The Third One

[Slow Learner]

PERRY: And I'll tell you, there are three agencies of government, when I get there, that are gone. Commerce, Education and Energy.
PAUL: No, there are five.
PERRY: Maybe you can add the EPA and HUD in there too.
-Excerpt from the GOP Debate, 11/9/2011

'Rick had a rather decent night in Auburn, I thought. He had been slightly eased off the back pills, so he was able to retain some level of concentration'
-Anonymous Perry staffer

Republican Primary Poll (PPP, 11/9-11/13)
Gingrich: 27%
Cain: 23%
Romney: 16%
Perry: 9%
Paul: 6%
Bachmann: 6%
Huntsman: 2%
Santorum: 1%

[Slow Learner]

Are we beginning to see a Perry comeback?
-Wolf Blitzer, commenting on a CNN poll which has Perry on 15.

The following debate in South Carolina was also good for Perry. Herman Cain and Rick Santorum floundered on foreign policy while he was able to look decently competent. The stand out of the debate was Michele Bachmann however, who was able to give a stinging attack on President Obama and get many rounds of applause. Mitt Romney, as usual, remained as the 'grey man' and didn't have much effect.
-Learning Lessons: The 2012 Republican Primary.

While Huntsman had at first been bullish about refusing his father's money, the poor showings in polls made him nervous. He was still very reluctant about the whole thing, wanting to be seen as an 'independent', but he allowed his father to donate small portions of money to the campaign.
-Anonymous Huntsman staffer.

Gingrich: 24%
Romney: 19%
Perry: 10%
Cain: 10%
Paul: 7%
Bachmann: 6%
Huntsman: 3%
Santorum: 1%
-Quinnipac Poll, 11/14-11/20.

IS CAIN PLANNING TO DROP OUT?
-Yahoo News, 11/20/11.

[Slow Learner]

Are Republicans sleepwalking into a Ron Paul victory?
-Title of a NYT Op-Ed, posted 11/24/11.

Our debt has risen above our GDP for the first time since World War II. That is a disgrace and it is because of two pointless wars and a broken health care system. America, we need an anti debt revolution.
-Excerpt from a Ron Paul speech in Ames.

Obviously, Rick's rerise couldn't stay forever. His back had been acting up shortly after the debate, and he had to be weaned back on to the pills. He tried his best to hide it, but it was clear that he had become dazed. He knew that if it had got out, it would embarass his campaign. He kept campaign to a lower level, and sent out his surrogates to the key states in an attempt to keep his 'momentum'.
-Jeff Miller, Learning Lessons: The 2012 Republican Primary.

INTERVIEWER: So, does any part of your campaign draw from your father's?
PAUL: I'm not a carbon copy of my father, if that's what your asking. I admire my father a whole lot, he really is a great guy with iron clad principles. I believe that I share those principles and that I can really shake up this race. Hopefully, I can actually win *laughs*.
-CNN interview with Senator Rand Paul, 3/7/15.

Insider Advantage Iowa Poll: Gingrich 26% Perry 16% Paul 15% Bachmann 15% Romney 11% Cain 6% Santorum 1%

Rasmussen New Hampshire Poll: Romney 30% Gingrich 22% Paul 16% Hunstman 15% Perry 4% Santorum 0%

[Slow Learner]

The Cain Train derails!
-Gawker headline, 11/27/15.

Cain drops out, no words on endorsement.
-LA Times headline, 11/27/15.

FLASH FORWARD

Ron Paul - 22.9%
Mitt Romney - 21.6%
Newt Gingrich - 16.5%
Rick Perry - 15.2%
Rick Santorum - 14.3%
Michele Bachmann - 8.3%
Jon Huntsman Jr. - 0.9%

Thank you so so much. Thank you. Thank you very much, you are a brilliant crowd. Very lovely. Oftentimes a crowd is a best part of a speech. It is you who have been fighting this Revolution, and it is you who have secured this victory. You have made all the difference in this world to cause what has happened today.
-Excerpt from Ron Paul's victory speech.

This victory doesn't matter. Iowa doesn't pick nominees, just look at Mike Huckabee.
-Chris Wallace reacting on FOX.

It has been a great few months, being able to meet with the people of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and elsewhere, but I do not feel, in good conscience, that I can carry this campaign forward.
-Rick Santorum's concession speech.

---

Suffolk New Hampshire Tracking Poll: Romney 35% Paul 23% Huntsman 15% Gingrich 9% Perry 4%