However, he said something yesterday in South Carolina that made me wonder: are we seeing a new candor emerging, or is this just another phase of calculating what will impress voters?
I can see the wheels in that over-sized head turning: what people liked in Herman Cain was his seeming honesty and candor.
So now Newt will be honest and candid.
Here's what I'm referring to: He was asked to comment on some complex aspect of Obama's AIDS policy. Newt said that this was new to him and he didn't have enough information to answer her question.
"One of the real changes that comes when you start running for President -- as opposed to being an analyst on Fox -- is I have to actually know what I'm talking about."People laughed, and he then added: "It's a severe limitation."
Woah, here, now. People speak truth in unguarded moments, especially to get a laugh. This may be one of those moments. That's a damning indictment not only of Fox but of his own role as a political talking head.
He's confessing to just making stuff up? -- as I have been saying for some time. It adds credence to the recent poll that showed people who watch Fox News are less well informed than those who don't watch any news at all.
But, you see, the thing about Newt is this: He wants you to accept him as he presents himself today, here and now, and to ignore what he may have been or said in the past. Forget his philandering and his divorces; he has confessed and received forgiveness from God. Who are we to judge? Past support for health care mandates? For bombing Libya? For a zillion other things that he now has a different take on?
Don't be petty. Accept the Newt in front of you now. That brilliant mind is way too busy to keep track of what he said in the past. He didn't really believe it then, so why should he remember it? And now? We're to believe him now -- just because it is now?
What a strange unhistorical position for a professional historian to take.
But it makes a sort of pathological sense when you realize that consistency and continuity require a cohesive self and some integrity. Newt has none.
As George Will would say: "Well, now . . . "
Ralph
This also explains how Newt can present himself as a Washington outsider, when in fact he was at the center of Washington power as Speaker of the House who shut down the government. And he has made gazillions peddling himself as a Washington expert selling his knowledge and advice on how to maneuver in the system.
ReplyDeleteSo suddenly he's an Outsider? Well, sure, chameleons and sociopaths have no difficulty changing their spots to suit the moment.
The above comment, about changing your spots and reinventing yourself, reminds me of my favorite book title, just for its sheer audacity -- not the book itself, just the title:
ReplyDeleteQuentin Crisp's: "How To Become a Virgin."
Well, it's a good thing that I don't trust anything Newt Gingrich says, because he's now saying "I will be the nominee. "Let's hope this is the start of his over-reach that will backfire.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm not longer so sure. He may be right, and if we look at the current polls -- a Rasmussen poll that has Gingrich at 38% and Romney at 17% nationally, with a 31 point lead over Romney in Florida -- he may turn out to be right.
Our best hope at this point is that Newt will be his own worst enemy and shoot himself down.
I guess what I"m saying is that only Newt can beat Newt.
ReplyDeleteLet us hope he remains true to form.