Newt the Sophist Has an Answer for Everything
When Newt Gingrich advised the Occupy Wall Street people to "get a job, right after you take a bath," he brought the house down. Likewise each time he has pushed back against a debate moderator, culminating in his cluster bomb defense against John King's inept effort to begin the January 19th debate with a zinger about Gingrich's ex-wife--a moment which, probably more than any other, propelled Gingrich to victory in South Carolina. (See Judi McLeod's two-part series on this one, here and here.) In both cases, as well as in other instances, he said the right thing, and said it effectively. The question with Gingrich, in these instances and always, is why he said what he said, and whether he meant it.- Monday, January 23, 2012