Author Eric Metaxas: Gingrich, Perry Should Drop Out–Now [Santorum spoke next at breakfast]

Wall Street Journal ^ | January 15, 2012 | Kristina Peterson

[Cincinatus' Wife]

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. –Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry should drop out of the race before South Carolina’s Saturday primary, prominent conservative author Eric Metaxas said at a Sunday prayer breakfast.

Mr. Metaxas said he was optimistic some of the candidates competing for the state’s conservative voters would take themselves out of contention to allow South Carolinians to coalesce around an alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

“It’s more likely that some of these wonderful men that are running will hear God’s voice and get out of the race before Saturday for the good of this country,” Mr. Metaxas, who has endorsed former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, said Sunday at a weekend gathering of the South Carolina Republican Party – a day after Mr. Santorum picked up strong support from conservative Christian groups. To be effective, the candidates must drop out before next Saturday’s contest, he said.

“This is the last exit before the bridge,” Mr. Metaxas said in an interview later. “They’ve been dividing the vote and so if they don’t do this now, they will harm the country because they can’t hang on to the bitter end.” Other presidential hopefuls, Texas Rep. Ron Paul and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, are less relevant, Mr. Metaxas said.

Mr. Santorum, who spoke at the breakfast after Mr. Metaxas, did not explicitly urge other candidates to drop out, but appealed to voters to gather behind him, regardless of his perceived shot at seizing the White House.

“Will the people of South Carolina vote their conscience or will they let people…. tell you who’s the one you should choose because we have to win?” he asked.

Mr. Perry, who also attended the breakfast, spoke before Mr. Metaxas and left before the author’s remarks.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

..Mr. Santorum, who spoke at the breakfast after Mr. Metaxas, did not explicitly urge other candidates to drop out, but appealed to voters to gather behind him, regardless of his perceived shot at seizing the White House. ...

About Eric: ....."In a decidedly eclectic career, Eric Metaxas has written for VeggieTales, Chuck Colson, and the New York Times, three things not ordinarily in the same sentence. He is a best-selling author whose biographies, children’s books, and works of popular apologetics have been translated into German, Albanian, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Turkish, Galician, and Macedonian. The Hartford Courant has declared figuring him out “like trying to stick a pushpin in a cyclone.” Let us try.

Eric Metaxas was born in New York City in 1963, on his father’s 36th birthday. He grew up in Danbury, Connecticut, attending the public schools there, and graduated from Yale University. At Yale he made a literary splash as editor of the Yale Record, the nation’s oldest college humor magazine, and a subsequent literal splash when, following the 99th Yale-Harvard Game, he commandeered a successful effort to throw Harvard’s goalpost into the Charles. At graduation Eric was awarded two senior prizes for his undergraduate fiction. He was also “Class Day Speaker”, co-writing and -delivering “The Class History”, a satirical address that is a Yale commencement tradition, in the process upstaging Dick Cavett, the next speaker. They would not speak for nearly two decades."......

[reasonisfaith]

Shouldn’t it be Santorum who drops out so Gingrich can win?

[Rome2000]

He's so prominent that nobody's ever heard of him.

Looks like a fag.

Santorum was in low single digits in SC 2 weeks ago and will be there again by next week.

Somebody with absolutely no shot at beating Obama Like Santorum yet continues to stay in the race is mentally deranged.

I thought Bachmann was the biggest megalomaniac around but she's got nothing on this sweater vest wearing loser.

[ronnie raygun]

Love these media “a” holes.

[VanDeKoik]

You cant buy this level of stupid from our side.

It is almost astonishing how myopic these people have become.

[Linda Frances]

I love Veggie Tales. My favorite cd is “Boyz in the Sink.”

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I love Veggie Tales. My favorite cd is “Boyz in the Sink.”

So do I. But in the future I will think about this elitist butinski when I hear or watch it.

Just like all celebrities who think they're so brilliant that we need their advice, it's insulting.

[susannah59]

I like Veggie Tales, myself.

What I don't like is someone from New York City, who graduated from Yale, telling me (and most of the rest of the country) that we should have no voice in who runs for President.

What's more, I believe that if God wants to speak to any of the candidates, He can do it quite well without Mr. Metaxas' intermediation.

[jagusafr]

Entitled to his opinion, I s’pose, and I loved his Bonhoeffer bio, but he’s wrong on this one. Keep posting, CW!

[stars & stripes forever]

If Santorum was a strong candidate, there would be no need to tell others to drop out of the race. Perhaps Santorum supporters should re-evaluate his ability to win the Presidency.

Rick Perry is a stronger conservative candidate.

RICK PERRY 2012

[Cincinatus' Wife]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/pitch-from-the-ricks-perry-and-santorum-make-appeal-to-social-conservatives/

Looks like Perry and Santorum were sitting at the same table as “Look at me!”

[World'sGoneInsane]

He says Perry should drop out? Easy for him to say, he has a job.

[marron]

My two favorites are Santorum and Gingrich. Either will make a fine president.

I’m happy to let the process play itself out. They can horse-trade their delegates down the road if need be.

It will become plain after South Carolina that at least one of the non-Romneys will have to drop out, probably Perry. (Unless Romney steps in to keep him in the game a little longer).

I think Gingrich has enough fight in him to stay in, and he will. I think I’m starting to see that kind of grit in Santorum as well. At some point they’ll come to an agreement among themselves but they’ll want it settled which is the senior partner in the deal.

I think Gingrich is going to win out, but if its Santorum, I’m almost just as happy.

[Vigilanteman]

Gingrich has been known nationally for more than a decade, outspent a relatively unknown Santorum big time and still managed to come in behind him in back-to-back real polls.

South Carolina is Newt's backyard. Let's see if he can finally win one there before we start saying which one should drop out.

[Georgia Girl 2]

No Eric, Santorum, Paul and Perry should drop out so Newt can win.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

On a hunch I googled Bush and Metaxas:

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

Santorum is the one who should drop out—he’s no conservative—just look at his voting record. No thanks, I’ll pass. Santorum supporters have been duped.

[Logical me]

Santorum hasn't a chance in heck. He should drop out and ask those that supported him to support Gingrich. This is the only chance to kick Romney off the ticket.

[greeneyes]

I just read that Santorum endorsed Romney last election. Is that true?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I just read that Santorum endorsed Romney last election. Is that true?

Yes.