One word on why Newt lost.....Debate. that is it period. No ifs ands or buts. Newt only won SC because of his debate performance and he lost FL because of his debate performance. There is nothing more or less to this. I mean it makes for good stories that everyone can slice and dice this win for Romney but it comes down to the debates and that is it. Everyone says money and commercials but that is not what lost it for Newt. That look of confusion and shock when Romney gave it back to Newt about his Franny-Freddie stock is the lone reason Newt lost. It is horrible and Newt was stuck and didn’t know what to do. His whining probably didn’t help either. One minute the debate was too quite and the next it was too loud. People don’t like complainers. He needs to stop that immediately.
Newt won the SC debates because he attacked the media. The GOP voters, disparate as they may be, tend to all agree that the media is not their friend. Not all agree that Romney is their enemy so Newts attacks during the FL debate failed to gain him much favor.
LLS
You guys all have good reasons.
I don’t know if this adds anything to our future strategies but I thought I’d mention it: my liberal Jewish friends and relatives have mostly all soured on Obama. They seem almost eager to vote for Romney in the general. He seems to be supportive of their businesses, the economy — and they see Nothing Conservative About Him. And they all hate conservatives, just like the MSM tell them to.
You're right about Newt's failings in that debate, however. He wasn't prepared for Romney's new coaching. By design, the debate came off substance and into gotcha attacks where Newt struggles to be effective.