We still don't know how New Hampshirites will react to this. They may not be expecting Paul to do anything in Iowa, and he still might get a bounce from this, especially if Romney finishes second
The Republican nomination has never been in the cards. Getting one-on-one with Romney, however, would have been a huge achievement. Ultimately, Ron Paul couldn't convince Iowans that he was an acceptable "not-Romney" alternative. When Gingrich collapsed, his supporters went to Santorum. Don't blame the media. They didn't take the polls.
Santorum is going nowhere. His negatives will soon destroy him. Everyone in Washington knows he's a flake. So come South Carolina, Republicans will still be looking for a "not-Romney" alternative. Paul may get a second chance to get one-on-one with Romney. Gingrich and Santorum will skip New Hampshire and concentrate on South Carolina. But now RP will have to worry about Huntsman in New Hampshire where previously he might have hoped to win over Huntsman supporters.
Remember, however, that nationally Ron Paul has never been looked upon as a contender. Outside of Iowa people haven't been paying much attention. The problem isn't that we lose ground with Iowa. The problem is that we don't gain ground, and we're way behind.
Still, Ron Paul is going to see this through. He will win delegates. He won't win the nomination, but that was never in the cards. He WILL be invited to speak at the GOP convention this year. There WILL be attempts to win his endorsement, and to win over Ron Paul supporters. Ron Paul organizers around the country WILL be recruited by Congressmen seeking re-election. All of these things will come at a price. The only question is just how much the campaign will influence these decisions and that can't actually be answered yet because the campaign is not finished.
Meanwhile, we shouldn't want Ron Paul to become president. The economy is going to tank again, and probably not before the election. The last thing we need is for Ron Paul to become president and then get blamed for tanking the economy. This country is headed downhill financially, economically, and diplomatically. These campaigns aren't about preventing it. It's too late for that. These campaigns are about who is going to pick up the pieces. We're going to collapse just like the Soviet Union did, and we don't want an authoritarian solution to the problems that arise from it. That is why Ron Paul's movement is still so important.
