2012 republican presidential nominee III: can romney get santorum out of his hair?

ha

@DrJillBiden Not Dr. Jill Biden

If you had rippling biceps like Santorum, you'd wear sweater vests too. #Gunshow

2 hours ago

For anyone sane enough not to have been in front of a TV at eleven o'clock last night, this is worth watching for the sheer weirdness of an I've-just-been-crushed press conference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRhn__V3SP4&;feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--hWyyJ1FpU

*clears throat*

Wow that is a clip that I think will be pretty historical down the line.

A) he eviscerated Romney both from the left and right, giving Obama plenty of hand-crafted talking points to use.

B) further cemented Newt's megalomania and increasingly desperate cracks in his narcissistic facade (asking "did you miss me?" and it really didn't sound like a joke), adding new wrinkles to his legacy.

C) Basically signaling that what was to be the shortest primary season ever is going to go on and on and on.

I know I should be totally repulsed by Newt but he's a fascinating character to me. I don't want him anywhere near the white house but I don't think I'd mind if he became a mainstay of my political news and entertainment.... just to occasionally hear Gingrich in his reflective, professorial tone toss out ideas like permanent moon bases and the repeal of child labor laws.

He will debate Romney, anywhere - anytime, on any topic! Does Newt have a debate belt he has to constantly defend or something? Maybe he should get Chris Jericho to be his running mate.

lincoln-douglas!

Gingrich has so bought into the idea that he's some kind of master debater (pun intended) that, more than anything else right now, he seems fixated on the fact that Romney got the better of him in the last one. Listen to him at the beginning of the second clip--he's still incensed a week later.

All presidential candidates must engage in at least one session of Maieutics...

"Gov. Romney, we'll start with you - what is truth?"

Viceroy otm. That press conference is a remarkable document. Like, it should be staged & performed by great actors in the future on stages with sets designed by the great designers of their time. Fuckin incredible. Just so petulant. The name of the one-man Newt show should be "lol u mad"

newt ive been noticing has an extra layer of egomania not possessed by most politicians, hes not just interested in power, hes also interested in himself, he has a contemplative aspect, like that photo of him in the woods gazing at the watermark, he wants to share himself w/us, hes unsatisfied w/the convetional media games, it would be meaningful to him if we saw him as he does, in all his flawed glory, its an attitude more befitting a cult leader than a politician, hes rather fascinating

i identify with newt gingrich more than with any other 2012 presidential candidate

all he wants is for everyone to know how brilliant he is

and at first everyone's reaction is "this guy is pretty interesting!" but he can't be satisfied with anything less than total adulation and when he inevitably falls short of projecting into the world the genius he feels is within him he begins to froth with insecurity and resentment and becomes erratic, and people start to back away and whisper to each other; and he's going to die alone and failed and immersed in hatred for the population that didn't deserve him, but immensely rich (because an ubermensch like him left mundanities like "principles" behind a long time ago)

if he were the candidate i'd be genuinely tempted to vote for him out of pity

omg the part in that press conference where the guy says that mitt romney is "in your head" and newt says that this is an "interesting analysis" that "with a psychiatric degree will get you a tremendous opportunity to have new clients" and then waits for the laugh and looks disgusted when it doesn't come

:/

haven't watched the moment in question, but man it really does suck when you say something that's supposed to be hilarious and all you get is silence

Forgot about the "in your head" part--that was amazing, something I'd never seen come up in a political context before. It's the kind of thing you ask baseball players mired in 0-20 slumps.

its funny how newt was all laying low for 15 years and now he cant let go

do we think newt has a shot at the 2016 nomination if the romney-loses-and-republicans-blame-"moderation" scenario plays out

newt is just too wild for the big stage imho

Has Joan Didion's '95 piece on Gingrich been ref'd much yet? It's not her best work of that political season but it contains the timeless jab: "This was not a mind that could be productively engaged on its own terms."

clasique for sure, think weve been over it a couple times

first graf of it (i think) mentions "a pizza executive named herman cain"!

circles w/in

its an attitude more befitting a cult leader than a politician, hes rather fascinating

I was going to say that Newt reminds me a lot of say, Lyndon LaRouche, but a bit more eh, higher-functioning (Newt was actually elected for something). And I think most people consider the LaRouche Movement to be more of a personality cult than anything legitimately political.

but he's a self-regarded cult leader only - I don't think there are any real acolytes! he considers himself worthy of a LaRouchelike cult, but he'll never have one, because he's so so hateable

which yes for sure makes him a really really fascinating dude - I think he has no sense of how intensely people dislike him personally, how his personal ickiness is really the primary factor holding him back

he is v unattractive

well how is he supposed to be able to tell that, the man has had three wives

xxps Haha exactly! Also, what he has to sell is boring apple pie American exceptionalism and alternative history novels! He doesn't produce the kind of rhetoric that builds up big support because what is there to get all up about? So he commands the good ship Newt but I don't think there's any passengers aboard...

would actually watch the newt movie

as opposed to the palin movie which looks really fucking boring

Are u talking about Big Miracle or is Palin doing something that isn't up on IMDB yet? I agree tho when it comes to entertainment value:

Newt's thoughts on American History > Whales saved by caring community

This thread is nearing Everest level heights

x post no i'm talking about "game change"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1848902/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPhh7mch5zo

Hahaha didn't know about that. I love how Steve Schmidt is like a supervillian in the ad.

jesus why didn't they just make it a comedy, this isn't rocket science

yeah, i think broad farce is the only way to play it

To paraphrase my mother answering my complaints about their being a Mother's Day and a Father's Day but no Children's Day: "EVERY day is White Man's Day!"

Oops wrong thread -- but I was close.

Yeah, I think that covers the thread pretty well, since Jan 4 anyway.

The press conference is fascinating, as is Newt - he does have an amazing unflappability and impression of deep reserves of knowledge, I can totally see why the portion of the GOP base that has a burr under its skin about Stupid Stupid Barack Obama would see Newt as the guy to take him down in debates.

jesus why didn't they just make it a comedy, this isn't rocket science

Mid-'70s Altman or Michael Ritchie could probably pull it off. The only thing is, it essentially has been done as a comedy already--Election--and any attempt would immediately run up against Tina Fey and lose. The trailer looks great to me.

yah cant believe u guys are hating on game change it looks amazing, ridic cast

do we think newt has a shot at the 2016 nomination if the romney-loses-and-republicans-blame-"moderation" scenario plays out

oh, it's never too early for gabbnebbist chinstroking.

The big laff will the Dems thinking Bam too ____ if he loses. (there's no plausible answer that's not funny)

Not getting many laughs out of "black"

plausible answer

seems sorta relevant: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/national-affairs/why-mitt-romneys-mormonism-doesnt-matter-20120131#ixzz1l4YxH81n

Rick Perlstein on how Republicans fall in line behind their candidates no matter what (even if they're Mormons, in Mitt's case), and Democrats don't.

http://i.imgur.com/f8b3S.png

lol