The Fatal Eloquence of Newt Gingrich

Is Newt Gingrich asking the right questions to set our ship of state back on course, or is he just dazzling people with his fancy footwork?

Gingrich is able to deflect questions about his own shortcomings with outrage against the media or his opponents, and by claiming that he is being unfairly persecuted. Granted, he is brilliantly eloquent. Gingrich has such a vast pool of  knowledge to draw upon, and such a way with words, that it's almost impossible to listen to him for even a short period of time and not be drawn into his world. 

But, does his eloquence cover up the fact that he is a ship without a rudder?

Newt's Fiery Passion

He can make an air tight case for whichever side of an argument that is held by his audience. For Gingrich, what's important to him is not the position that he takes so much as it's the fiery passion and eloquence that he can bring to bear in his answer.

Is that necessarily a bad thing? In one sense, he is a great politician in that he is squaring his thoughts with those of his constituency.

On the other hand, the question has to be asked, where is his soul? What does he truly believe?

Lincoln Weighs In

Abraham Lincoln observed that Stephen Douglas, the Newt Gingrich of his era, spoke with such eloquence that, "He can make us believe that a horse chestnut is the same as a chestnut horse."

Eloquence and sensitivity to the views of his constituents may be the qualities of a good politician, but shouldn't statesmen be made of sterner stuff?

Will Gringrich's massive supernova personality implode into a black hole?  Who knows.

One thing's for sure, thanks to Gingrich, the Republican presidential nomination process has become a fascinating, if not brillant, spectacle to behold.



Upcoming Interviews for "Carve Out Your Niche":

January 30th, sometime between 11 am and noon, I will be interviewed on "The Morning Blend," Channel 9 in Tucson, about my book "Carve Out Your Niche."
I will try to get a recording of the interview to post on my blog, for those of you in other states.