Newt is a born teacher. That's good in some lines of work, but when running for the presidency, that is a disaster waiting to happen: he over-talks, over-explains, and opens himself up to major gaffes. (Remember the "whither on the vine" comment? That was just one example of what he would do every week on the campaign trail.)
There is no evidence the Christian Right stayed home in November 2006. And the wither on the vine comment was a) mis-quoted and b) taken out of context beyond that.... the news organization that did even admitted it.
Thanks for that nugget.