After all the talk, Newt Gingrich is the best the Republicans can march out there? It seems difficult to believe.

Good news for the sellout incumbent. This country is so screwed.

It's not over 'til it's over...

It sure will be a painful journey to the convention. This means even more infighting and useless debates.

I hope that someday there soon will be a debate between the incumbent and the challengers.

Only winners so far are the networks broadcasting and the production houses making the endless campaign videos.

I think you're right, Jack. And it's sort of an interesting path.

How's this for a headline: Matt Drudge Gives President Obama a Second Term.

After all, it is widely believed by Rush, etc...that ABC's hand was forced by the Drudge Report. They wanted to air the interview with Newt's bitter, hypocritical ex-wife after South Carolina but the Drudge Report called them out, and they moved it up.

Of course, CNN helped by opening the debate with questions about her, allowing Newt to thrash the media and set off a performance that could have made the difference in South Carolina - coupled with Mitt's weak answers about taxes.

Now assuming Mitt doesn't recover and win the nomination, and assuming Mitt would have beaten President Obama, that would mean Newt's ex. just won the Presidential election for Barack. I know Democratic political operatives like Paul Begala have been openly praying that Newt is the nominee. I just don't think Begala expected the Drudge Report to be so instrumental in giving President Obama a second term.

But wait...Begala could be wrong. Newt could win the election. Sure. Wall Street could deliberately crash the stock market just before, etc...All kinds of unforeseen treachery could ensue.

So maybe it will be President Gingrich, but I don't think the mostly progressive comedy writers of America are going to let that happen without a strong effort. Ask Sarah Palin how that goes. Better yet, ask Tina Fey.

Speaking of comedy, in a very grim way, it would be kind of classic if the bitter, hypocritical ex-wife routine lands Newt in the White House. You think she's mad now.

Gingrinch as president would represent the death of the American republic.

They don't want Newt. They just don't want Mitt.

How far the Republican Party has fallen. Let's hope they don't snap out of this too soon, if only for the sake of the Supreme Court.

Gingrich will never beat Obama, no way...

Newt impeaching Clinton while carrying on his own affair,
and his devastating contract with America is conveniently never mentioned by the Media propaganda machine now owned by a very few of the 1%.
And amazing the short memories by the majority of the 99% who vote.

If newt does make it to the top, let's hope he brings an Al Haig with him -- someone with the authority to tell everyone else to ignore any nutty orders from the president until they check with him. Newt will need a leash.

Cheney's probably available.

It's amazing how time and changed my outlook.

In 1996, I was mad at Clinton, and tepidly supported Gingrich.

In 2012, I wish Gingrich would go away, and Clinton was back.

Gingrich, in the eyes of this newly minted non affiliated voter is a vindictive mean duplicitous toadie. And those are his good points.

Democrats love 'em Jack... do they come with extra cheese?

The problem with the yeehaws running in the Republican primary is that they are all egotistical, self serving, which way is the ideology blowing, mutts who have never in their lives cared about true leadership or the greater good. They care about manipulation and making their own lives better and they will sell out to the highest bidder and appeal to the lowest base instincts. That and the irony of their own hypocrisies are vastly lost on them.

Besides Newt's ex-wife there is this:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/317440#tab=comments&sc=0 Wonder how he bought the FBI or DOJ off this case

And this: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203735304577167041714568630.html?fb_action_ids=3113046224787&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_source=other_multiline

The tale of his d*****baggery in academia

You folks are underestimating the widespread and still growing dissatisfaction with Obama, underestimating the near-paranoic extreme anti-Obama wave that's built up the past 3 years outside of Portlandia, overestimating the D turnout this time around (it's not going to be near '08's), misestimating how the independents will break -- though Ron Paul is Obama's secret weapon, like Perot was for Clinton (who was elected with just 44% of the vote in '92) -- and underestimating Gingrich's talent and abilities as a politician on the stump & in debates (but Newt's got to get Calista and her platinum helmet hair out of camera shots soon), and underestimating the anti-Mormonism among conservative Christians and others ("it's a cult, like Scientology").

Once Santorum (who got sabotaged in Iowa by Romney operatives who hijacked enough of his votes to steal the pre-NH and SC runup thunder enough) is out of the race, Gingrich will surge even more. The old folks and rednecks and regular R's in FLA are going to break for Newt (after all, he's familiar to them, having been the Speaker and a professor right next door, in GA).

He's Danger Man III. You better look out!

http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=1EP7CdBCTrM

Newt impeaching Clinton while carrying on his own affair

Lying about sex in the Oval Office with a young unpaid intern vs taking up with a woman who is now his wife. I would say Clinton was more Sam Adams than Newt Gingrich. And Mojo, shhhhh!

And just imagine a Gingrich-Santorum ticket. You might not have to for too much longer.

