It seems like almost all of the Republican candidates have had there moment to shine so far in the race, except Romney of course, and keeping up the trend is Newt Gingrich with a recent boost in the polls.
We thought we had lost him completely back in June, and up until recently he hasn't exactly been one of the GOP's shining stars; however, with his performance in debates Gingrich looks like he's getting his chance. As always, though, the skeptics, including some of his own long-time friends, agree that Gingrich has to stay extremely focused and disciplined and deal with media scrutiny very well in order to keep from losing this momentary leg-up. “'Newt has to remain uncommonly disciplined — totally focused, no hissy fits — and continue to be the adult that he has been during the election season so far,' said Ken Duberstein, a chief of staff in the Reagan White House and a friend of Gingrich’s for more than three decades." Another of Gingrich's former colleagues said anonymously, “The worst in Newt comes out when he is doing well.”
And Newt doesn't deny that he has a lot of work to do to ensure he doesn't make statements that come back to bite him in the you-know-what. With a past history of making comments about President Obama having a "Kenyan, anti-colonial" view of the world or at one point saying he believed in mandatory healthcare, Gingrich realises that he needs, "...to be more disciplined."
He also has vowed not to attack Romney, believing that he does not need to try and take his votes away. Gingrich wants to focus on big picture issues instead of playing dirty. That, however, does not stop others from playing dirty as he already got a taste of critisim with fliers in Iowa that served to remind the religious folk there about his three marriages. But Gingrich acknowledges that scrutiny comes with running for the presidential office and with the help of his family "coaching" him to stay "calm," he feels like he is ready to brave the storm ahead.
It will be very exciting to see if his rise in popularity will die out in the next few weeks or if we are actually starting to see the real portion of the race begin. I think between the other trailing candidates Gingrich may well have a good shot right now, how good it will be against Romney is another question, however.
No comments:
Post a Comment