Is Gingrich the Next Goldwater?

Also calls political system 'stupid,' vows to continue

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich is ignoring calls to get out of the Republican primaries , saying the media, his opponents, the GOP, and the whole political system just don't get him, reports MSNBC . “The thing I find most disheartening about this campaign is the difficulty of talking about positive ideas on a large scale because the news media can’t cover it and candidly, my opponents can’t comprehend it,” Gingrich said at a rally in Illinois. More»

Mitt Romney basically has 4 of the 10 states in the bag

(NEWSER) - Tomorrow is looking good for Mitt Romney, who will likely take more of the 422 delegates up for grabs in Super Tuesday contests than his opponents (an additional 15 super delegates aren't bound to tomorrow's wins). He may even walk away with a delegate majority, writes Nate Silver. A look at the landscape, from the New York Times , Politico , Public Policy Polling , and the Wall Street Journal :

• Georgia (76 delegates): Newt Gingrich will almost certainly win, but Romney could "win by losing," Politico notes: A Gingrich win could keep Newt in the race, where he'll continue to siphon conservative votes from Rick Santorum. (Plus, Romney could still take up to a third of the delegates due to distribution rules.)
• Ohio (66 delegates): Romney has been closing in on Santorum here, and though the race is too close to call , some think Romney's momentum will propel him to a win. Even if it does not, he will likely take the most delegates, since Santorum may be ineligible for 18 of them.
• Tennessee (58 delegates): Romney is also closing in on Santorum here, and an upset victory—which is possible—would be symbolically huge for him, showing he holds appeal even in the South.

He says he's only campaigning now 'as a citizen'

(NEWSER) - The rollercoaster that has been the GOP presidential primary ended with a whimper today, as Newt Gingrich more-or-less dropped out and more-or-less endorsed Mitt Romney. "It's pretty clear Gov. Romney is gonna be the nominee," Gingrich said in a speech in North Carolina, according to CBS News . "I think you have to at some point be honest with what's happening in the real world, as opposed to what you'd like to have happened." More»

He says he'll 'reassess' campaign if he doesn't

(NEWSER) - Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and Delaware hold their Republican primaries today, and while many observers have already heard the fat lady sing for Newt Gingrich, there may still be a twist or two left in the race. Gingrich has been spending a lot of time in Delaware and he may be able to rally conservatives and jolt Mitt Romney by snatching a surprise primary win like the one Christine O'Donnell scored in 2010, Politico finds. More»

Even though Santorum didn't bow out until April 10

(NEWSER) - No one's been nominated yet—but the media crowned Mitt Romney the winner of the GOP primaries after he took Michigan on Feb. 28, a Pew report finds. Of course, Romney didn't essentially seal the deal until Rick Santorum dropped out. That happened on April 10, weeks after the media had effectively called the race for Romney, finds the report, which tracked 11,000 news outlets from Jan. 2 to April 15. After Feb. 28, we saw "a suddenly intense discussion of 'delegate math' and the conclusion that no other candidate could win," explains the report's co-author. More»