Newt Gingrich: Any Ad That Uses Words I Actually Said Is A Falsehood
The disaster that is the Newt Gingrich Presidential rollout tour just seems to be getting worse. Last night, on Fox News Channel he attempted once again to repair the damage he’s done to himself, and ended up putting his foot in his mouth once again:
To say that Gingrich is in crisis mode is not necessarily hyperbole. The former House Speaker and GOP thought leader has been toying with running for president for what seems like years now, and coming out of the gate, he has more than stumbled; he’s fallen flat. It all started when he appeared on Meet the Press on Sunday and told host David Gregory that he believed that the individual mandate plan put forth by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), and supported by nearly the entire House Republicans) was radical.
Since then he’s put out his own YouTube video repudiating the comments he made on Sunday, but had to deal with rejections from various political leaders including SC Governor Nikki Haley and Eric Cantor (R-VA.) Host Greta Van Susteren deserves credit for not only booking Gingrich, but for providing a tough interview with her former Fox News cohort.
Ginrich’s walking back of these comments in such thorough and dramatic fashion appears to indicate that he recognizes the folly, or he is not tone deaf to the roar of criticisms from his GOP peers. Nonetheless, one can imagine a future campaign ad that mimics the classic John Kerry video clip of “I was before it before I was against it.” And while Gingrich appears to be taking someone of a litigious position with statements of “falsehood” and the impression of libel, its very difficult to imagine that he and or campaign would ever pursue such a case, guaranteeing that this confusing chapter in Gingrich’s candidacy stays in the news.
Here’s the clip:
So, Gingrich’s new defense is that David Gregory asked him a “trick question” and that he “misspoke.” Watch the clips for yourself, and reach your own conclusion.
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Gingrich is imploding. He’s imploding because he forgot that he’s not just a talking head pundit on television who can talk like a grand theorist and get away with it. He’s running for President, and trying to change your story on the fly doesn’t work in the era of YouTube.
If his campaign wasan airplane I’d be looking for a parachute.
To me, he seems to be going off wildly and violently in several directions at once. I’d say he’s exploding.
The thing is, there’s no escape route for him. His campaign is already done, but he can’t walk away this soon; where does he go? He has to pretend he still has some viability — or at least coherence or dignity — so that he can get his next gig.
Maybe he can throw himself under the bus, saying that that darn Liberal Media is twisting his words around too much and he’s becoming a distraction, so for the good of the party, he’s going to step aside. But given that guys like Krauthammer are already onto him, it’ll be tough to make that convincing even to the most convinceable. I’m not sure how he gets out of this without major, lasting damage.
If I were a betting man, I’d wager this is exactly how he’ll go out. I give him 14 days.
How amusing. I believe started this “run” for the presidency merely to keep his profile and quote up — a week into the campaign and he seems to have destroyed his credibility even with those gullible enough to believe him a “thinker.”
Newt Gingrich: Quoting my words is lying.
Sarah Palin: Quoting my words exactly as I said them is attacking me.
Michelle Bachman: Pay attention to what I mean, not what I say.
Tim Pawlenty: Ignore the policy positions I held for the last 10 years, and focus on the ones I’ve had the last 10 weeks – despite the 180 degree difference in position.
Mitt Romney: ObamaCare is different than RomneyCare because…. I say it is.
Anyone else see a pattern?
Just like Jon Kyl…”My statement was not intended to be a factual statement”.
And Newt is supposed to be the smart guy in the room full of old rich white guys that is the GOP. William F. must be break-dancing in his grave.
Curiously enough, two of the five quotes above come from women … the Republicans seem to be open to leadership from people saying odd things irrespective of gender.
David Gregory turned him into a newt. A witch!