The 5 Obstacles Between Gingrich And The Nomination

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has Mitt Romney worried, but to defeat the former Massachusetts governor, he must clear major hurdles.

Gingrich’s vision for the future, his superb debating skills and his bashing of the media has won over many in the GOP base. Polls show that Gingrich is surging in the early states, and his timing could not be better.

In the 2007-2008 Republican primary, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) started to mount his comeback around Thanksgiving. Like McCain, Gingrich is peaking at the right time.

But all candidates have flaws, and Gingrich is no exception. The good news for Gingrich is that he recognizes that the spotlight is on him, and he has learned from the mistakes of Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry, who all stumbled when their campaigns were the hot stories.

Can Gingrich win the GOP nomination? Anything is possible in politics and Gingrich's numbers continue to rise. Yet, Romney is still the betting favorite. Intrade.com, a predictions market, pegs Romney’s chances of capturing the Republican nod at 45 percent while Gingrich is second at 35 percent.

The ex-Speaker’s chances will improve if he can clear the five obstacles standing in his way.

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