I'm no Expert, but this Does Not Make Any Sense

This is my first attempt at an editorial blog.  I am no expert, this is just my opinion, so please bare with me.

Last Saturday I watched the Republican Presidential nominee debate that took place in Iowa and could not help but be perplexed.  Coming into this nomination season President Barack Obama seemed easily beatable.  The economy was still in the tank, the Afghanistan War continued to drag on, and Congress could not seem to pass a bill about anything.  Obama's popularity was in the mid forties and seemed stalled there.  All the Republicans needed was a strong, electable nominee and the Presidency seemed easily winnable for the Republicans.
After watching the debate I was utterly baffled as to the nominees that were up for election.  Newt Gingrich, the current front runner, is running for the nomination of a party that wants a political outsider, and yet he is the former speaker of the house and a former lobbyist.  Some of his views are rational (see immigration) and some of his views are extreme (see Palestine).  Yet through all of this, he remains the front runner to challenge President Obama.  Mitt Romney, the candidate who seems stuck in second place, managed to put his foot in his mouth during the debate.  While the $10,000 debate bet seems like a nice joke, but it has become the punching bag for both parties.  Mitt Romney seemed like the nominee who had the best shot at defeating President Obama.  Yet the moderate businessman continues to track downward through a combination of personal gaffes and what appears to be distrust from the Republican establishment.
This being said I do not understand what the Republican party is doing.  They had a chance to take the momentum from their 2010 election and push it on through onto the White House.  However the Republicans seem to be doing the exact opposite.  The candidates are attacking each other and themselves and none of them can statistically beat President Obama as the status-quo currently stands.
It is still December so things have the potential to change drastically between now and November, but as things currently stand consider me confused.