IT'S ALL ABOUT NEWT

Last night was a good night for Rick Santorum. He won two out of three, taking the primaries in Alabama and Mississippi while Mitt Romney won in Hawaii. Unfortunately for Santorum, Newt Gingrich managed to finish second in both of the southern states which might give the former Speaker just enough false hope to stay in the race.

We are now at a crucial crossroads in the GOP presidential nominating process. Rick Santorum is clearly the "more conservative" alternative to Mitt Romney. But Santorum cannot possibly pile up enough delegates to catch Romney so long as Gingrich remains in the race. So we are now faced with a fundamental question about what is inside Newt's head and his heart. Is Newt Gingrich a "party man", as Ari Fleischer described him during CNN's election coverage last night? Or is he a delusional, selfish, narcissistic egomaniac who thinks he will somehow be acclaimed as the nominee at a brokered convention?

If Newt is a "party man", he will step aside and allow a straight-up competition between Romney and Santorum to proceed. Of course, he is perfectly within his rights to make an endorsement in such a competition. If, however, he is delusional, he will stay in the race, hoping to make himself the last man standing, but in the process doing serious damage to the Republican cause.

My guess? Unlike Fleischer, I think Newt Gingrich cares only about himself, and will act accordingly. I hope I am wrong.