It's not exactly an endorsement, but Newt will take it, no doubt:
She'd vote strategically for Gingrich in the Palmetto Primary, if only to keep the whole "vetting" enterprise rolling, debates and all. We already know how Palin feels about Romney, so I guess she's still trying to figure out which -- if any -- of his opponents can pull himself together and make a sustained run. When Hannity asked her about Monday's debate, her first rave review went to...Rick Perry. A hint at who she hopes might emerge from the ashes, or just a coincidence? Even if she's a Perry gal, she must know it's a long shot. How long? Ouch:
When PPP last polled [Texas] in September he was at 49%, leading Mitt Romney by 39 points. Now Perry's support has declined by 31 points, leaving him in 3rd place at 18%. Mitt Romney at 24% and Newt Gingrich at 23% lead the way with Rick Santorum at 15%, Ron Paul at 12%, and Buddy Roemer at 0% rounding out the field behind Perry. What might be most shocking on this poll is that Romney edges Perry 46-45 if Republican voters had to pick just between the two of them. When we asked that identical question four months ago Perry led Romney 72-18. There's been a 55 point shift in Romney's direction.
Incidentally, since we're discussing Sarah Palin, one of her most deranged haters crawled into the news cycle today. Andrew Sullivan -- last heard from writing a rather nuanced cover story for Newsweek -- just can't let go of his totally baseless and unhinged Trig Trutherism. Palin needled the magazine on Twitter for giving Sully a platform, to which the writer responded by insisting that Palin's, um, "story" about having given birth to Trig is "insane." He also admitted to having an unusual physical reaction to Palin's criticism. What a sick puppy.
