◼ What it means: - IBD
Great headlines for Santorum last night, probably today too, as he tries to grasp The Ring as conservative alternative to Romney.
But guess what? Nothing changes. Due to the new proportional allocation, Santorum, Gingrich and Romney will each get about a third of the Alabama and Mississippi convention delegates. And Romney's lead of about 250 delegates remains intact.
Except -- oh, wait! -- after everyone went to bed on the mainland, Romney won all nine delegates from American Samoa. And in the Hawaii caucuses, he won again, capturing 45% of the votes and the lion's share of the 17 delegates. Santorum trailed with 25%, followed by Paul at 19% with Gingrich back at 11%.
So once again, the results of Santorum's big wins are that Romney's lead widens a little more. Even better news for the former governor, Santorum and Gingrich both vowed to press on, meaning voters who don't prefer Romney will still split.
◼ The road from Mississippi and Alabama: A look at the shifting primary landscape. - John Hayward at Human Events
...if Gingrich is serious about mounting a comeback, Louisiana may well present his best opportunity. It will be interesting to see if the polls shift in response to Santorum’s wins last Tuesday night, and change the Gingrich campaign’s calculations about whether such a comeback is still even remotely possible.
