Shortly after the November election, Newt Gingrich disputed the notion that Sarah Palin had emerged from her losing campaign as the new face of the Republican Party, declaring that "she's going to be one of 20 or 30 significant players. She's not going to be the de facto leader." A few months later, the former House Speaker seems to have had a change of heart. Discussing the 2012 G.O.P. race at breakfast meeting on Monday, he called the Alaska governor "very formidable" and noted that she'd have "a substantial advantage in Iowa."