Posted on 12/03/2011 8:21:10 AM PST by TBBT
Newt spoke to a standing room only crowd of over 400 people last night at the Polk County GOP dinner in Johnston, Iowa. According to Kevin Hall from The Iowa Republican, Newt hit a homerun with the capacity crowd. Because of Newt's solutions-oriented campaign and optimistic vision for America, Hall notes that "Republicans are flocking to Gingrich in droves."
(Excerpt) Read more at newt.org ...
There was a thought or two that struck me while I watched this. I was thinking about the differences between the candidates and what made some more appealing than others. What works and what doesn't in making connections. What I saw in this Newt speech that others lack is his ability to be engaging and at times inspiring. I can't recall one Romney-the-Robot speech that this can be said about.
Newt didn't spend his time in this speech going through a checklist of campaign prepared talking points. He focused on the big picture and why he was running. He kept above the fray and the only swipes that he took were at Obama and not his fellow competitors. He spent time talking about Obama's and conservative's fundamentally different view of America and American exceptionalism. He wove wit, humor, and historical anecdotes in an engaging and (again) at times inspirational ways. I thought the Wright Brothers anecdote was both interesting and humorous (skip to 24:20). Newt notes that he's going to bring a lot of ideas to the table and acknowledges that some are going to be workable and that some are not - a refreshing admission.
Again - back to the original question of why some connect and other's don't - I saw thing's here with Newt's speech that I don't hear from his competitors. Simple things. The ability to be engaging, inspirational, and an effective communicator. It explains why he's done so well in the debates and I think offers some explanation as to why he is experiencing this surge. Love him or hate him, agree or disagree on some issues, you have to admit, Newt is a damn good public speaker. It will serve - in my view - to make him a formidable candidate in the primaries (no I don't see this as just a momentary rise to the flavor of the week status) and it the general (should he win the nomination). I don't see the other candidates - especially Romney - as having this weapon in their arsenal.
“...solutions-oriented campaign and optimistic vision for America,..”
It sounds like the same kind of campaign Ronald Reagan ran in 1980.
Newt often gives good speeches, mainly because he makes sure that he says what he thinks people want to hear. It doesn’t mean he has any firm convictions of any sort—whatever will get him into office will do.
It is demonstrably true based on the response of Republican primary voters across the country. Newt connects. I expect him to be a statesman in the mold of Reagan and Thatcher, and I think his ego is big enough to believe he can reach that level.
Compare this to ‘Mitt’ Romeny whose entire campaign has been “Hey, I’m next, right?”
Amazing.
Good luck electing the arrogant philanderer.
You’re gonna need it.
Newtie is a gasoholic.
LOLOL! You nailed Mittens perfectly!
So Newt’s team thinks Newt hit a home run and is the best candidate ever.
I’ll have you know that this post is the best post on FR ever and is also a home run.
Good commentary. Thank you.
Newt is a legend in his own mind. His campaign is more about Newt than about us.
Newt’s rhetorical skills dwarf every other candidate in the field and are the reason behind his surge in the polls.
The thing that worries me are people from his past popping up and saying, basically, he’s a lying sleazebag, e.g. Guy Molinari, a former Republican congressman. It almost seems like Newt needs character witnesses to rebut the criticism. I never thought endorsements meant a whole lot, but in the case of Newt, I think he really needs some colleagues he worked with in the past giving him a thumbs up. If he can’t produce any, what does that say?
Candidate 1 - has things in his past that are both bad and good and has a positive direction forward for the country that will re-empower the citizens and the knowledge and experience to enact his agenda.
Candidate 2 - no known moral complications in his past that have been widely reported, is celebrated as a great speaker, has a divisive agenda catering to fear and sense of helplessness of the citizens and proposes more government control as a solution.
Which one do you vote for??
That’s right! Stand by yore man!
Very nice talk.... I hope he realizes though that most of the American people do not have his volcabulary.... he is going to have to dumb down his speeches, for the general election.
Let’s see:
Newt supported the healthcare individual mandate.
Newt supported the global warming scam.
Newt co-sponsored a Fairness Doctrine bill.
Newt supports amnesty for illegal aliens.
Newt supported the Medicare Prescription Drug give-away.
He’s no better than Romney.
They’re both Big Government Republicans.
The only room left in the Republican Party for constitutional conservatives is in the back seat.
Frankly, he’s the ONLY person on the stage who is ready for Prime-Time.
We wanted a bomb-thrower who could clearly state the correct positions on issues, and he’s it. Whether we like it or not.
Remember folks...
This is the guy who actually balanced the budget, impeached Clinton, led the Republican Revolution, and helped bring on one of the biggest economic expansions in American History.
A guy who not only knows what needs to be done, but understands how Washington works, to get it done. Many here have forgotten that he is in almost the exact same position that Reagan was at this point, too.
Guy Molinari would know a thing or two about being a lying sleazebag.
Seriously, what the heck are you talking about? Molinari, a RINO slime bucket from NY and operative for the Slick willard campaign has exactly zero credibility.
I don’t even like Newt as a candidate, but if you want to make a cogent argument against him, you best choose another avenue.
“he is going to have to dumb down his speeches, for the general election.”
Maybe he could get the President of NBC Entertainment to write his speeches, like Obama did in 2008?
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