>> the people who know him best. Their silence speaks volumes <<
Yeah, but they’re not all “silent.” For instance, Dick Armey, Tom DeLay, Tom Coburn, Roy Blunt, Jim Talent — all worked with Newt in the House and all have openly dissed Newt in recent weeks. Tells me a lot about Newt’s inability to govern successfully.
As a political “idea man” and as a debater, Newt is probably the best there is. But his personal indiscipline and his lack of managerial skills, not to mention his 60% national disapproval rate, mean there’s zero chance he could ever beat Zerobama.
Then how did he train Santorum and a whole generation of up-and-coming conservatives through GOPAC? How did he engineer the takeover of the House in 1994 after 4 decades out of power? How did he as a back-bencher get the Republican platform pushed to the right under Reagan? How did he work with a Democrat Bill Clinton and help create 11 million jobs, pass welfare reform, balance the budget, create a surplus, get tax cuts, etc.? Have those guys you mentioned achieved more in Congress since Newt left in 1999 than Newt did when he led?
It’s already been shown how most of those “dissing” Newt have been on record praising him just a couple years ago. What’s going on now is all political, it isn’t truth. Everyone should know you don’t look to any politicians for truth and honesty, ever. Not when backroom deals and payoffs are the name of the game, and Romney is proven to have done countless ones. All we can look to is their records. Their actions speak louder than their words. And that’s where Newt outclasses the whole lot of them six ways from Sunday. We should be looking back to what Newt did for us and the country, not for his buddies in Congress.