "most intense" supporters, albeit in smaller numbers.  I have yet to see any article that poses Congressman Ron Paul vs President Obama, asking which of the two will win were they, respectively, the final Republican and Democratic candidates.

As for me, I said long ago that, in my humble opinion, Gingrich, Donald Trump, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, etc, were all too fat to run for the office and do well in it.  Their personal bodily-health standard is just not up to the strains of that office. How woud each (be able to) respond in the most unwelcome case of a physical attack?  The answer affects my personal estimate.  Undoubtedly, Prez Obama has raised the standard of Presidential physical health and fitness.  But the Republicans, so far anyway, are selecting a candidate out of a partisan voter demographic known for its older-age and its pot-bellies.

— Politicarp
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A Gingrich-Obama matchup? 

It's getting tighter, polls show

Newt Gingrich looks increasingly competitive against President Obama in three key battleground states, new polls show. And registered Republicans in those states prefer him to Mitt Romney.

By Linda Feldmann, Staff writer / December 8, 2011

Maybe Newt Gingrich isn’t so unelectable after all. New Quinnipiac polls of general election voters in three key battleground states released Thursday show the former House speaker increasingly competitive against President Obama next November, if Mr. Gingrich wins the Republican nomination.

In Florida, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romneybeats Mr. Obama 45 percent to 42 percent, but Gingrich isn’t too far off the mark. He trails Obama with 44 percent of the Florida vote, compared with 46 percent for Obama, within the margin of error, according to the Quinnipiac University Poll, based in Hamden, Conn.

In Ohio, Romney and Gingrich pull down the exact same numbers against Obama. Each Republican gets 43 percent versus 42 for Obama.

Pennsylvania is Obama’s strongest state of the three, narrowly beating Romney 46 percent to 43 percent, and beating Gingrich handily, 48 percent to 40 percent.

Election 101: Ten questions about Newt Gingrich as a presidential candidate

Those three states, all rich in electoral votes, comprise the trifecta of modern presidential politics. Since 1960, no one has won the White House without winning at least two of them.

In those three states, Gingrich beats Romney handily for the GOP nomination, though only Florida holds its primary early in the nominating calendar. Florida Republicans vote on Jan. 31, after Iowa (Jan. 3), New Hampshire (Jan. 10), and South Carolina (Jan. 21). In Florida, Gingrich beats Romney 35 percent to 22 percent. In Ohio, Gingrich beats him 36 to 18 percent. And in Pennsylvania, the former speaker is up 31-17. No other candidate scores in double digits.

Read more of Linda Feldmann's Christian Science Monitor article here.