Why Gingrich is Bad (and Romney is Awesome): A Politico Megathread Spectacular

[Politico]

...Romney. In other words, there are no more potential anti-Romneys after Gingrich. One slip by Gingrich, and this is going to end early.

"And while another round of NBC-Marist polling data shows Gingrich with double-digit leads in South Carolina and Florida, there is a large silver lining for Romney: More than half of Gingrich’s supporters in both states picked the former Massachusetts governor as their second-choice pick."

Source: http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/12/9389121-first-read-shades-of-hillary-in-late-07

[Politico]

Hardy-har. I know it may look like I am grasping, but this is significant.

[Politico]

Folks, you cannot make this up: The Gingrich Doodles:

http://www.slate.com/slideshows/news_and_politics/gingrichs-doodles.html

Look at those doodles and tell me that man belongs anywhere near the White House...

[Politico]

Here is his latest doodle:

[Politico]

Ron Paul's new ads about Gingrich are pretty stunning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRdqGKA782A  (Watch this)

This is probably the best ad of the cycle thus far. If this gets heavy rotation in Iowa right before the caucuses, even just a condensed variant of it, Gingrich is in big trouble. I really like the soundtrack of it, too. Anybody know if it is original?

[Politico]

There is not another person capable of running for president who is as squeaky clean as Mitt Romney. You want to talk about a good guy with a clean background, he's your man. If Obama has to use serious resources on Pennsylvania and Michigan in October, a distinct possibility against Romney, Obama is Jimmy Carter 1980 at worst and Al Gore 2000 at best. It will be a one term proposition for the president.

Everybody thinks the EC is going to keep looking a lot like it did from 2000-2008. All bets are truly off. This is a different America that is really fed up with the way things are going. I see massive backlash next year against Obama. People like the guy, I still do, but somebody needs to take the blame for things not improving, and fair or not it's going to be him. I have said it before, and I'll say it again: Romney could blow this thing right wide open. I am not saying it is going to happen, but do not be THAT shocked if Romney wins the most EVs since George H.W. Bush in 1988. That is all I am saying.

[Politico]

I do not know what is going to happen in Iowa, but I am pretty sure that Newt Gingrich is not going to win there. It could go to Romney, Paul or maybe even Santorum based on current polling trends. Based upon everything I have seen, I am quite certain that New Hampshire and Nevada are locked-up for Romney regardless of what happens in Iowa and South Carolina.

If Romney wins Iowa, even by the slimmest of margins, it is really hard to see him not steamrolling to victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, etc., and basically ending this race much earlier than most expected. Iowa has always been a reach for Romney, but maybe it will happen.

Here is the big question: If Paul or Santorum wins Iowa, what kind of momentum boost will they get in New Hampshire and how will that boost there translate to South Carolina? It is really hard to see Gingrich winning South Carolina if he comes in third or fourth place in Iowa and New Hampshire, but who knows? And, let's face it, it is really hard to see Paul or Santorum winning the nomination. It also seems abundantly clear that Perry and Bachmann are write-offs.

My guess, and I've held this all along: All of this is a matter of when, not if, Romney will become the nominee...

[Politico]

The former Massachusetts governor led his campaign in opening a fusillade against Gingrich, who's persisted at or near the top of the polls in tests of Saturday's first-in-the-South primary.

In a sign of how seriously his campaign is taking Gingrich as a threat, Romney broke from his usual form on the campaign trail -- which usually involves attacking only President Obama -- to instead deliver a rebuke of Gingrich's claims on his record on job creation.

"The speaker the other day at the debate was talking about how he created millions of jobs when he was working with the Reagan administration. Well, he'd been in Congress two years when Ronald Reagan came into office, " Romney said. "That'd be like saying 435 congressmen were all responsible for those jobs. Government doesn't create jobs. It's the private sector that creates jobs. Congressmen taking responsibility or taking credit for helping create jobs is like Al Gore taking credit for the Internet."

