J.F. at DiA marks Rick Perry's departure from the race:
Mr Perry's problem has always been the culture-warrior's problem: only opposition moves him. He can rile a crowd as well as—and in the same way as—Pat Buchanan. Let a thousand pitchforks gleam! But then what? Ask Ron Paul why he wants to be president and he’ll bang on about fractional banking and the Fed and sound money and raw milk until he dislocates his shoulders from excessive twitching. … Ask Mr Perry why he wanted to be president and all he could tell you is how awful the other guys are. That was necessary but insufficient. The crowd knew it, and apparently he does too now.
Dave Weigel expects Gingrich to benefit:
Maggie Haberman's sources tell her that Perry endorse Newt Gingrich on his way out the door. But Perry's exit was a de facto Gingrich endorsement anyway. His strength, according to Dawson, was going to come from the Piedmont and from parts of the state with big veteran communities. With Perry out, there's 5 percent or so of the electorate that 1) are dead-set against Mitt Romney and 2) want to cast some kind of anti-establishment vote (as hard as that is to define), and there's Gingrich, puffed up from Sarah Palin's endorsement, ready to reel 'em in.
The Dish 