US media continues to ignore Ron Paul

The media position? - to paraphrase the old Soviet joke: “Gingrich came second; Paul came second-to-last"

Newt Gingrich Fades Fast in Iowa Polls, Ron Paul in Statistical Dead Heat

Mish’s Global Economic Analysis,

14 December, 2011

Whether or not the news media pays any attention to Ron Paul, voters do and the polls show it. Ron Paul is now essentially tied with New Gingrich in the latest Iowa poll.

Please consider Gingrich ahead in US poll, but slipping in Iowa

Republican White House hopeful Newt Gingrich has surged ahead of rival Mitt Romney nationwide, but his lead in Iowa has faded ahead of the January 3 caucuses, two new polls showed.

Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, and Romney are seeking their party's nomination to take on Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election.

The Iowa vote, which kicks off the Republican presidential nominating process, will be seen as a crucial test of strength for Gingrich, who only weeks ago took the lead from long-time frontrunner Romney.

Gingrich now has 40 percent support among likely Republican voters nationwide, far ahead of the 23 percent support for Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

National polls are not decisive in a contest fought on a state-by-state basis, but do reflect the temperature of national opinion of a particular candidate.

In Iowa, Gingrich tops a Public Policy Polling survey of likely Republican voters with 22 percent support, just slightly ahead of Texas Congressman Ron Paul with 21 percent -- a major drop from the nine-point lead he enjoyed in the previous PPP survey one week ago.

Romney's support in Iowa -- a largely rural midwestern state which barely figures in the general election but is key as the first official nominating contest -- was unchanged at 16 percent since last week.

"Newt Gingrich’s momentum is fading in Iowa," said PPP president Dean Debnam.

Gingrich has come under fire from members of the party's religious base over his admitted extramarital affairs. Both Romney and Texas Governor Rick Perry have run ads in Iowa emphasizing their family values credentials.

"When it comes to his character record, he’s a very fine, empty suit with a broken zipper," wrote Iowa pastor Albert Calaway, a member of the Truth, Values and Leadership evangelical group, according to local media.