The Softer Side of Newt
Troy Senik ·
Dec 30, 2011 at 1:18pm
One of the things that has rankled me throughout this campaign has been the widespread talking point that the more familiar someone is with Newt Gingrich, the less they like him. Having written for Newt, that wasn't my experience at all. Whether you love him or hate him, watch this video from a forum in Iowa earlier today and recognize that there is a beating heart to the man that rivals his brain and his lungs:
- Comment (17)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (2)
Comments :
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
I'll have more to say on this after Iowa, but I actually think the problem with the past month has been Newt trying too hard to be likeable, when it was the angry Newt Republicans loved all along.
Apr '11
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
OK. He's real. So are these tears.
Aug '10
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
Iowa .....eh ( don't let it bother you Newt ) It's Des Moines Jake.
What's the big deal. Anyplace there's even a chance of people actually giving a majority to Ron Paul shouldn't be considered as telling of anything other than what's been going on within it's borders. And that is 4-5 years grassroots Paulian work.
Thomas Sowell, Art Laffer will tell you that this is the smartest,most experienced guy in the room. The MSM will do their best to make him a porcupine, and the GOP hierarchy may, may have some feelings about it, but so what ? The voters need to send someone in who can rectify things. If he can cry good. He can't cry like a Bush. That's a good thing because they were soft in the end, especially when Paulson and his gang rolled over the admin.
Edited on Dec 30, 2011 at 2:00pmRe: The Softer Side of Newt
Certainly more convincing than Hillary's tearing up 4 years ago in New Hampshire, anyway.
Aug '10
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
Or how about Bill Clinton's crying act at Ron Brown's funeral ?
May '10
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
Who couldn't love Newt after that? But loving Newt and being comfortable with him as president are two entirely different things.
This clip confirms still more what those of us who deeply admire Newt, yet also have deep misgivings about Newt as president, suspect: that he's a wonderful man and an intensely emotional and brilliant man, but one who has a manic nature (for which his mother's bipolar disorder provides further evidence) that , while an amazing asset when channeled, comes with profound risks.
Newt-as-president is a gamble of the first order, akin to putting an Eisenhower-free Patton in charge of Allied Forces. A potential stroke of genius, yes, but just as likely a disaster -- and hence a profoundly unconservative thing to do.
Jan '11
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
Complex human beings, particularly those capable of broad spectrum thinking, are big targets.
Sep '10
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
This clip confirms still more what those of us who deeply admire Newt, yet also have deep misgivings about Newt as president, suspect: that he's a wonderful man and an intensely emotional and brilliant man, but one who has a manic nature (for which his mother's bipolar disorder provides further evidence) that , while an amazing asset when channeled, comes with profound risks.
Very well put Scott. That does, indeed, explain a lot.
Mar '11
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
Not to worry - we have as President a man with total control of his emotions (and his pants are sharply creased).
Jul '11
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
Maybe I am just being old school here, but I don't want a crying President at least not in public and on the air unless it is at a funeral. I think this touchy feely stuff gets us in trouble on the world stage as others perceive it as weakness.
May '10
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
David Williamson
Not to worry - we have as President a man with total control of his emotions (and his pants are sharply creased). · Dec 30 at 4:52pm
Cute, I guess, if I'd made the case that self control is sufficient for an effective presidency -- but of course I didn't.
Oct '10
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
Troy, how many others like you are there? There's just so many anecdotal reports of former and current Congressmen and their staffers hating the guy.
Dec '10
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
Um, Newt's adopted isn't he? That pretty much rules out a genetic link with his mother's bipolar disorder. I'd attribute this particular episode to exhaustion, and, well, having a heart.
May '10
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
"Hating" might not be the right word, Joseph. Most, best I can tell, just think he's ill-suited to the presidency.
Good catch, WC (although ADHD, bipolar, etc are also statistically higher in adopted kids, too, but I won't go there).
But the point of my comment was not that "crying = instability". Not at all. It's that this clip reveals his deep and obvious goodness, a quality that many of us have known to be there, even while considering him an unwise choice for pres.
Jun '11
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
Turned me off completely.. much like my reaction to John Boehner's bawling at the drop of.. you-name-it.
Dec '10
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
Great. So Newt's too erratic to be president and Mitt's too milquetoast to beat Obama. Someone remind me how we got here?
Oct '10
Re: The Softer Side of Newt
Mitch Daniels declined to run. So did Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, and Haley Barbour. Claire put it best when she commented on the historic abnormality of a group of talented leaders "dangerously disinclined to seek power."