By Susan Duclos
Gallup headlines with "Majority of Conservatives See Romney as "Acceptable"
According to the graph provided though, Gallup left out two names in the headline, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, who both hit 50 percent in the acceptable to "conservatives" question. When Republican or Republican-leaning Independents are added in to the Gallup data, listed under the "moderate/liberal" that Gingrich and Santorum lose the majority status.
According to the same Gallup poll, moderate/liberals find Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman as more acceptable than conservatives.
The problem with Gallup's headline and the numbers, is that by the very nature of being Independents, these are voters that while they may lean one direction or another ideologically, they are not affiliated with either party and do not vote along any one party line.
Conservatives will choose the Republican candidate. Not moderates and liberals.
After a narrow Iowa win, where Romney beat Santorum by a mere eight votes (and the results are not certified yet), Romney is considered the "front-runner", yet the South Caroline and Florida primaries are around the corner (Jan. 21, and Jan 31.) both will be more representative of the temperature of the Republican party supporters and who will be the eventual nominee.
Reminder- Tonight we will be live blogging and joining in with live chat, via Cover it Live, discussing entrance/exit polls and pnew Hampshire primary results as they come in throughout the night. JOIN US HERE.
.