We chastised local print reporters in Tampa the other day for making the Florida presidential primary on Jan. 31 seem a bigger deal than it possibly will be, but that's understandable. It's not just Sunshine State political journalists who want the GOP presidential campaign to continue into late January, but national reporters (and former governors — see below) who would prefer the race to have some drama until at least the spring.
Despite the fact that many of the early states are awarding delegates proportionately (except for Florida's 49 delegates, which will be winner-take-all), if Mitt Romney takes South Carolina on Saturday — and there's not a single poll that's been published that doesn't show him in the lead — it's game, set and match in terms of this nomination race.
A desperate Newt Gingrich, who appears to be the only conservative standing who might be able to bring a coalition of voters together to seriously challenge Romney, admits this is the case, saying in the Palmetto state on Tuesday that, "If I don't win the primary Saturday, we will probably nominate a moderate."
Sarah Palin feels the same way, as she told Fox News' Sean Hannity on Tuesday night:
This article appears in Jan 19-25, 2012.