The assault began earlier this morning with a web video released by the Romney campaign entitled "Undisciplined Leader," in which former New York Rep. Susan Molinari, who served with Gingrich in the 1990s, delivered the first blow.

"I served with Newt Gingrich in Congress. Newt Gingrich had a leadership style that can only be described as leadership by chaos,” Molinari said in the video. "I worry about the Republican Party’s chances to defeat President Obama if Newt Gingrich is the nominee."

On a conference call with reporters later in the morning, former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent, another Romney supporter, continued the attack, and warned that if Gingrich were to become the Republican nominee it would hurt the party.

"Each one of us [who served with Gingrich] has personal stories we can tell about going home and having to clean up after our speaker," Talent said. "It had an impact on the 1996 presidential election and, if he's the nominee, it will have an impact on the 2012 election and the impact's not going to be good for the conservative movement and the Republican Party."

Source: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/18/10183299-romney-campaign-launches-offensive-against-gingrich

Newt's Response:

[Politico]

A Mannequin Third Wife for First Lady?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGeDfaN9K30

There is no way that poor woman is not told to be that way.

[Politico]

The most enigmatic quote from the second wife:

She said when Gingrich admitted to a six-year affair with a Congressional aide, he asked her if she would share him with the other woman, Callista, who is now married to Gingrich.

"And I just stared at him and he said, 'Callista doesn't care what I do,'" Marianne Gingrich told ABC News. "He wanted an open marriage and I refused."

Marianne described her "shock" at Gingrich's behavior, including how she says she learned he conducted his affair with Callista "in my bedroom in our apartment in Washington."

"He always called me at night," she recalled, "and always ended with 'I love you.' Well, she was listening."

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/exclusive-gingrich-lacks-moral-character-president-wife/story?id=15392899#.Txjbj4FnSuI

So what DOES he do that Callista doesn't care about him doing? Or, perhaps more aptly, WHO does he do that Callista doesn't care about?

[Politico]

Am I the only one who finds it hilarious that Gingrich tries to pass himself off as a hardcore southerner despite spending the first sixteen or seventeen years of his life in Pennsylvania and on military bases? And he has about as much of a southern accent as Chris Matthews does (i.e., absolutely none).

[Politico]

Or will we be left to wonder if he inherited his mother's manic depression? Will we be left to wonder if mental illness was the reason why he was declared exempt from the draft? To this day, Gingrich has not clarified why he was declared exempt from the draft. Why? Why did he not follow in his father's footsteps by serving in the military like he claims he wish he had?

Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newt/vanityfair1.html

Sooner or later, Gingrich needs to prove that he did not inherit his mother's manic depression. The nation cannot have a sick president who cannot handle the stressful demands of the job.

[Politico]

Where are Romney's tax forms?

Romney's tax returns have nothing to do with whether or not he is mentally capable of handling the presidency. One look at Obama in 2007 versus 2012 (or Bush in 2000 versus 2009, or Clinton in 1992 versus 2001) should make it abundantly clear that the presidency is a stressful job that only a healthy person should take on.

By the way, Romney's tax return will be released in April, as is customary. He'll probably release every tax return he's ever filed if that is what it takes to make this issue go away.

[Politico]

Ouch, if Romney goes that way I lose all respect I have for the man. Very, very, very vile, this.

Romney won't, but somebody will. If not somebody in the Republican Party, definitely Obama. It's just a matter of time.

Where there is smoke, there is fire. The signs are all there: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_big_idea/2011/12/is_newt_gingrich_nuts_consider_the_symptoms_.html

[Politico]

Or will we be left to wonder if he inherited his mother's manic depression? Will we be left to wonder if mental illness was the reason why he was declared exempt from the draft? To this day, Gingrich has not clarified why he was declared exempt from the draft. Why? Why did he not follow in his father's footsteps by serving in the military like he claims he wish he had?

Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newt/vanityfair1.html

Getting desperate, I see.

This isn't desperate. There is smoke:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_big_idea/2011/12/is_newt_gingrich_nuts_consider_the_symptoms_.html

Is there fire? If not, Gingrich should dispel the rumors by releasing his medical records.

