My friend, those head-to-head numbers you cite assume that Santorum not only overtakes Newt, but consolidates his plus all the other candidates’ support into his candidacy. That’s what head-to-head means. You are far, far, far away from anything resembling that for Rick. In SC, not NC as you quoted, Rick Santorum is running behind Newt in most if not all the major polls as of now - that’s reality.
I don’t want to fight with you, but you are not on with your facts. The Speaker is voted on by all of the members of the House. As Speaker he leads the delegation of ALL of the congressman from ALL of the districts in ALL of 50 states (57 for Obama). If you don’t know this in comparison with a single senator with one vote from a single state, you start out with a mistaken argument. The Speaker sets the agenda for all federal legislation and has a lot of power in what happens. That is why Newt is so respected and feared - he got a lot of conservative legislation passed, including Welfare Reform and balanced budgets.
I would love for you and I to be on the same side in this fight. Good luck to you!
The same numbers show Newt losing, a race where Santorum dominates.
I am unconvinced that even if the race were to come down to a two man race, that Newt would win. The numbers just don’t show it.
Again, Speakers of the House are 0/0 when running for the presidency. None of them have even gotten up to bat, let alone won.
Senators, on the other hand have. The pool of voters electing congressmen are far smaller than the entire state. That’s the problem. Even the speaker, while they may have the support of their peers on their side of the bench, have received far fewer real live votes, than their Senators.