Really? As I understand it, it was because he wasn't a member of the "good ol' boys club" of the GOP/Congress ("Ruling Class," to use Codevilla's term) that the GOP conspired to bounce him. IIRC, Romney claims that they wanted to replace him with someone "more conservative"; what they replaced him with was Hastert (who, BTW, figures prominently in Schweizer's Throw Them All Out as making money hand over fist in Congressional "insider trading") who managed promptly to lose the GOP majority and who I don't recall as being very effective in any way. Some conservative.
On a related note, I find utterly ludicrous Romney's charge that Newt was "lobbying" for Fannie/Freddie: Dems hate Newt and establishment GOPers hate him possibly even more. Precisely what influence would he have been able to peddle with people whose response would have been "Get that SOB out of my office!"? Surely, lobbyists have to have a friendly relationship with those they're lobbying. OTOH, it's more than plausible that anyone would hire Newt for his brains, i.e., as a consultant.
Equally ludicrous that Newt supporters bash Santorum for working on “K Street” when what he was working for was to get conservatives hired into policy influencing jobs
And for endorsements, well we overlooked Sarah endorsing McCain didnt we. As if her personal payback was worth more than getting that sniveling senile goat cashiered out of the US Senate ... but lets bash Santorum who endorsed the odious Specter .... because he thought he was more likely to win, and because he thought even a nominal GOP Specter would be the better PA Senator/judicial committee member when it came to shepherding the next Supreme Court nominee through the Senate. The man miscalculated. Which I guess Sarah, Newt nor Romney never have.
Fact is, there is no knight whose armor is pure white
But there is one man on the stage who has personally walked the walk when it comes to recognizing the sanctity of life by accepting the sorrow and granting the grace of birth to a pure heart that had only moments to beat. And now another who at 3 has outlived her life expectancy
That takes a type of moral courage few politicians have and when people meet someone like that, it shows. Sarah Palin being another one of those few.
Newt is a lot more entertaining. But there is a reason he is not winning when going head to head with Santorum.