Here's the idea: Mitt Romney wins the Republican nomination and tries to solidify his support in the South with Newt Gingrich, who is assumed to be able to counter a Truman-style run against a Congress that opposes everything that the President wants -- and solidify the GOP hold on the South. Romney's folks run the campaign, so does Gingrich's lack of experience in statewide campaigns and inability or lack of desire to get a Cabinet post make him a blunder? Or is he a brilliant choice?
That's partially why I suggested Demint or Coburn rather than Gingrich. Neither of them has that personal baggage.
Everyone has baggage. DeMint pissed off everyone in the Senate by endorsing tea party candidates, that's baggage. It's not an affair, but IMHO it could be much worse since it fractures the inner GOP powerhouse.
I don't think the average joe cares too much about the feelings of 40 or so GOP Senators. It shouldn't and wouldn't resonate as much as Newt's baggage.
Coburn, for instance, provides free medical care to Oklahomans. He used to deliver babies until medical malpractice insurance premiums forced him to stop last year.
Of course the average person doesn't care, but they're not the ones that make the president. The GOP power players are the ones that can raise the funds, the grassroots, the campaign staff, everything. They shape what the electorate sees and if they shrug their shoulders instead of pour in hundreds of millions combined for GOTV, commercials, etc., the average joe is going to vote for the other guy. Americans are no where near as informed as all of us on atlas, they only see snippits of politics, and most of it is some pathos 30 second ad.
