Newt would be so demonized that if St. Francis of Assisi was his VP, he'd still lose by 400 EVs. And yes, Sarah Palin would have been crushed. She'd get all 40% of the GOP vote and not one single vote over that.
The fact is, Romney is the only one who had a true national presence, who didn't come off as either incompetent, sexually weird, or repellant. Santorum, whom I would have voted for if not Newt, was viewed by the vast majority of people I've talked to who were "independents" or even "soft Republicans" as totally sanctimonious. So let's understand that Rush's dictum that conservatism USUALLY wins when it's effectively presented is NOT 100% certain. A slew of conservative senators got booted out in 06 in favor of a bunch of total leftists, and we still haven't gotten the senate back (if just three or four---Mike DeWine, Jim Talent, Norm Coleman, and George Allen---had held onto their seats, we damn sure wouldn't have Obamacare now and we damn sure would have a budget.)
A reasonably conservative set of positions is the necessary basis for victory, but it isn't sufficient. You need money, looks, communication skills, money, good organization, money, a certain amount of ruthlessness, and, oh, did I say, money?
I don’t really care about any of that.
People just don’t like the guy and there’s just no way to rationalize around that.
Excellent post, Larry. And might I add to looks, a beautiful wife and handsome family. :)