One of my favorite numbers from the recent University of Iowa poll -- and there are others which I'll get to shortly -- was that 33.3% of Iowa Democratic voters describe themselves as "very satisfied" with their slate of 2008 presidential candidates, while a mere 13.8% of Republicans have the same response. 10.5% of Democrats say they're not satisfied, compared to 26.6% of Republicans. With no solid base candidates emerging, Republicans must feel like they've been forced to order off the kids' menu.
Why do I love this poll so much? Because it tells you how Newt Gingrich has a serious chance to become the Republican nominee. With Giuliani's social moderation, McCain's failure, Thompson's meager fundraising, and Romney's Mormonism and unprincipled flip-floppery, we're paving the way for a solid base candidate to emerge and win the nomination while the others split the votes of heterodox and electability-interested Republicans. And of course, Gingrich loses the electoral college 538-0 against Edwards in a 50-state SurveyUSA poll. Alabama? Utah? Nebraska? All for Edwards. Run, Newt, run!
