Over at Town Hall, Patrick Ruffini has what may be the most perceptive post of the week. Here are the key grafs:
On Hannity last night, Newt said he would collect pledges over the Internet. That means he's almost certain to reach the $30 million goal he's set for himself. Whether he can actually raise that amount is another matter entirely. If I'm a person of modest means but I want Newt to run, I can "pledge" to max out at $2,300. Heck, I can even throw in the wife to up it 46 Hamiltons. That doesn't mean I will actually give that much. Newt would need only 14,000 of his fans to flood the site with $2,300 "pledges" in order to declare a broad public groundswell for his candidacy.
Writes Ruffini: "Newt is either totally naive (highly unlikely) or knows exactly how the Internet game is played. This deal is rigged." The high point of the Gingrich non-campaign campaign was his debate with Mario Cuomo at Cooper Union. That was in February. I've been assuming he won't run. But Ruffini may be on to something here.