Posted on 08/03/2007 12:48:30 PM PDT by AfterManyASummer
He is a very smart, conservative man, however.
I am a reformed Fredhead (thanks to his association with Spencer Abraham), however, I think a Fred/Newt (Beauty/Brains) ticket might be the only thing that can stop Hillary.
Newt Gingrich always reminded me of Bill Clinton -- narcissistic, arrogant, and self-centered. (This seems to be a definitive feature of "boomers," especially boomer politicians of both parties.)
That's why Bill Clinton was able to thrash him so regularly -- Clinton recognized that they were kindred spirits, and knew exactly how to manipulate Gingrich, including how to steer him into making disastrous mistakes (e.g., medicare reform and the budget showdown).
I don't think Gingrich ever did recognize the similarities between himself and Clinton: his arrogance led him time and again to act as if he could beat Clinton at his own game.
Very, VERY dumb thing to say. I don't care if it's taken out of context or if it's not what he meant, Newt should know better.
Totally. I like how Newt said recently he'll get in the race if necessary. If someone else emerges who is capable of beating the Dems, he'll sit it out. But if not, he'll graciously step in and save us. As if...
He’s been going in the rino direction for two years.
Someone should show Newt the statistics of global terrorism going way down since this war began.
If I consider Iraq and Afghanistan to be simple battles in an overall effort to eliminate terrorism, then I can see his point. I disagree with him, but I see his point.
His point, in that case, is that we are not taking any long-term actions to stop terror. These are things that Freepers are already aware of:
- We are not eliminating the source of terrorist funding.
- We are not controlling our own borders.
- We are not doing anything about demographics.
But for Newt to call the war “Phoney” is, well, phoney, and meant to grab headlines. The war is real. The stakes are real. And, at present, the battlefronts are on the enemy’s soil and are consuming all of their resources.
I think Newt is bitter. He’s unelectable and bitter and pathetic.
Pretty stupid on Newt’s part - he pulled an Edwards.
“Et tu, Newt?”
Exactly!
Earth to Gingrich: Lay off the peanuts! You are turning into Jimmy Carter!
You are what you eat; goober boy.
“What is he smoking?”
Peanut hulls wrapped in paper recycled from Jimmy Carter’s skid marked drawers.
I've thought a lot myself about this comparison betweent the two of them...the TWO smartest kids in the class.
But Clinton was a master in his "people skills," however much we here despise him and think him phony. His act sold well enough to make him a triumphant politician.
Newt, by contrast, has a need to show off which completely swamps any instincts he has as a politican and leader. Such a waste for our side.
The author has twisted what he said, I think. I don’t think that Gingrich meant that Bush is waging a phony war. He meant that the US in general is waging a phony war. And what he meant by that is that we are pulling our punches. Not that it’s a neoconservative conspiracy.
We say we are fighting a war, and yet, we are not fighting it like we are serious. For example, we now have rules that restrict the president from intercepting terrorist phone calls from Pakistan to the US. I guaranty you that if the Japanese had called someone in the US during WWII, Roosevelt would not have required US intelligence to get a warrant before intercepting the call.
Nostradamus Newt has been itching for headlines for awhile. He said he would not run for President if Fred Thompson ran. Hence, looking for a VP or Cabinet position if FT wins (fred will run).
Now if he continues to speak out against the war, there is an Executive Order that can take away all of his assets and toss him in the brink.
“Newt is a very bright man ...”
However bright he is, he is not nearly as bright as he thinks he is.
I think Gingrich's value to the Republican Party is as a gadfly. But to penetrate the hide of an elephant requries a big stinger.
I like Gingrich, but I don't think he is electable. He speaks too frankly for the mushy middle. And the drive-by media will never treat him fairly. Do Republicans need to distance themselves from George Bush? Yes!
Agree 100%.
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