The Republican Rollercoaster

At this point I almost feel as though there's almost nothing left to say about the GOP primary. It's been a frenetic, schizophrenic affair, with the candidate's fortunes rising and falling like the tide. Now Newt Gingrich appears ascendent once again. He had a big comeback victory in South Carolina over the weekend, and has apparently kept that momentum, with new polls showing him with a lead in Florida. The common wisdom was that Romney's financial and organizational advantages would provide a buffer in the Sunshine state, but it seems like voters are fleeing from Romney as though he was that ill fated Costa Cruise ship.

Newt's victory was attributed to his strength in last week's two debates. In the first he smacked down Juan Williams, who dared question whether Newt's racially charged accusations that poor people had no work ethic could potentially be construed as offensive. In the latter debate, which aired the same night Newt's ex-wife gave a bombshell interview on ABC, CNN's John King dared to bring her allegations up and Newt delivered a knockout punch, condemning the liberal media, and taking the focus away from his transgressions. Newt was successful by going after those two Democratic boogeymen, the 'liberal' media and African Americans. That message resonated strongly in South Carolina, where Romney's northern and Mormon roots were viewed suspiciously. If nothing else, we can see just how uncomfortable the Republican base is with Romney. That they'd turn to an unfaithful Washington insider, an ex-lobbyist who's conservative record is impeachable, is a testament to Romney's supreme unlikability. Romney is somehow both smooth and stiff, and his affect is remarkably insincere. With another debate tonight, expect Romney to come out swinging against Gingrich, and all the candidates to get in their digs against one another.

Shockingly, it was Ann Coulter who best articulated my doubts about Mr. Gingrich. She argued that voters wanted someone who could say a snarky line to Obama, rather than someone who could actually beat him. She went on to say that Newt Gingrich says stuff, 'that sounds like it makes sense, but doesn't." This is perhaps the first time Ms. Coulter and I agree, but I found her remarks very apt. Consider Mr. Gingrich's smack down of Juan Williams. In closing Gingrich said "So here’s my point. I believe every American of every background has been endowed by their creator with the right to pursue happiness. And if that makes liberals unhappy, I’m going to continue to find ways to help poor people learn how to get a job, learn how to get a better job and learn some day to own the job." Gingrich thought so highly of this exchange that he actually turned it into a commercial. The thing is it actually doesn't make any sense. In particular, the second sentence where he sets up the conditional statement and then uses a complete nonsequitor lacks any sort of meaning. It appears to be a rousing defense of his vision of capitalism, but in reality it's merely a bunch of loosely joined platitudes. Gingrich is like a college student bullshitting a paper, he says things in an impassioned tone, and uses adjectives like 'fundamental' to make his arguments seem more academic than they actually are. But apparently this is what passes for intellectual in the Republican Party. Gingrich said he would debate Obama for three hours using only his wits, and while I'm sure he believes in his own grandiose vision of his intellect, I bet Obama is licking his chops.