Cain's fall, Newt's rise, tea party stupidity

I would agree with National Journal that if Herman Cain bows out of the GOP race, Newt Gingrich benefits most (and Mitt Romney suffers most).

Tea partier stupidity? The article says Newt is their favorite among those in the race. Not Cain, though he runs a close second. And not Bachmann, either.

Even before Newt's brazen lies about how much Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac paid him, and why, it was clear that the man's a brazen creature of Washington, an almost perfect caricature of a conservative twin of Tip O'Neill.

And, actually, beyond that, the rise of Newt means the real political winner is ... again, Barack Obama. And, the real political loser is sensible voters like you and I.

Speaking of Dear Leader, another article notes that he could take a page from former Calif. Gov. Gray Davis and try to pick his opponent, though he would have to proceed more carefully at the federal level. Again, from the point of view of political chess games, I agree. Or, Team Obama could try to split the bet by subtly pushing Newt, but also, say, Perry, the only other candidate in the race with a realistic shot at winning.