Nobody asked me, but...: Head scratcher

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Head scratcher - Newt Gingrich

I am confused.

It has been long established that former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is considering entering the 2008 Presidential race. And since the spring, he made it clear when he might formally jump in:

ABC News: According to Gingrich, Republicans need to realize that Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has a good chance of winning the White House if she gets her party's nomination.
"They are very effective at raking on their opponents," he said of the Clintons. "I think she has a very good chance to win the presidency."

That's fine. So how does that square with a near-endorsement?

Austin American-Statesman: It fell shy of an endorsement, to be sure, but former House Speaker Newt Gingrich lauded Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, saying those who think the New York senator can’t run the White House are “just wrong.”
“Senator Clinton is a very formidable professional. She works very hard. She has thought a long time about this,” Gingrich told reporters at the National Press Club. “The suggestion that she would not be capable of this is just wrong.”

This is far from the first time Mr. Gingrich has embraced Sen. Hillary Clinton. It is unprecedented, in that you never hear of anyone on the Left ever speaking well of those on the Right. That, in itself, is a stark contrast between Conservatives and Liberals.

But in a larger picture, while it does take the bigger person to find points of admiration in ones opponent, that does nothing to persuade the great numbers of undecideds, who (unlike most of my readers) do not follow politics except for the 8-12 weeks before election day. And in the sound-bite mentality so common theses days, those voters will lack the depth of knowledge necessary to see the big picture, and instead will only recall the negatives spoken about the candidates.

Mr. Gingrich is entitled to speak his mind, to be sure, even if he's wrong. Mrs. Clinton has no executive skills to speak of. She has never been in an elective office, She has never run a business. There is simply no evidence to back Mr. Gingrich's claim.

But if, as he as suggested, Mrs. Clinton has a very good chance to win in 2008, he'd do his Conservative values, his Party, his Country and himself a world of good if he would dismiss such idle comments.

I have gone on record regarding Mr. Gingcrich's potential run, ironically sub-titled Double Standards. While his Conservative cred is largely impeccable, he remains far from the top as being my first pick for President.