If Newt announced he was going to make a major announcement, the press would think he’s bowing out and show up to dance on the grave of conservatism.
Then if, instead, he introduces Sarah Palin as his running mate... well that would be monumentally spectacular. He might even win the rest of the primaries.
Well, Palin did endorse Gingrich, didn't she?
The chances of Gingrich naming Palin as his VP are very low, but I can see possibilities. They do have a common background of being “break-up-the-good-old-boy network” people. Palin did write a book including her annoyance at Alaska Right to Life not being allowed to endorse her because she wasn't part of the Alaska GOP establishment.
It could work.
As for the response from the other side, it might include the following:
* “The snow and sunshine ticket”
* “The Ph.D. and six-year B.A. ticket”
* “Two losers, top and bottom of the ticket.”
* “Now we all know for sure that Newt wants to be the smartest guy in the room and can't tolerate intellectual competition.”
* “Gingrich wants to secede, but when the South walks they need Alaska oil, so he'll let Palin be an honorary Dixie Chick. After all, her hubby already likes the Alaska Independence Party.”
My point here is not to bash Palin, but to point out that Palin carries baggage which is unique to her. The hatred against Rick Santorum doesn't even come close to the hatred against Sarah Palin.
I am not necessarily opposed to a Palin presidency, though experience counts, and I believe she needs more “time in the chair.” However, I think I could support a Palin vice-presidency, and while I hadn't thought of a Gingrich-Palin ticket, I'm the first one to say that a radical game change at this point is needed. Palin might be the needed game change, and it would almost immediately neutralize the evangelical objections to Gingrich's moral background.
If Gingrich decides to name Palin as his vice-president I'll back the ticket and start trying to tell everyone I can that Gingrich has shown he's serious about conservative Christian issues or he wouldn't have taken the risk to put Palin on his ticket.
But let's not kid ourselves that everyone else is as pro-Palin as Freepers. She ignites tremendous negative response for a variety of reasons, some of them legitimate but most of them nonsense.
At this point Gingrich probably needs anything he can get to pull his campaign out of the dustbin, and naming Palin as VP could do that. It's a high-risk gamble — though intriguingly, the biggest negatives Palin has (lack of professional political experience, weak educational background, etc.) are the precise areas where Gingrich is strongest, and Gingrich's weak points are where Palin is strongest.
And if Gingrich wins the presidency, after four years of daily classes from Professor Gingrich, anyone who hasn't learned a lot must have rocks for brains. I think four years of education from Gingrich would be very helpful to Palin, and probably everybody else dealing with Gingrich on a regular basis. I have no doubt that Gingrich would be a better professor than anyone Palin took in college, and she'd learn a great deal from him.
The more I think about it, the more I think the idea of nominating Palin has some real potential and they could make a good team.
Probably won't happen, but this whole campaign has been strange, and we're down to the point that nothing but high-risk gambles are likely to pay off.