Why Gingrich is Bad (and Romney is Awesome): A Politico Megathread Spectacular

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

Any candidate who is doing well enough to take the nomination from Romney will, necessarily, have no problem beating him in South Carolina, Newt or no Newt.

[Politico]

The former Massachusetts governor led his campaign in opening a fusillade against Gingrich, who's persisted at or near the top of the polls in tests of Saturday's first-in-the-South primary.

In a sign of how seriously his campaign is taking Gingrich as a threat, Romney broke from his usual form on the campaign trail -- which usually involves attacking only President Obama -- to instead deliver a rebuke of Gingrich's claims on his record on job creation.

"The speaker the other day at the debate was talking about how he created millions of jobs when he was working with the Reagan administration. Well, he'd been in Congress two years when Ronald Reagan came into office, " Romney said. "That'd be like saying 435 congressmen were all responsible for those jobs. Government doesn't create jobs. It's the private sector that creates jobs. Congressmen taking responsibility or taking credit for helping create jobs is like Al Gore taking credit for the Internet."

The assault began earlier this morning with a web video released by the Romney campaign entitled "Undisciplined Leader," in which former New York Rep. Susan Molinari, who served with Gingrich in the 1990s, delivered the first blow.

"I served with Newt Gingrich in Congress. Newt Gingrich had a leadership style that can only be described as leadership by chaos,” Molinari said in the video. "I worry about the Republican Party’s chances to defeat President Obama if Newt Gingrich is the nominee."

On a conference call with reporters later in the morning, former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent, another Romney supporter, continued the attack, and warned that if Gingrich were to become the Republican nominee it would hurt the party.

"Each one of us [who served with Gingrich] has personal stories we can tell about going home and having to clean up after our speaker," Talent said. "It had an impact on the 1996 presidential election and, if he's the nominee, it will have an impact on the 2012 election and the impact's not going to be good for the conservative movement and the Republican Party."

Source: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/18/10183299-romney-campaign-launches-offensive-against-gingrich

Newt's Response:

[Ebowed]

<politico>So you are taking the man who singlehandedly delivered on a Contract with America and trashing him because Ross Perot stole enough votes from Clinton to deny Bob Dole a victory in 1996?

Stay classy, Senator Talent.</politico>

[Politico]

A Mannequin Third Wife for First Lady?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGeDfaN9K30

There is no way that poor woman is not told to be that way.

[Politico]

The most enigmatic quote from the second wife:

She said when Gingrich admitted to a six-year affair with a Congressional aide, he asked her if she would share him with the other woman, Callista, who is now married to Gingrich.

"And I just stared at him and he said, 'Callista doesn't care what I do,'" Marianne Gingrich told ABC News. "He wanted an open marriage and I refused."

Marianne described her "shock" at Gingrich's behavior, including how she says she learned he conducted his affair with Callista "in my bedroom in our apartment in Washington."

"He always called me at night," she recalled, "and always ended with 'I love you.' Well, she was listening."

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/exclusive-gingrich-lacks-moral-character-president-wife/story?id=15392899#.Txjbj4FnSuI

So what DOES he do that Callista doesn't care about him doing? Or, perhaps more aptly, WHO does he do that Callista doesn't care about?

[Jayhawker]

I can't imagine how this many can carry the Family Values banner into the General Election against Obama...scum of the Earth.

Not too much longer until we can forget about Newt and focus on taking down Obama with Governor Romney as our nominee.

[Politico]

Am I the only one who finds it hilarious that Gingrich tries to pass himself off as a hardcore southerner despite spending the first sixteen or seventeen years of his life in Pennsylvania and on military bases? And he has about as much of a southern accent as Chris Matthews does (i.e., absolutely none).

[Nagas]

I can't imagine how this many can carry the Family Values banner into the General Election against Obama...scum of the Earth.

Not too much longer until we can forget about Newt and focus on taking down Obama with Governor Romney as our nominee.

I for one would love to see a bunch of family values oriented voters vote for Obama.

[Politico]

Or will we be left to wonder if he inherited his mother's manic depression? Will we be left to wonder if mental illness was the reason why he was declared exempt from the draft? To this day, Gingrich has not clarified why he was declared exempt from the draft. Why? Why did he not follow in his father's footsteps by serving in the military like he claims he wish he had?

Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newt/vanityfair1.html

Sooner or later, Gingrich needs to prove that he did not inherit his mother's manic depression. The nation cannot have a sick president who cannot handle the stressful demands of the job.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Where are Romney's tax forms?

[Politico]

Where are Romney's tax forms?

Romney's tax returns have nothing to do with whether or not he is mentally capable of handling the presidency. One look at Obama in 2007 versus 2012 (or Bush in 2000 versus 2009, or Clinton in 1992 versus 2001) should make it abundantly clear that the presidency is a stressful job that only a healthy person should take on.

