!. I didn’t see the Sunday morning debate.
2. But I do see Santorum gaining respect as a competent, solid candidate. Ross Douthat is right that he’s stuck with the focus on his personal life, which does seem “deviant” to most Americans but should and I think is striking most conservatives as admirable. Various liberals has conceded that he ranks high on the authenticity meter, which, for them, means authentically Christian and authentically homophobic.
3. But it’s clear now he isn’t picking up traction in New Hampshire, and it’s actually the “social issues” that are the reason.
4. Romney has no momentum and seems to be sliding a bit, even with the wonderful performance by Chris Christie on his behalf.
5. There’s definitely minor momentum for Paul and Huntsman. Paul is poised to do about as well as he did in Iowa, which is a very good showing. It now looks like Huntsman will finish third, with Santorum fourth or even fifth.
5. What that seems to mean for SC: Gingrich may not be going away. Right now, he and Santorum are pretty much splitting the non-Romney vote, which is great news for Romney. If SC voted Tuesday, Romney would win with an unimpressive percentage. But that’s probably all he needs.
6. We might have misunderestimated Gingrich’s ability to live off the land and hang around. Every time there’s a debate he impresses some voters. Pete have overstated this loathsome fact by saying “Gingrich may be getting hot again.”
7. Speaking of Gingrich, his attack on the Bain Capital Romney is gaining some traction. It was prominently featured on the Today Show, and he got Romney rattled and stuck in an inconsistent story about it on the Sunday morning debate. It’s good, of course, that Romney has to deal with this now, before the Democrats used it to far greater effect.
