the vote, are ron paul well behind in second place with 18 points. santorum, gingrich, and huntsman are all way back in single digits. so this is an early poll, coming right out of this, jonathan. it seems to me what s going to have to happen for this to be interesting, check me on this is, romney will get 35, at least, but if he s held to the 30s, and as you say, santorum pulls into the 20s, so it s 35/25, that s a big night for santorum, right? that s probably the best-case scenario for santorum. i think mark s right. i think romney s rivals need some luck. they need romney, neither a debate or on the trail, something to happen for him, to him, rather, for him to fade. in south carolina? it can be here or in south carolina. you guys watched him as closely as i did. i was trailing him around in the parking lot out there in iowa. this guy is so careful now, first of all, he won t fall into any trap you set for him. he won t speak french, obviously, in public. you tried that.
can i jump in? no, you can t. chris, you ve got to reject the premise can i throw one thing? james first. reject the premise of the 43%. that s not the standard. the standard is going to be how close is someone going to be, who is in second and who is in third and who is in fourth. let me go back to my question. if it s a final vote next tuesday where the home team, romney is 35 and strum is 25, is that a win, jennifer, for santorum? yes, it s a win for santorum. i also want to point out gingrich is going negative. he said he wouldn t do it, and i think he ll look like the old newt gingrich and when he said romney was lying he sounded like bob dole saying tell them to stop lying about my record. sometimes when people say the other guy is lying, they re telling the truth. what do you think 35/25, a win for santorum? if he knocks other people out, a good day for rick santorum. we ve built the bar at 35/25 is a win. ten-point spread. anyway, thank you, guys. thanks
the premise can i throw one thing? santorum? yes, it s a win for santorum. i also want to point out gingrich is going negative. he said he wouldn t do it, and i think he ll look like the old newt gingrich and when he said romney was lying he sounded like bob dole saying tell them to stop lying about my record. sometimes when people say the other guy is lying, they re telling the truth. what do you think 35/25, a win for santorum? if he knocks other people out, a good day for rick santorum. we ve built the bar at 35/25 is a win. ten-point spread. anyway, thank you, guys. thanks you james and thank you, jennifer. see you again soon. up next, jon stewart s take on the republican race is like a candy love ease dream, you know the whitman samplers? that s what it s like.
santorum has to do well enough up here in new hampshire this tuesday to be strong enough in south carolina to win. absolutely. can he win if if gingrich is still floating around and perry is still floating around? well, that makes it difficult. as i said, if rick santorum is going to be the guy they are going to rally around, he s got to do well here. just getting into double digits, by the way, is not enough. i think if he finishes behind ron paul, for example, that s a disaster. right. for santorum. right now he s starting at 43 for romney and he s 5. yes. how high does he have to climb between 5 and 43? listen, politics is not fair. the expectations are raised for him now. is 35/25 good enough for him? is that a win? that would be a dream come true for rick santorum, are you kidding, if he could get 25%. let s set the bar. everybody tries to set the bar and do it here on hardball. steve schmidt, a 35/25 result up here for romney in first, santorum in seco
behind in second place with 18 points. santorum, gingrich, and huntsman are all way back in single digits. so this is an early poll, coming right out of this, jonathan. it seems to me what s going to have to happen for this to be interesting, check me on this is, romney will get 35, at least, but if he s held to the 30s, and as you say, santorum pulls into the 20s, so it s 35/25, that s a big night for santorum, right? that s probably the best-case scenario for santorum. i think mark s right. i think romney s rivals need some luck. they need romney, neither a debate or on the trail, something to happen for him, to him, rather, for him to fade. in south carolina? it can be here or in south carolina. you guys watched him as closely as i did. i was trailing him around in the parking lot out there in iowa. this guy is so careful now, first of all, he won t fall into any trap you set for him. he won t speak french, obviously, in public. you tried that. i tried that. i couldn t