The Anyone but Mitt train has received, considered, and dumped Newt all within the span of three weeks. Not particularly surprising, but there it is.

I don’t think it has as much to do with Palin, or Cain, or anyone else’s support so much as his poor performance in the debates following the penultimate debate in SC where Romney stumbled badly and Newt got his game on with the opening salvo not against the other candidates but against the media for hitting Gingrich on his infidelities and ethics (and lack of same).

There’s also an interesting relationship between how the SC debates and their audience participation allowances helps shift viewer preferences based on the cheering from the crowds. CBS Sunday Morning had a piece about this effect and it was quite interesting how when early debates took place in a studio with no audience (think back to the 1960s when the televised debate first evolved), there was a different reaction than those that take place where the audience can cheer and jeer. At the same time, the rules in the general election debates prohibit audience cheering/jeering.

Oh, and they made one other point - Newt benefitted from the cheering in the SC debate, then had a flat debate where no cheering was permitted, and then they adjusted the rules so that cheering could again be allowed, and Newt got screwed when they cheered for Romney’s response against Newt’s campaign tactics.

My take? Newt’s peaked, regardless of the format, and his claims that he’ll stick around through the convention is more threat than promise.