MSNBC....Analysis: Fla. poll surprise shows GOP desperation

[rfranklin]

By NBC's Chuck Todd. Mark Murray, and Brooke Brower

*** None of the above: So what do we make of Herman Cain’s surprising -- and overwhelming -- victory at Saturday’s Florida Straw Poll? Call it a vote for “None of the Above” by the conservatives who gathered in Orlando. They didn’t break for second-place finisher Rick Perry after his debate struggles and after they displayed chinks in his conservative armor (on immigration and HPV). They also didn’t go for third-place finisher Mitt Romney, who as the St. Pete Times’ Adam Smith notes has been campaigning in Florida for at least the past five years. Bottom line: There’s an opening for another Republican. But there are two questions: 1) Is there a willing and viable candidate out there? And 2) Is there enough time? By the way, Chris Christie is still saying no. “Mr. Christie's aides say the governor hasn't budged from his months-long insistence that he won't enter the presidential fray, despite what one described as a ‘relentless’ stream of calls over the last week from prominent Republicans urging him to run,” the Wall Street Journal says.

No, it actually shows what a vile, hateful crowd these Republican base are.

[Kolesar]

1. Chump Todd is just looking for something to talk about

Maybe the Fla-pukes *really* wanted Herman Cain.

[gratuitous]

2. Shaping up to be 1996 or 2008 all over again

The GOP doesn't do well without someone anointed early in the process. In 1996 and 2008, the eventual nominee was more a result of a war of attrition than any coherent process of choosing the best candidate. Bob Dole and John McCain were nominated mostly because it was their "turn" than because of any inherent qualification for running. Hell, McCain even dropped out a time or two, but when nobody stepped in to fill the void, the Republicans nominated him almost by default.

Romney isn't exactly setting the political world on fire, and he has lots of negatives in the GOP camp. But he will probably get the nomination simply because there's nobody else. The GOP bench doesn't seem to be particularly deep right now, either. The GOP is going to have to develop some real, live candidates with experience holding office, and that right soon, or they're looking at another election cycle or two trying to make the likes of Michele Bachmann look like a serious candidate. Not an enviable position.

[louis-t]

3. Is the FL straw poll like the Iowa poll where candidates "buy"

votes? If that is the case, this means nothing.

[Renew Deal]

4. I don't take the straw polls too seriously.

They are filled with hard core partisans. They are not representative of the general population or even the RW voting public. It's like Kucinich winning polls on DU in 2007. It was good to know how DU felt, but was meaningless in the scheme of things.