FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
As the Florida primary comes down to the wire, Newt Gingrich finds himself trailing badly in the polls but getting support from two high-profile Republicans.
The question is whether it will do him any good.
Former presidential candidate and businessman Herman Cain endorsed Gingrich over the weekend.
He called Gingrich a "patriot" who is not afraid of bold ideas.
Cain – who pulled off a surprising win in a Florida straw poll last summer – remains popular among grass-roots conservatives.
But he dropped out of the race in December amid allegations of sexual harassment and marital infidelity.
Then there's Sarah Palin. While she hasn't formally endorsed anyone, it sure seems like the former governor of Alaska is rooting for Gingrich.
Palin is calling on Republicans to vote for Gingrich to "shake up" the establishment "if for no other reason to rage against the machine, vote for Newt, annoy a liberal."
Palin has described the establishment Republicans backing Romney as "cannibals."
While Palin says she respects Mitt Romney, she says there are serious concerns about his record as a conservative. Palin says this primary should not be rushed to an end, adding, "we need to vet this."
You mean the way Palin was vetted for the vice presidency four years ago?
Meanwhile, Gingrich may need all the help he can get in Florida.
Four polls in a row there show Romney with a double-digit lead over Gingrich; the latest one shows Romney up by 14 points.
Here’s my question to you: How much will Sarah Palin and Herman Cain help Newt Gingrich?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
June:
Let’s see… you have a failed VP candidate and a man who left the presidential race after he was accused of sexual harassment and having an affair, supporting a man who was having an affair with his second wife while married to his first wife and then having an affair with his third wife while having still married to his second wife. Can you say "birds of a feather?"
Joy in Texas:
The endorsement may help him with the extreme right wing base, but most Republicans if they have any brains know Gingrich is like a stick of dynamite and could blow at anytime. I think Palin and Cain are pretty inconsequential now.
Jimmy:
The Cain and Palin endorsements will help Newt Gingrich get louder applause from the same group applauding him now at the debates. Ideas like putting poor children to work and colonizing the moon are not helping Mr. Gingrich. Newt should abandon the futuristic ideas and start proposing some down to earth ideas about putting average Americans back to work.
Steve:
Zip. Zilch, and Nada. The kind of voter who was attracted by Palin and Cain is already in Newt's camp. They like bombastic, over-the-top, attack dog rhetoric and Newt is the master of it.
Marcy in Florida:
I don't think they will be of any help. These two need help themselves.
David in Virginia:
I really think that if they endorse Newt, they should get a thank-you note from Mitt. Herm lost his political mojo in S.C. with his Colbert endorsement antics. Palin morphed from Hockey Mom from Hell to TV pundit. And you know where TV pundits sit in the value chain, don't you, Jack?
