(Cartoon of Newt as Megamind courtesy of DonkyHotey, via Flickr)
We have another Goat Rodeo in Florida tonight and it is likely that Newt Gingrich will do better there than the one on Monday. How can I say that with confidence? Simple, it seems likely that CNN will not admonish the crowd not to applaud or yell out, as Brian Williams did.
I’ve been saying for a couple of weeks that a lot of Newts perceived prowess as a debater depends on the feed back from the crowd. He has always been a demagogue, and he knows what lines will pull the Republican base to their feet. Beating up on the media is such a no brainer it is kind of surprising that other participants in the Rodeos have not used it.
It is so central to Newt’s ability to function that he actually told Fox and Friends that he would consider not participating in any debates where the audience was not allowed to express its approval or disapproval. He is said:
“I wish in retrospect I’d protested when Brian Williams took them out of it because I think it’s wrong,” Mr. Gingrich said. “And I think he took them out of it because the media is terrified that the audience is going to side with the candidates against the media, which is what they’ve done in every debate.”
And
“We’re going to serve notice on future debates,” he told Fox. “We’re just not going to allow that to happen. That’s wrong. The media doesn’t control free speech. People ought to be allowed to applaud if they want to.”
There are several things that are just flatly wrong with this. Imagine what great TV it would have been for Newt to get into a fight with the moderator about the rules of the debate that was starting!
It would have shown off his pathological condition of ambition without discipline as well as giving and opening for all the other candidates to pile on him for making a fuss at the time they were all at an event they all agreed to the rules of in advance.
Then there is the free speech issue. Newt, who claims to be a historian but really doesn’t understand history, doesn’t understand the law very well. This free speech trope is one that Sarah Palin might (and has) trotted out.
The fact of the matter is that there is no guarantee of free speech rights by a private enterprise like a news organization running a debate. Free speech is only guaranteed when it is the government that is infringing it, private companies can and always have been able to limit your speech on pain of ejection or other sanction.
Sure it is all part of Newt’s shtick about the media (interesting that he went on Fox “News” to criticize the media, apparently Newt understands they are propaganda and not news) and he wants to keep the fires high. After all it is not his policy that is getting him lots of praise from the Republican base, but his sparing with the moderators. Still this is not a long term winner for him. He can try to marginalize the media, but if they start to hate him that makes it a hell of a lot harder for him to win, if lightning strikes and he actually gets the nomination.
But all of this shows another character flaw (I think this guy is going for some kind of record) in old Newton Leroy.
It is almost a form of bi-polar disorder. When he can get immediate positive feed back he stands straighter is more likely to be confident and aggressive. The way that Mitt Romney backed him into a corner and then kept him there on Monday shows just how much the disgraced Speaker depends on believing that other people like him and support him for his confidence.
As someone who acted for 20 years I have some sympathy for that. It is always easier to give a great performance when you know the audience is coming along on the journey with you, and having a huge room of silence can be intimidating.
Still we are not talking about a play, where the worst thing that can happen is that it is bad tonight (or more likely this afternoon, matinees suck!) and some paying customers are disappointed. There is a lot more at stake when one is the President of the United States.
Running for president requires a healthy ego. After all by throwing ones hat into the ring, one is saying “I am the best person out of 300 million to run this nation” that is a big statement to make. To have someone who requires constant validation of their ideas and knowledge that the people they are in front of love what they are saying to be effective is a recipe for disaster.
Most of the time the president does not speak before crowds that are going to cheer at every applause line. He certainly does not when facing the press or talking with world leaders. If Newt requires such a boost it is a sure sign that he is not a man we could ever trust with a job that makes him, if not the most, then one of the most powerful people in the world.
It all comes back to ambition without discipline. If he can not face the very mild adversity of having to present his ideas without the support of the crowd, without yahoos cheering his deflection of questions on, then how in the world will he be able to hold up against the pressures of a job that turns the hair of even youngish men like President Obama gray within a year?
He will probably get what he wants in tonight’s debate, but it will not help him in the general election debates where silence is the rule and if he does decide to skip debates where silence is the rule, then he will never even get that far.
If he wants the smell of the grease paint and the roar of the crowd, I am pretty sure that there is a local community theater that will take him on. If he really wants to be president then he will have to do better than this.
The floor is yours.