Posted on 03/15/2012 12:25:47 PM PDT by Red Steel
Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich mixed words of encouragement with his political message in an assembly at Barrington High School Thursday.
Gingrich became the third presidential candidate to visit Barrington High School in its history. With his statewide headquarters at 1000 Hart Road, around the corner from the high school, supporters turned out Thursday in force. And following John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, Gingrich on Thursday combined national politics with advice to students as he addressed the auditorium of about 350 mostly social studies students and about 350 local residents.
Sometimes bordering on a commencement speech, Gingrich used examples from the Wright brothers to Thomas Edison to tell students to dream big, work hard, learn every day, enjoy themselves and “be true to yourself.”
However, the campaign stop wasn’t devoid of politics.
Gingrich made his speech in front of a huge American flag. A red and white gas pump logo was on the podium and on a large sign nearby, with the number 250, a reference to his assertion that, as president, he could lower gas prices to $2.50 a gallon.
Fresh off disappointing second place Republican primary finishes in Mississippi and Alabama, Gingrich touched on a variety of national and international political issues Thursday, including Iran, Afghanistan, energy, a balanced budget, national debt, tax reform, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, high speed rail, health care, Sarbanes-Oxley, the Frank-Dodd Act and what he called “radical Islamists.”
Junior Pat Pedersen asked for his opinion on Iran.
“The Iranians would be clever not to threaten the Israelis, because if they do, they are going to be hit,” Gingrich told the crowd.
Pedersen later said he believes “the U.S. overzealous support of Israel is sort of misplaced.”
Barrington senior Brad Pector asked about health care.
“Obamacare is a nightmare and it will end up a total mess,” he told the assembly.
When asked about U.S. “targeted killings,” Gingrich drew laughs.
“It’s probably more effective than un-targeted killings,” he replied.
Then he expressed doubts about the policy.
“I think it is a very dangerous policy,” he said. “First of all because I want to interrogate them (suspected terrorists).”
As for “radical Islamists,” Gingrich had a grim prediction for the high school students in the auditorium.
“You will be dealing with radical Islam the rest of your lives,” he said. “There are more radical Islamists today than on 9/11.”
Sophomore Patrick Zinck finished off the question and answer session, asking Gingrich about criticizing other candidates for changes in opinion, while he has done the same.
Gingrich said his were less egregious because “I’m right,” but also said, “sometimes the world changes.”
“I thought he squeezed around my actual question,” Zinck later said.
Laura Nadelhoffer of Barrington, who has a senior at the high school, said she is an independent who is leaning Republican.
“It was perfect for this crowd,” she said of the speech. “It was informative. It told the kids to dream big and believe in themselves.”
But Sheila Mannix of Barrington, who also has a senior at Barrington, was less impressed.
“I think it was a continuation of meaningless sound bites without solutions for world peace and sustainable energy,” Mannix said.
Gingrich’s statewide campaign manager Keith Hanson and wife Stephanie held a dinner for Gingrich last summer and Keith Hanson said many local contacts were established at that time. Both Keith and Stephanie Hanson are credited with getting Gingrich to come to the high school and said they believed the speech was “incredible”
The Illinois primary is Tuesday. Newt Gingrich and wife Callista have been on an Illinois tour the last couple days, visiting Palatine and the Barrington Hills Country Club Wednesday night, in an event attended by Otto Engineering’s Jack Roeser and M.J. Miller Jeweler’s Mike Miller.
Today, Gingrich was set to visit Carpentersville, Elgin and Lake in the Hills. Callista Gingrich was to visit The Goddard School in Lake in the Hills and Sunnyhill Elementary.
As of Thursday, Gingrich, with 131 delegates, was trailing in the delegate count behind Carmel High School graduate Rich Santorum, who had 252, and Mitt Romney, with 495 delegates.
Teacher Jeffrey Doles’ Studio 238 news crew live streamed Thursday’s event, which had 2,000 hits on IHigh, an Internet site for high school videos, by mid-day. The entire speech is archived on both the district’s Facebook page and on IHigh at www.ihigh.com/school11127/broadcast_217474.html?silverlight=1.
Wanna bet Mannix has an Obama bumper sticker on her car?
She spoke like a true Obamabot.
Even the collapse of hopey changey hasn’t done it for her.
Did you hear the Newt observation that Obama is in trouble because you see he’s gone from yes we can to why I couldn’t?
Only have to look at Wisconsin to see where the police, firefighters and Teachers are coming from..
They are for Unions all Unions all the time..
Not all of them... merely... most all of them..
Union partisanship is extremely negative and malicious..
Yes; even in right to work States..
He went into the Heart of the Beast where those kids are brain washed.
Excuse me, but that student sounds like an airhead, because to imply that is naive, practically impossible, and you could debate what sort of peace, how to enforce, etc. World peace is about as meaningless as a sound bite gets. Sustainable energy? Definitely another meaninless concept..she wants to hear that we’re gonna throw around billions of dollars on unsustainable, weaker alternatives due to the fact we hate oil companies. She’s surely an Obamunist.
And she’s the parent!
The chapel erupted in applause.....
By the way, I would have answered the last question specifically, because Mitt Romney changed his position to run for president and it was purely opportunistic to squeeze a through the door and show he’s beholden to the left, the media establishment, and the power brokers in D.C.
No truer words, “into the heart of the beast”, onyx, where it will never change while education remains so completely in the hands of Marxists who enjoy virtually free rein in a Godless culture.
A battle to be won by God, given good people say so little and do so little decade after decade. I am guilty.
We have never demanded from candidates that our children be saved from union socialist indoctrination.
Mannix sounds very deep...”World Peace”. If she didn’t hear Newt say anything about “sustainable energy” it was because she is too much of an ignoramous to comprehend his energy plan. What an Igmo.
No bet there.
‘World peace’?
Do people really believe this stuff? Sometime words just fail me.
JB
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