I absolutely agree with Jonah. The presidency would be like crack cocaine to an egomaniac like Newt.

Newt says he has profoundly changed. Ridiculous. We all have to tone down our acts a bit when too many crushing reviews come in. Now, with just a little taste of returning popularity, the old, grandiose, pugnacious, bombastic, know-all Newt starts to re-emerge.

Newt puzzles many people in that he is an unconventional politician.

Conventional politicians are ambition enclosed by skin. Newt, on the other hand, is EGO enclosed by skin. Newt is not primarily motivated by reaching the political heights... he is motivated always and in every situation, by the need to be seen as the smartest guy in the room.

This is why his public pronouncements often seem needlessly incautious and self-destructive. Newt will not say the politically safe thing, he will always say what he perceives to be the brilliant thing... and that can often be terminally dumb.

But he's not going to change. Being seen as brilliant is an addiction to Newt... and like all addicts, he is always at risk of sacrificing his own long-term benefit for the thrill of the next hit. His addiction makes him a dangerous, erratic candidate for the GOP... and, if nominated, a real gift for Obama.

Ditto that, Ed...filistro probably has the best comment on this thread so far.

I've said more than once that Newt's a great big-picture message guy, and I'd MUCH rather see him running the Republican National Committee, maybe with Sarah as his deputy - at the very least, we'd be spared the spectacle of "debates" moderated and controlled by auxiliaries of the Obama campaign.

@LKS..I'm curious if you would expand on why, though, you think Newt would be a "real gift to Obama"?

I think a Romney/Obama contest would likely be a toss-up and an exciting race all the way to the finish, ultimately determined by small variables and/or the political climate next fall. However I don't think Newt even has a chance against Obama, and I have four main reasons for this opinion:

1.) Newt is erratic and garrulous, likely to step on his own message and be forced to walk back his statements, which gives an impression of unsteadiness at a time when the public is frightened and looking for stability.

2.) Newt lacks personal charm, and I don't believe he would wear well over a long campaign. People could well get very tired of his smugness and lofty, dismissive attitude.

3.) The GOP candidate cannot win without enthusiastic support from the socially conservative base, and they are still cool toward Newt's lobbying history, multiple marriages, lesbian sister, etc. They also deeply dislike his current wife... and this a group that tends to care about their First Lady more than other GOP voters do.

4.) Finally, it just doesn't seem part of the American psyche to reach back to the past for its politicians. America is always a forward-looking nation. I will probably be instantly corrected on this by half a dozen more knowledgeable folks... :-).. but I can't offhand recall anybody who climbed as high as Speaker, fell into disfavor and then clawed his way back to an even higher position.

Umm...she is a former mistress. That's kind of the problem. Newt's 2nd wife has said (in the recent GQ profile of Gingrich) that, in fact, he initially wanted them to maintain their marriage, for public purposes, while he would be allowed to keep Callista "on the side" in a French-style 'open marriage' arrangement. She said no, and he filed for divorce rather than drop his mistress.

Yeah...kind of a problem.

filistro has nailed it (or Newt). I would only add that no matter how smart you are, you always need to think twice before opening your mouth when speaking publicly, and this is something Newt doesn't have the discipline to do.

His comeback after pushing the self-destruct button he seems to have concealed in his belt buckle is nothing short of remarkable - I said he'd never be able to do it. But being Newt, as filistro said, he'll draw the wrong conclusion, and push it again (and even again, if necessary) until he finally goes down for the count.

PLEASE DON'T FEED THE TROLLS.

When in doubt, infer it is a troll.

Newt has arrogantly, needlessly, and -- according to Bill Kristol -- deliberately confronted the base with his support for amnesty. That is insulting and disqualifying, in my opinion.

For your information, kid, Kristol was ~praising~ Newt for confronting the base with his amnesty plans. Kristol's remarks were made this morning on Fox, and he said that Newt told him before the debate that he was going to do it.

So not to confuse you but Newt is Kristol's boy. And, btw, a lot of the NR big guys -- Lowry for example -- have written very unfavorably about Romney. But in your world of mad hatred, the least suspicion of sympathy for Romney is completely damning. And your "suspicions," more often than not, arise randomly from among the fetid vapors of your swamp of a brain.