No, but one week is enough to go from yesterday's news to "out of the race for all practical purposes," which is where Gingrich is.
Anyway, I disagree. GWB was not well known outside Texas before his first race, and he was also not popular with conservatives before he became President.
Well, his name was George Bush. Same as the former President.
And that’s as famous a name as you could get.
GWB might not have been famous, but his name most certainly was, and that was enough to make him “top” Republican of 2000.
By the time the primaries actually rolled around, all the other potential “top” Republicans had dropped out. Quayle dropped out, Lamar Alexander dropped out, Elizabeth Dole dropped out. All 3 could’ve been “top” Republican, but it was Bush. It was Bush v McCain in the Primaries, and of those 2, Bush was the “top” Republican, based on the famous name.
I don’t think Gingrich is out by a long shot. McCain was doing terrible stuff we all hated in 2007, and he still won.
He wasn’t the “front runner”, wasn’t up in the polls, but he still won.