Why Gingrich Can't Win

Townhall.com ^ | March 13, 2011 | Steve Chapman

[Kaslin]

Newt Gingrich has a lot going for him if he decides to run for president -- a famous name, a record of accomplishment, a knack for raising money and a rhetorical flair that appeals to his party's conservative base. It's almost enough to make you forget his central handicap, which is that he is Newt Gingrich.

Succeed Barack Obama in the White House? Given his latest news making, he has a better chance of replacing Charlie Sheen in "Two and a Half Men."

The chief problem is not that Gingrich has been through two divorces and is married to a woman with whom he was having an affair while married to his second wife. Last week, he did himself no good by attributing his lapses to excessive work and patriotism. But Americans don't care that much about sexual probity in politicians.

They elected Bill Clinton after Gennifer Flowers came forward to say she had an affair with him. Following his impeachment over the Monica Lewinsky affair, he left office with the highest approval rating of any outgoing president going back to Dwight Eisenhower.

No, Gingrich suffers from a worse flaw: He is a demagogue, and demagogues don't get elected president of the United States. They get TV attention, they sometimes get big crowds, they even win the occasional primary. But their only essential function is to fail.

[sig229]

Scazafafava SP? I know I murdered it!

[Hardastarboard]

Sometimes Steve Chapman hits it out of the park, and sometimes he swings, misses and falls over onto the catcher, bat still in hand. This is one of those times. Newt can't win, not because he's a demagogue, but because the left hates him to the core of because of 1994, and the right semi-hates him for some of the stupid stuff he's done in his private life, as well as espousing some of the more insane leftist policies re: the environment.

Bottom line: Brilliant guy, but we can't trust him.

[NavVet]

Being a Demagogue doesn’t seem to have hurt Obama any.

The reason Newt can’t win is that he is a RINO.

[marktwain]

“The presidential historian Richard Norton Smith, in a telephone conversation, says demagoguery can be defined as “extremism married to flamboyance, and it helps if you have delusions of grandeur.” Those qualities, conspicuous in Gingrich, have shown up in other demagogues who aspired to the White House.”

I could agree that Pat Buchanan is a demagogue. But Newt Gingrich? I don't see the extremism. Maybe flamboyance. Delusions of grandeur?

Our current president breaks this meme entirely. He is clearly a demagogue. All three qualifiers are conspicuous in Barack Obama.

[AeWingnut]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RQKNH_nwM4

[freekitty]

He sold us out and we do care about his private life.

[randita]

Newt is the past. 2008 and Obama told us a lot, but one thing it screamed loud and clear was “no more old white guys”. (No offense intended for you old white guys out there.)

[Yaelle]

Because he is emotionally very needy and morally very weak. He’s the candidate most likely to toss national security to the wind if a honey trap is used on him.

[gathersnomoss]

Newt can ram his Climate Change money grab, and my vote.

[4rcane]

ginrich have a better chance as a democrat than as a republican. Republicans care about moral issues

[DCBryan1]

The real reason that Newt will NEVER be POTUS:

Climbing in bed with the enviromental nuts to perpetuate the FRAUD of manmade global warming/climatechange/manbearpig/goreacle.

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Newt is the past. 2008 and Obama told us a lot, but one thing it screamed loud and clear was “no more old white guys”.

Funny, I didn't get that message at all. The message I got was "no more RINOs."

[Vaquero]

BINGO!!!

[4rcane]

I recall Ginrich gave a good speech about GOP strategy. One of them is not get caught standing next to a democrat and smiling

[mo]

Great American...lousy candidate

[spodefly]

demagogues don't get elected president of the United States.

Huh??? You think Mr. Hope and Change, stopping the rising sea levels, fundamentally transforming America, isn't a demagogue?

Newt has pluses, including his knowledge of history and public speaking abilities. He also has some negatives, including the marriages and his Pelosi photo op. Conservatives that love to listen to Newt discussing history and ways of dealing with current issues also know Newt can flip on the RINO switch at any moment.

[ljswisc]

Yeah I don't care for him either. When he became speaker of the house his head got as big as Nancy Pelosi's still is and he shot his mouth off all the time saying things he shouldn't. He doesn't handle power very well at all! I've never cared for him.

We need someone steady and bold like Scott Walker though you all can't have him yet we need him here in Wisconsin!

[sport]

The Nancy loving bastard will not get my vote. Let the Republicans nominate him, in the end, they will nominate either him or someone equally repugnant. Either equals four more years of obama.

[spokeshave]

Yeah....someone has a tag line tat says:

Gingrich would rather sit with Pelosi than stand with Palin.