Is Newt’s rise to frontrunner status just the last or latest in the boom and bust cycle of would-be Mitt-slayers in the GOP presidential contest? Or is he the end of it?

TPM Reader MO thinks it’s Newt’s to lose … Read More

After the Bachmann surge and the Perry flameout, the boom and bust pattern of would-be Romney-slayers in the GOP primary battle became familiar to most election observers. After Cain’s moment in the sun it became conventional wisdom. And now with Newt it’s almost a cliche.

But it’s one thing to see it in general and it’s another to see it graphed out in front of you. The charts below are from the beta version of the new TPMPolltracker, slated to be released next month.

First is Iowa. Read More

It starts with a professor mocking a congressman for going to a community college. Then the congressman started ordering the professor around like a servant. And then, well, if it weren’t already bad enough, it went down hill from there. Watch.