Even though the Obama administration seems to think that Mitt Romney is the man to beat, Republicans don’t seem to share that notion. Last night the thrice-married Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina Primary. Family values are just a talking point apparently and hypocrisy reigns supreme. The brakes are off and Newt’s train is on the roll again. The influential Christian anti-gay bigot, James Dobson, even attacked Gingrich’s current wife in an effort to derail his candidacy, asking a gathering of evangelical leaders if they really wanted the First Lady to be a woman who was Gingrich’s “mistress of eight years.” But the attacks only seemed to spur more South Carolinians to support Gingrich. It’s crazy, but it’s the kind of crazy we should all pay attention to. Obama may be well within his rights to view Romney as the more formidable candidate but it would be a huge mistake to underestimate crazy folks and what they can accomplish when they get good and riled up. Don’t believe me? Just look at the Tea Party and the effect they had on the midterm elections in 2010.

All eyes now move to the Florida primary on January 31.