Gingrich's Organization 'Embarrassing'

Newt Gingrich is first in the polls, but his campaign might not be ready for prime time, warns Karl Rove in a Wall Street Journal column. "Mr. Gingrich has little or no campaign organization in Iowa and most other states," Rove observes. Gingrich didn't even complete his slate of delegates for New Hampshire, is the only candidate who didn't sign up for the Missouri primary, and even failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot in Ohio.

Ohio may ultimately push back its deadline, "but it's still embarrassing to be so poorly organized," Rove writes. Romney, by contrast, is extremely organized, but needs to improve his message. Still, he could recover from this poll swoon; "voters want candidates to struggle and earn" the nomination, Rove says. Gingrich has struggled and prevailed, though success might be its own trial. "When a man of his self-confidence begins to feel on top of the world, bad things often happen," Rove writes—which we note sounds a lot like a Romney campaign talking point. (More Mitt Romney stories.)