Out of the Billowing Smoke and Dust of Tweets and Trivia Emerged…Gingrich Rick Perry?

Looks like noted non-expert on libertarian happiness Newt Gingrich is rapidly losing his war against the future. RealClearPolitics reports that the GOP presidential contender's entire senior staff has suddenly quit his campaign:

Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich's campaign manager, senior strategists and key aides in early delegate-selection states all resigned on Thursday, a mass exodus that leaves his hopes of winning the Republican nomination in tatters.

Rick Tyler, Gingrich's spokesman, said he, campaign manager Rob Johnson and senior strategists had resigned, along with aides in the early primary and caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Other officials said Gingrich was informed that his entire high command was quitting in a meeting earlier in the day. They cited differences over the direction of the campaign but were not more specific.

Between this and the kerfuffle over his awkward rejection of Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan, Gingrich has managed a mildly spectacular early flameout, complete with awesomely weird, quasi-Lovecraftian press statements from departing spox Rick Tyler. The last embers of the Gingrich fire are still burning, though; he claims he'll stay in the race.

But how long can he last with his campaign collapsing around him? Gingrich's campaign has always seemed as much like a vehicle for personal attention-seeking as a serious bid for the presidency. Gingrich has gotten plenty of attention, of course, though not exactly the kind he wanted. But at this point, it seems unlikely that many people will continue to take his campaign seriously even if they did in the first place. 

Meanwhile, for much of the media, it's on to the next one already. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whose senior aides were working for Gingrich, may rise out of the ashes of the Gingrich campaign:

After RealClearPolitics first reported last month that aides to Texas Gov. Rick Perry have been putting out feelers for a presidential bid, many pundits dismissed the prospects of a Perry presidential bid, noting that his top political aides were already working for Newt Gingrich's campaign.

Those aides have now resigned from Gingrich's presidential bid, and Perry has admitted publicly that he is actively considering a White House run.

Adding more fuel to the fire, a source close to Perry's political team told RealClearPolitics on Thursday afternoon that the Texas governor is "leaning toward getting in" to the race.

Out of the billowing smoke and dust of tweets and trivia emerged…Rick Perry?