A number of polls in key states now seem to show Romney collapsing and Newt grabbing up support.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

This includes SC, FL, Iowa.

This is not just an issue of Newt being flavor of the month, Romney's formerly steady 25% is collapsing some of these places.

If he loses Iowa, SC, and FL big to Gingrich this is over.

I'm not aware of anything great that Gingrich has done or anything notably terrible that Romney has done (aside from having a mediocre debate or two, he hasn't publicly pissed on himself like Perry), except for things getting close to actual vote time and the GOP primary electorate stamping their feet and saying they hate Romney and just refuse to go for him.

Does it really boil down to the dude being Mormon? 'Cause as smarmy as he is I don't see that he's worse than Gingrich in that regard, just the wrong flavor of religion.

[alp227]

1. WAPO: Mitt Romney struggles to find a strategy to combat Newt Gingrich’s surge

"For this unexpected turn in what has been a steady and sure campaign, the Romney team has no road map. With just five weeks until the Iowa caucuses, the former Massachusetts governor and his advisers are trying to figure out what to do. Will they stick to their tried-and-true playbook and hope Gingrich falls on his own, just like the others? Or will Romney engage Gingrich directly and aggressively, either through ads or in a pair of upcoming debates?"

full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2011/11/30/gIQAP8WaEO_singlePage.html

[daeros]

2. is it just me?

or does the election now look like it's going to be hillarious. he's leading OBAMA right now in the polls...Do you have any idea how much dirt BOTH sides have on this gasbag? I can't wait to see the negative ads that come out-be it by 527s or by the offical obama campaign... the GOP is setting themselves up for a bloodbath. Gingrich will drive democratic voters out in DROVES

[bigwillq]

3. Hello.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[animato]

4. The downside is that Gingrich could help Romney

He could help him become a better debater for instance.

[karynnj]

8. I doubt it

Romney is a competent debater and not a novice at it. I do think that the extended Democratic debates helped Obama, for whom debates were not his strength, but who was incredibly eloquent in speeches and very good in explaining things over the cuff. Obama was not bad in the early debates, but he greatly improved as they went on. (For clarity, I think Obama was as good in those early debates as Romney in his - just that there was a gap between where his personality, eloquence and vision could lead him and where he was.)

The problem Romney would have is that his debate style is one that usually keeps him safe from major gaffes. I doubt he would step away from that. I do not buy that Newt is a better debater than Romney - just that he is more in line with teh Republican base.

[Thrill]

5. Mittens was always going to collapse

Whether in the Primary or General. He is a phony. He just can't hide it. He'll never relate to people the more around the country he goes.

[davidpdx]

6. Newt does seem to be coming back hard and starting to knock down Mittens

We won't really know what the outcome is until the NH polls close. If Mittens does poorly in Iowa and NH he's in trouble.

[Jennicut]

7. Romney is hurt by being from Mass and being a supposed moderate.

It hurts him with conservatives who want a so called "true conservative". Free Republic won't even let people post positive things about Romney there. He is not conservative enough to them(which is sort of laughable, from a Dem's perspective).
I live in Connecticut and Romney was definitely always a conservative to me, more conservative then Jodi Rell, CT's previous very moderate Republican governor.