[pieceofthepuzzle]

This is why, despite all the angst I see here about Newt, he is not the disaster some are afraid of. He was never my choice, but I have to say that more than any of the others he has the ability to put the left on the defensive and to play effective hardball.

Incidentally, by saying what she did Pelosi inadvertently helped Gingrich to distance himself from his earlier fraternizing with her.

[Antoninus]

This is why, despite all the angst I see here about Newt, he is not the disaster some are afraid of. He was never my choice, but I have to say that more than any of the others he has the ability to put the left on the defensive and to play effective hardball.

Exactly. He has a history of slamming the left hard. The kissy-face stuff he did with Hillary and Pelosi was merely theater to soften his image a bit. I assume he's figured out by this point in his career that such moves are supremely counter-productive.

[chris_bdba]

AMEN! Newt knows how to play hardball and I do believe we have located the spine and b@lls everyone has said the party is missing now.I can’t wait to see him in the debates with Obama bumbling and hem hauling.Newt will not let those little lies Obama likes like tax cuts never worked or anything like that pass.