Here Comes Newt Gingrich Again

To paraphrase Mark Twain, “Rumors of Newt Gingrich’s political death were greatly exaggerated.”

“Gingrich presidential campaign implodes” — This headline in the Washington Post on June 9 reflected a media consensus: After the mass resignation of his main advisers, the former speaker of the House of Representatives could say goodbye to the Republican nomination for the presidential election of 2012.

Newt Gingrich experienced one of the worst beginnings of a presidential campaign in the United States modern history. The revolt of his team was caused by multiple factors, including his decision to forsake voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, while among other factors he went on a two-week cruise in the Greek islands with Callista, his third wife.

This trip was awkward, or maybe even suicidal from a political standpoint, because it added to the recent revelations of Newt Gringrich’s expensive tastes. In 2005 and 2006, this defender of moderate government spending accumulated a debt of between $250,001 to $500,000 from Tiffany & Co., the New York jeweler whose name is synonymous with luxury and refinement.

All this seemed to be fatal for a man who very few experts gave the slightest chance of being nominated the Republican candidate for 2012 presidential election. “He is an icon of the past. And he carries heavy baggage,”* Dante Scala, a political scientist at the University of New Hampshire, told the press in May, the day the 67-year-old politician announced his candidacy.

Favorable Polls

Newt Gingrich may not win the Republican nomination, but it must be admitted that his popularity is experiencing a boost among Republican voters. According to two national polls released Friday, he has left last place and is now roughly tied with Mitt Romney and Herman Cain.

His rise in the polls coincides with the relative decline of Herman Cain supporters; for two weeks Cain has been defending himself against charges of sexual harassment by at least four women.

The return of Newt Gingrich in favor of Republicans shows their tireless efforts to find an alternative to Mitt Romney, who remains suspect to many conservatives. Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry seemed to embody this choice, but they did not last long at the head of the pack.

The Candidate of “Profound Changes”

After the publication of polls in favor of his candidacy Friday, Newt Gingrich was quick to target Mitt Romney, calling him a “good manager,” a critique disguised as compliment. “If what you want to do is manage Washington, I think he would be a pretty good manager candidate,” he said, addressing hundreds of voters in New Hampshire. “But if what you want to do is fundamentally, profoundly change Washington, I think that is a different job.”

It is understood that Newt Gingrich sees himself as a man capable of “deep” and “fundamental” change; two adjectives he uses with confidence. He also brags about being the architect of a “conservative revolution” that allowed the Republican Party to take control of the House of Representatives in 1994, for the first time in 40 years.

As speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999, Gingrich now claims authorship of several projects associated with the presidency of Bill Clinton, among them welfare reform, the balancing of the budget and the economic boom of the ‘90s.

On the political front, there is however no doubt that the 42nd president overran Newt Gingrich, who gave up his position and seat in the House after the defeat of the Republicans in the midterm elections in November 1998.

Criticized for what he made out of the Monica Lewinsky case, Gingrich was later accused of pure hypocrisy; while his staff submitted a proposal to impeach Bill Clinton for lying about his relationship with the former intern at the White House, he was cheating on his second wife with one of his employees.

The past appears to be among the obstacles which will challenge Newt Gingrich. Nevertheless, this former history teacher has to believe, more than ever, in the chance to assume the role of his model, Charles de Gaulle, who returned to power after years of political exile.

*Editor’s Note: This quote, accurately translated, could not be verified.