Dick Morris on Newt

Dick Morris says Newt is bypassing Mitt Romney as the social conservative candidate for the Republicans.

Morris uses the analogy of a tennis match. The Republicans are in the quarterfinals--the moderates on one side and the social cons the other. On the former side is Giuliani (who is surging) over McCain and on the social con side, Morris argues Newt is going to lap Romney.

Morris writes:

The [latest] Fox News poll, which recorded a surge to up to 8 percent of the GOP vote in its Dec. 5-6 tally, now has Romney dropping back to only 3 percent of the vote.

The semis then of the Republicans would be Giuliani versus Gingrich.

On the flip side, as Mickey Kaus notes Dick Morris is always eloquent and very often wrong (at least according to Kaus' pov). I say that as a caution and a very early (way too early frankly) caveat to my months ago prediction that the Republican race would be the two Gs--Giuli and Gingrich. I could be wrong, but I think Romney has too much baggage--Mormonism and (so it is argued) flip-flopping.

Romney last year ran a near flawless campaign, but his people and Romney himself seem a little deer in the headlights over the push against he is now receiving.