Sooner or later, Gingrich needs to prove that he did not inherit his mother's manic depression. The nation cannot have a sick president.

[Politico]

lol

You're lol'ing right now because, yes, in all likelihood Obama would cream Gingrich. But what if, somehow, some way (another financial meltdown?), Gingrich did win the presidency? What then?

[Politico]

Ouch, if Romney goes that way I lose all respect I have for the man. Very, very, very vile, this.

What is so vile about it?

Medical information is private, or it is where I'm from.

It is customary for presidential candidates to release their medical records to prove they are healthy and fit to handle the stressful demands of the most demanding job on the planet. I know there can be a tendency for us political junkies to treat all of this like it's just another game of political football, but we are talking about the presidency here, not some seat in Congress or a governorship.

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Manic depression is commonly inherited from one's parents. This is a medical fact:

"McMahon et al. (1995) found evidence to suggest that manic-depression was more likely to be inherited from mothers than from fathers, proposing that the gene for the disorder would be different in women and men."

Source: http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro99/web1/Bromwell.html

[Politico]

Has any major presidential nominee of the past thirty years not released their medical records?

[Politico]

A few things to say here.

This has been reported and I think it comes very close to crossing the line. I want to delete this. However, I guess there's a bit of precedent regarding politicians and psychiatric disorders, such as Thomas Eagleton,

Yes, there is a history of a candidate hiding their medical history from the population and paying the price.

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I thought I was being kind to Gingrich by referring to it as "manic depression" rather than "bipolar disorder."

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Fair enough, but I guarantee somebody else will re-create the thread again down the line if Gingrich makes this a serious run.

[Politico]

Or will we be left to wonder if he inherited his mother's manic depression? Will we be left to wonder if mental illness was the reason why he was declared exempt from the draft? To this day, Gingrich has not clarified why he was declared exempt from the draft. Why? Why did he not follow in his father's footsteps by serving in the military like he claims he wish he had?

Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newt/vanityfair1.html

Sooner or later, Gingrich needs to prove that he did not inherit his mother's manic depression. The nation cannot have a sick president who cannot handle the stressful demands of the job.

It must be particularly painful to see your favored candidate lose to a person whom you believe is a nutter.

Strom Thurmond Country going to Gingrich is really not much of a surprise to me.

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Of course not. If Gingrich has no health problems, he should have no problem releasing his medical records to show he does not have a history of bipolar disorder.

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And Adolf Hitler.

A history of mental illness is now an "attribute" we should look for in our next president? I knew some Republicans were crazy, but I did not think they were crazy enough to believe somebody with mental illness can win the presidency, let alone function properly in the role of the president for four years...

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Now do you realize how inane your argument is?

Have you ever had to associate with people who have bipolar disorder? I do not want that type of person in the Oval Office for obvious reasons.

[Politico]

I do not think medical records are what people are upset with a candidate not releasing nowadays my friend... your boy needs to get on his tax returns!

Why the wealth of a candidate does not matter (i.e., richest president ever):



Why the health of a candidate matters (i.e., the presidency is the most demanding job on the planet):

[Politico]

Somebody moved my question, but here it is: Has any presidential nominee in the past thirty years NOT released their medical records?

I cannot think of anybody, but I would like to hear if there is somebody who kept their medical records under lock-and-key.

[Politico]

Especially when you consider that Gingrich is from neighboring Georgia, and no northeastern ("yankee") candidate in the Democratic Party, let alone the Republican Party, has ever won the South Carolina primaries before.

[Politico]

Trolls gonna troll.

When your post count exceeds mine, then you can accuse me of trolling. The question is only common sense. Somebody from Massachusetts winning South Carolina against somebody from Georgia would be like somebody from Mississippi winning Vermont against somebody from Connecticut.

[Politico]

Yeah, Politico! Insult the most reliably GOP part of the nation! That will go over well in Florida!

I have done no such thing. I have simply explained why South Carolina has never gone to a northeasterner from either party. I am not making any judgments. They have their identity elements just like every other region of the country.