You know, whenever I see a broad generality like that being stated as fact, my radar starts pinging.
More often than not, the person making such a sweeping statement is communicating their own personal bias, or is presenting what turns out to be the opinion of two or three people they know.
I think the South Carolina primary results, and the most recent national polling paint quite a different picture of the public's perception of Newt Gingrich.
Maybe, but read back over what I was responding to and see if that was any more accurate. The "old white guy" explanation comes closer to the mark than the "they hate America" one. But you can't assume that the results of the SC Republican primary indicate how independent voters in other states will react. If that were the case, McCain (and Dole) would have been elected President.
Part of what I said was based on people I know, part on how many people form their view of the world based on what television comedians tell them, and how those television comedians treated McCain and Dole. To think they'd treat Gingrich much better would just be dreaming. He won't be portrayed as an old duffer, though. There's going to be more edge to the jokes this time.
Part of what I said is based on what many (most?) of us thought about Gingrich when he first started running: that he was in it to promote his book and keep his speaker fees high, that he wasn't serious. If you've been convinced by him, fine, but it's not going to be easy for other people to overcome first impressions.