I love Republican primary debates. The hype, showmanship and inadvertent hilarity that an unruly and seemingly inebriated crowd bring to the table is almost too much to handle. But the debate of Jan. 19 — a carnival of a debate — was by far the best.
I relish Newt Gingrich's level of vitriol and disdain thinly veiled by rhetorical flourish. If viewers thought hell hath no fury like a woman scorned — as in the wake of his ex-wife's salacious allegations regarding Gingrich's request for an open marriage — they had yet to hear Gingrich verbally curb stomp CNN for raising the issue.
It is fun to watch him publicly shame, if not emasculate, all moderators in his wake. He forcefully interrupts prompts and continually calls into question the media's very jurisdiction to pose them in the first place.
If Gingrich holds his Republican competitors in such barely constrained low regard, I cannot wait to see what he has in store for the "food stamp President." His devilish grins following his feisty jabs display a level of self-satisfied arrogance Charlie Sheen could take a lesson from. At a rally in Beaufort, S.C., he said of Obama's visit to the Disney Magic Kingdom Park, "I have to confess, I thought this morning about the president flanked on one side by Mickey Mouse and on the other side by Goofy — resembling actually sort of the cabinet picture of the administration!"
He is a good ol' boy of the first degree, shamelessly playing for guffaws from the under-educated with parlor politics wit.
Yet, Gingrich and other sentient conservatives must realize that 2012 will be the biggest landslide election since fellow Georgian Jimmy Carter was blown out by Reagan. Newt embraces criticism like oil embraces water.
His unrepentant swagger knows no bounds. "This is a grandiose country of big people doing big things," Gingrich declared in response to Rick Santorum, stating his thoughts were "not cogent." Gingrich's alternate reality is far from private. His commercials trumpet the message: "Nothing will turn America around more than election night when Barack Obama loses decisively."
Gingrich is as out of touch as ex-senator Barry Goldwater, but his back story is nearly the hottest thing since Debbie did Dallas. He married his high school geometry teacher at age 19. For a man with more wives than chins, his unapologetic air reeks of a philandering virility with the potential to swing even the polygamous Romney vote. Marrying another mistress mid-campaign might bolster his approval rating at this point.
Gingrich panders to the coliseum, reveling in the roars of Republicans like a Roman emperor as he declares, "Kill them," in reference to America's enemies. Though our executive branch may share such sentiments on assassination and denial of due process, America has yet to witness a mainstream candidate candidly call for blood like Gingrich has. He slyly hedges his aggressiveness by giving his daughters formulaic shout-outs at every campaign stop. This unconvincing gesture is but a tasteless reminder of the woman from whence they came.
No one should be surprised by Gingrich's decisive win in the South Carolina primary. Boasting Perry's neo-confederate endorsement and a big win in "The Fight for the South," Gingrich now thunders into Florida, drunk off success and filled with excess. If handlers do not eventually muzzle him, it would be a sight to see him smugly trade punches with Obama in actual debates. No doubt, Gingrich would put nails in his gloves.