Newleaf advocate for hypocrisy much?

Open Question: What top R women out there are likely running mates for whomever?

Good lord, how creepy can all of this be...picking between Barack and Newt, makes me want to crawl into a hole. Maybe I'll skip this election. Isn't there some Joan of Arc incarnate who can get Bill Clinton back into politics? He looks so good now, it's amazing, and all the gremlins in his boxer shorts have gone to the great beyond, surely.

Newt is highly intelligent, and would be a formidable debate opponent for our hope-and-change scarecrow in the White House. He is also very energetic and capable, and has the right edge of nasty to broil up the support he needs to get the nomination. It's also possible his ideological fervor has settled with age, along with his wifely hunting urges. But Mojo is right, Newt's last and final wife will sink him. The comedy people will have just way, way too much material there. Her eyes look like something out of the Stepford wives.

open question: Niki Haley.

Gaye, I think you're underestimating his wife, too. She just has control and boundary issues, beyond those with her hair.

Haley's a non-starter. Really. At least in this cycle.

Somewhere on the East Coast, Donald Trump is thinking, "Hey, wait a minute! I've had three wives, too."

Roger... Bingo... and the Donald gets hotter babes for wives than aye of Newt.

I distinctly remember the comedic riff as Bill Clinton faced reelection. It was, "There is absolutely no way he's going to get a second term." That was the consensus premise we were working from.

So what changed? What changed was the Republicans had to field a candidate. It appears to be happening again with President Obama. Once the Republicans come up with their choice all of a sudden the incumbent looks a lot better.

And with Clinton, that was even before George W. Bush led the GOP over the cliff and turned Republicans into a stampede of morons. I once read an article about the need for a good opposition party and now I see why.

Sarah Palin? Newt Gingrich? The Republicans have had 4 years to get somebody and the closest thing to a star is Chris Christie, who can't make it because he's busy telling Oprah about his weight, and getting ready to add to his hundreds of Bruce Springsteen ticket stubs.

Mitt could still come back and he sure looks the part of a president, but why can't he beat somebody like Newt Gingrich in a debate? If he has this much going for him, it's a really bad sign that he can't walk away with this.

Where are the GOP stars? We've just heard 3 straight years of how bad Obama is. Where's the GOP candidates?

If the GOP was going to do this poorly I wish they would have toned down the trash-talking. If you can't deliver, at least shut the h*ll up.

Dittos to Mojo.

You forget how good Clinton is Bill. That man has some serious mojo on his side, mojo that Barak is seriously lacking. There's not to many presidents that could of come out of the Lewinsky scandal and won a second term. Didn't hurt that like you said, Dole wasn't exactly an inspiring canidate.

Sure, Clinton had a lot going for him, but the prevailing opinion a year or two out from reelection was that he had little chance to get another term. At least in comedy writer circles and we try to reflect the national mood.
It's like there's an A riff that's easiest to sell. For example, Michael Jackson's was all the nose jobs for the longest time. Then the riff changed when the child abuse charges kicked in.
It's almost like a word association test where you anticipate the most likely word the public would think and build the joke around that.
Geirge W. Bush...dumb.
Rick Perry....dumber.
That sort of thing.

To think I got to write comedy through the Clinton years. God bless you, Monica, and here's hoping that the knees have healed.

Misspelling George W. Bush...also dumb.

Who ever said South Carolina was America?

Darrin,
Your memory stumbles. The Lewinsky scandal began after Clinton was reelected, not before. If the scandal had broken before the election, Dole would have won. Not half a bad old guy, considering the shambles we've had ever since the whole impeachment debacle began.

Whatever. I just wonder how many Hillaryn Democrats like me have crossed the aisle into political no-man's land because of just too many bad leadership moments, which we thought were going to ease up with the election of Obama. When the really, really nasty surprises hit, I just couldn't take the Denocratic party for one more day.

Like the latest from Mr hope and change. We can't get any oil from Canada, but we can sell 60b dollars worth of arms to that great world bastion of institutionalized pedophilia and gender enslavement, Saudi Arabia.

I'm done. Done. Ready to emigrate.

Good luck, guys. If I wanted to vote for a psychopathic science fiction fanboy who believes he's the only hope to save civilization from Them, then I'd be campaigning for Charles Manson.

Texas Triffid Ranch - There is now coffee on my screen and it's your doing... making me laugh like that....

Good lord, how creepy can all of this be...picking between Barack and Newt, makes me want to crawl into a hole.

As creepy as it needs to be to keep the game going, and/or to keep people in that hole.

I truly think that the reason why we keep getting left with a choice between the lesser of "who cares" is because anyone smart enough, and moral enough to do the job, is also smart enough to not want anything to do with being President.

Thus, we get left with these muppets.