I have wondered why some of his former colleagues aren’t very supportive,and it could be that he was erratic. But I don’t remember it at the time. It’s what they say now, but consider that they are all protecting their own interests. Maybe they fear Newt because they weren’t loyal to the speaker at the time. I tend to put more weight behind what Dick Cheney says as compared to Jim Talent or Susan Mollinari.
I’m not saying that he wasn’t erratic (unstable or even zany), but I don’t necessarily trust what some former colleageus say. I don’t know what their motive is and I haven’t heard any outrageous examples of his so called erratic behavior.
But Cheney’s comment refers to Gingrich’s role in taking control of the House. It doesn’t speak to his service as Speaker of the House. It doesn’t have anything to do with whether Gingrich’s managerial style is erratic.
Just consider Gingrich’s embrace of anthropogenic global warming, when he appeared with Nancy Pelosi and John (I still have the hat) Kerry and spoke of the grave threat which it posed. He now calls the appearance with Pelois the greatest mistake which he has made in recent years. Maybe he should have thought the issue through a little better.