Replies to post #163207 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[StephanieVanbryce]

It’s 3AM, Do You Trust Newt Gingrich?



David Frum December 9th, 2011 at 11:13 am

David Brooks makes a great point in his column today about Newt Gingrich’s temperament:

But how you believe something is as important as what you believe. It doesn’t matter if a person shares your overall philosophy. If that person doesn’t have the right temperament and character, stay away.

I’d make that same point in a slightly different way.

Presidents always aspire to set the course for the nation’s domestic governance, and some occasionally succeed: Reagan, Johnson, Obama for the first 18 months of his presidency.

More typically, however, the president finds his direction rebuffed by Congress, which does the job instead: Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Carter, Ford, Nixon, etc.

What presidents must inescapably do is respond to emergencies: eg, the financial crisis of 2008, the 9/11 terror attacks, the financial crises of 1997-98, the invasion of Kuwait, etc. And there, what usually ends up mattering most is not the president’s philosophy, but his judgment, coolness and steadiness. Those are the grounds on which Romney reassures and Gingrich terrifies.


http://www.frumforum.com/its-3am-do-you-trust-newt-gingrich

[PegnVA]

The neocons love Newt and when the media criticizes him, the neocons love him even more. Gingrich already elected one Dem president, Bill Clinton - will he repeat his act?
Poor Willard - he's been running for president since before he became gov of MA, yet now he can't get above 25% with necons no matter how often he changes his positions for their votes.

See James Carville's column on CNN.com today regarding the GOP circus...WHY THE GOP FIELD IS SO WEAK.