Deep S^*t for Mitt?

Mitt Romney has the deep pockets to win the nomination and the fact he's the GOP establishment's guy to take on President Obama in the General Election is a huge bonus. The one thing Mitt doesn't have - and frankly, has never had in his quest for the presidency, was the support of his base. Try as he might to say that he's a Reagan conservative-Republican, the heart of the matter is that the conservative base just doesn't like him, or trust him to carry out conservative policies. Today's polling numbers in his home state of Michigan all point to one very surprising outcome: he may actually lose this race.

Santorum's gain is striking, but eerily reminiscent of similar surges by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich that failed to persist, most recently in Florida in the aftermath of his South Carolina victory. The movement to Santorum in Michigan is consistent with the trend in national polling, but the recent volatility in the Republican race is a warning that Monday's polling snapshot may not persist.

The two new surveys were conducted using different methods and produced different estimates, but both show Santorum surging into the lead. A live interviewer poll conducted by the American Research Group (ARG) from Feb. 11 to 12 shows Santorum leading Romney by just 7 percentage points (33 to 27 percent), followed by Gingrich (21 percent) and Texas Rep. Ron Paul (12 percent).

An automated, recorded voice survey conducted by the Democratic Party-affiliated firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) gives Santorum a much larger, 15 percentage point lead over Romney (39 to 24 percent), and shows roughly half as much support for Gingrich (11 percent) as the ARG poll but exactly the same support for Paul (12 percent).

Adding insult to injury,  he's trailing behind Santorum now in the national polls. So, is this the final ditch effort by the conservative base to rally behind someone who's name isn't Willard Mitt Romney, or will this end up becoming the bubblegum hit of the week before they realize they have no alternative but stand behind Romney? Stay tuned...