I have always thought that Newt is a far better "behind-the-scenes" strategist than "front man." He seemed much more adept as Minority Leader when he formulated the "Contract with America" than he ever did as speaker. Don't get me wrong, this is not in any way a criticism of Newt, it's just an observation of what his strongest assets are.
I was attempting to draft a post along those lines and couldn't get my thoughts into the right words. I read on... and found you had said it perfectly!