By the way, Romney's tax return will be released in April, as is customary. He'll probably release every tax return he's ever filed if that is what it takes to make this issue go away.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Where are Romney's tax forms?

Romney's tax returns have nothing to do whether or not he is mentally capable of handling the presidency. One look at Obama in 2007 versus 2012 should make it abundantly clear that the presidency is a stressful job that only a healthy person should take on.

By the way, Romney's tax return will be released in April, as is customary.

If Romney wants to wait until April 15th to do his 2011 taxes, fine, but I think people want to see Romney's old forms.

[Insula Dei]

Ouch, if Romney goes that way I lose all respect I have for the man. Very, very, very vile, this.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Newt spent the late 60s and early 70s in a PhD program, so he probably qualified for a student exemption. He's a chickenhawk, but I doubt anything more sinister is afoot.

[Politico]

Ouch, if Romney goes that way I lose all respect I have for the man. Very, very, very vile, this.

Romney won't, but somebody will. If not somebody in the Republican Party, definitely Obama. It's just a matter of time.

Where there is smoke, there is fire. The signs are all there: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_big_idea/2011/12/is_newt_gingrich_nuts_consider_the_symptoms_.html

[Senator Napoleon]

Ouch, if Romney goes that way I lose all respect I have for the man. Very, very, very vile, this.

What is so vile about it?

[bgwah]

Or will we be left to wonder if he inherited his mother's manic depression? Will we be left to wonder if mental illness was the reason why he was declared exempt from the draft? To this day, Gingrich has not clarified why he was declared exempt from the draft. Why? Why did he not follow in his father's footsteps by serving in the military like he claims he wish he had?

Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newt/vanityfair1.html

Getting desperate, I see.

[Politico]

Or will we be left to wonder if he inherited his mother's manic depression? Will we be left to wonder if mental illness was the reason why he was declared exempt from the draft? To this day, Gingrich has not clarified why he was declared exempt from the draft. Why? Why did he not follow in his father's footsteps by serving in the military like he claims he wish he had?

Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newt/vanityfair1.html

Getting desperate, I see.

This isn't desperate. There is smoke:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_big_idea/2011/12/is_newt_gingrich_nuts_consider_the_symptoms_.html

Is there fire? If not, Gingrich should dispel the rumors by releasing his medical records.

Sooner or later, Gingrich needs to prove that he did not inherit his mother's manic depression. The nation cannot have a sick president.

[bgwah]

lol

[Insula Dei]

Ouch, if Romney goes that way I lose all respect I have for the man. Very, very, very vile, this.

What is so vile about it?

Medical information is private, or it is where I'm from. And attacking Newt on his mother (which is essentially the point here) is just sickeningly wrong.

[Politico]

lol

You're lol'ing right now because, yes, in all likelihood Obama would cream Gingrich. But what if, somehow, some way (another financial meltdown?), Gingrich did win the presidency? What then?

[Politico]

Ouch, if Romney goes that way I lose all respect I have for the man. Very, very, very vile, this.

What is so vile about it?

Medical information is private, or it is where I'm from.

It is customary for presidential candidates to release their medical records to prove they are healthy and fit to handle the stressful demands of the most demanding job on the planet. I know there can be a tendency for us political junkies to treat all of this like it's just another game of political football, but we are talking about the presidency here, not some seat in Congress or a governorship.

And attacking Newt on his mother (which is essentially the point here) is just sickeningly wrong.

Manic depression is commonly inherited from one's parents. This is a medical fact:

"McMahon et al. (1995) found evidence to suggest that manic-depression was more likely to be inherited from mothers than from fathers, proposing that the gene for the disorder would be different in women and men."

Source: http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro99/web1/Bromwell.html

[Senator Napoleon]

Ouch, if Romney goes that way I lose all respect I have for the man. Very, very, very vile, this.

What is so vile about it?

Medical information is private, or it is where I'm from. And attacking Newt on his mother (which is essentially the point here) is just sickeningly wrong.

Perhaps, but the US cannot afford to have someone mentally ill with control of nuclear arms and armed forces. The Palin effect.

[Sibboleth]

This is a really, really disgusting thread. Tempted to hit the report button, but, I don't know. Perhaps we need proof of how low some will go and all that.

[Oakvale]

Well, this thread might be the worst thing I've ever read in my life.

Ouch, if Romney goes that way I lose all respect I have for the man. Very, very, very vile, this.

What is so vile about it?

Medical information is private, or it is where I'm from. And attacking Newt on his mother (which is essentially the point here) is just sickeningly wrong.

^ This, this, this, this. I understand the argument that a Presidential candidate should be open about their health, but I don't agree with it. Medical privacy should be of paramount importance in a decent society.