Newt Gingrich, seen here being attacked by a big "desperate" bully
Thank goodness Newt doesn't want to stoop to negative campaigning. For now he's sticking to more positive phrases like
"desperate" and "dishonest":
“I just find that sad as a way to run for president,” Gingrich said of Romney’s debate performance. “Watching some desperate guy throw wild punches doesn’t get him very close to the presidency. People want stability, they want honesty, they want accuracy.”
He added, “I think last night, people got a chance to see just how desperate Mitt Romney is.”
Now when I think about Newt Gingrich, I have to say that "stability" (from the thrice-married guy), "honesty" (from the guy reprimanded for ethics violations when he was speaker) and "accuracy" (from the world's most confused historian) are not the first things that come to mind. I mean, seriously.
Gingrich has been called, by those that have worked with him, "condescending," "dismissive," "pedantic" and "superficial" (and that's just one guy), but this article from two months ago I think really captures the silliness here:
By any measure, stability is scarce on Gingrich's resume. During his speakership there were two government shutdowns, a well-publicized snit over his seating on Air Force One, his push for Clinton's impeachment while in an extramarital affair of his own, and lieutenants plotting his overthrow.
In 1998, shortly after winning re-election, Gingrich announced in a closed GOP caucus meeting that he would "bench" himself, and left Congress.
Throughout, there's been petulance, policy wobbles, and a tendency to cast himself in outsized terms.
As has been frequently noted, Newt's vision of himself is considerably different from the view others have of him. He is his own biggest admirer, after all. No, his only self-criticism about his debate performance comes in the form of... no, he has none. He talked to his grandchildren before the debate and they said to be nice, so he was nice:
“Robert and I talked about what do you do when there’s a bully in the playground? He said, ‘Look, you’ve got to smile, you’ve got to look straight forward.Don’t let him intimidate you.’
Look, with all due deference to the grandkids, I don't think Mitt Romney could successfully bully a sixth grader. Of all the descriptions you could attach to him (robotic, aloof, out of touch, dull)—no, I think nearly everyone out on the presidential campaign could be characterized as a bully except Mr. Automated Presidential Candidate version 1.0.
This is what I enjoy about Newt Gingrich. He is so very self absorbed that he even projects his own flaws onto others. Sure, he might be an egotistical, mean-spirited son of a bitch with a Napoleon complex, always the smartest person in the room, and able to mount whatever attacks he likes on others and it still counts as 'nice,' but the best part is his toddler-level lack of self awareness. Did you hear that the reason for his three marriages is that he just loves his damn country too darn much? Yeah. That sort of thing.
I'll tell you right now: I want Newt Gingrich to get the nomination. It would be infinitely more fun than having to listen to the steam-powered, money-fueled Mitt talking point machine. It has the distinct potential to be hilarious.
Yes, if he actually won the presidency it would probably lead to the end of the world, but it would at least be fun to watch. We would all be sitting in our cardboard huts, tending to our radiation burns and using six-legged chickens as legal tender, but we'd be thinking, "Ha! That President Newt is such a card! I can't wait to hear what he says next!"