So Rick Perry is officially out. We hardly knew ya (venn diagram aside). The conventional wisdom outside of Capitol South metro station, where I learned of the news, was that this is bad for Romney. I don't buy it. Mostly because I'm 99.44% confident the race is already over regardless of what happens in South Carolina. But also because I don't think former Perry supporters in South Carolina or Florida are going to break in a way that can possible hurt Romney; for this to have an affect on the outcome, you have to either believe that Gingrich is a viable candidate to defeat Mitt, or that Santorum is going to siphon off the vast, vast majority of Perry voters. I do not think either is even remotely realistic. As John Sides
Exit Strategy
Exit Strategy
Exit Strategy
So Rick Perry is officially out. We hardly knew ya (venn diagram aside). The conventional wisdom outside of Capitol South metro station, where I learned of the news, was that this is bad for Romney. I don't buy it. Mostly because I'm 99.44% confident the race is already over regardless of what happens in South Carolina. But also because I don't think former Perry supporters in South Carolina or Florida are going to break in a way that can possible hurt Romney; for this to have an affect on the outcome, you have to either believe that Gingrich is a viable candidate to defeat Mitt, or that Santorum is going to siphon off the vast, vast majority of Perry voters. I do not think either is even remotely realistic. As John Sides