Newt Gingrich’s Greek Vacation Becomes Campaign Talking Point

ABC News ^ | Nov 15, 2011 | staff

[BarnacleCenturion]

SHEFFIELD, Iowa – With the political winds shifting in his favor, Newt Gingrich is turning an incident that almost unraveled his entire presidential bid earlier this summer into a campaign trail talking point.

Gingrich, whose luxury Greek vacation in June led to the mass resignations of several members of his campaign staff, now says he used the overseas trip to talk with Europeans about the banking crisis there.

The former House Speaker told a crowd in West Des Moines on Monday, that he listened to the Greek people talk about their economic woes and even noted that his observations about the state of the global economy were “very much influenced” by his Mediterranean sojourn.

“I visited Greece in June I talked to people about what they were faced with in Greece. And I listened to them and I tried to understand they face a crisis of enormous proportions,” Gingrich said. “The Greeks can’t pay off their loans at half the value. This is an enormous collapse of their quality of life in this category.”

[annieokie]

AGAIN: “”Last time I checked it was not against the law to go on an expensive vacation.””” NOt even for Mochelle.

[Gator113]

Well Naps, it might surprise you, but yes, I do agree with you on this.

Frankly, the entire country is so inclined.

Folks change their minds more often than I change socks... that is why MSM continues to have such an impact on our lives. Fortunately, MSM is losing it’s teeth, one by one.

[fightinJAG]

Hello, it's not the vacay that's the problem here.

It's going on a Mediterranean cruise and then telling people in West Des Moines, Iowa that you spent your time consulting with the Greek people on the European economic situation and that these chats with the locals in the tourism industry had a profound influence on your understanding of the global economy.

Just dayum.

[South40]

[ontap]

Hardly the same(1) I didn’t call anyone a name in that post(2) That is not the subject of the sentence(3) The X is no where near the W

[Mr. K]

She probably told him “If you run and win our life is effectivley committed to the government for the next 5 to 8 years - so I want my dream vacation NOW”

I dont blame her

[fightinJAG]

I agree.

That said, people better get up to speed on what a Newt run for the nomination will entail.

Ignoring it as “bashing” is not going to make it go away.

And it pays to remember you don’t have to break the kneecaps of your second string quarterback to try to insure that “your guy” gets to start.

[Mari2525]

Who would you trust to get real information about the government or country, a freeper or Obama?

Newt was not on his vacation in an official capacity for the government of the US so there was no reason for him to meet with any member of the Greek government. There was every reason and opportunity to talk to the people of Greece while he was there.

[fightinJAG]

The Iowa caucauses really aren’t all that influential. They just have cache.

[ontap]

You completely miss the fact that he's the one who cast the first insult.

[fightinJAG]

Last time I checked it was not against the law to go on an expensive vacation.

What does that have to do with anything?

You completely miss the point this article is conveying.

This article is about Gingrich telling people in West Des Moines that he chatted with the locals in the tourism industry in Greece and that it had a profound influence on his understanding of the global economy.

I'll be nice and say some people may find that rather laughable. (Especially, I might add, those who have been on luxury cruises to the Mediterranean.)

Newt can take any kind of vacation any time he wants. But if he wants to exploit it for cringeworthy and insulting talking points, he's going to get pushback over that.

[fishtank]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cache

cache, noun 1. a hiding place,

-

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cachet

ca·chet

1. an official seal, as on a letter or document.

4. superior status; prestige: The job has a certain cachet.

[fightinJAG]

That’s exactly who came to mind for me as well.

[fightinJAG]

That sounds like a Netflix commercial. Good one!

[Mari2525]

Do you all work for Newsweek?

[New Jersey Realist]

All the 0 campaign will have to do if Newt is our nominee is run this clip in the swing states the last week in Oct 2012

---

All Newt has to do is show a clip of moochella’s lavish Spain vacation with her whole staff. That was on our dime wasn’t it?

And by the way, since when do conservatives display class envy. If he has it, spend it in good health.

[ontap]

I thought you would like it!

[fightinJAG]

You do realize how wealthy the Gingriches are? She wears $45,000 necklaces, for Pete’s sake.

They can go on these cruises any time they like.

I can’t believe the people on this thread who are reacting to this article as if Newt is being criticized for taking a vacation.

He’s not.

It’s simply being reported, because, frankly, it’s rather disingenuious, that Newt used the vacation to tell people that he’d, golly, gained a whole new understanding of the global economy by chatting with his cruisemates and the locals in the tourist industry.

[New Jersey Realist]

And our ursurper-in-chief isn’t campaigning on our nickel? I think Newt has the advantage here.

[Deb]

Hello! I know what the point of the hit piece was and the "problem" for me was the snarky, prejudicial set-up. Using the word "luxury" instead of "mistimed" or "ill-timed", leads the reader to feel contempt for this undeserving buffoon before we even find out he's attempting to redeem the trip by pretending it was campaign fact-finding on the World economy.

Its mocking contempt married to petty political BS and is made to connect to the Tiffany hit pieces.

But thanks for the lecture.