Anderson, S.C. – As soon as Newt Gingrich’s bus was visible was on the road from the window of the Chick-fil-A, the crowd gathered there inside burst into a cheer. Outside, camped on the sidewalk and in the parking lot, dozens more waited to catch a glimpse of the former speaker.
Weaving through the crowd, the Gingriches greeted supporters. Both seemed to be making an effort to say more than just hi at times. Noticing one woman’s Apple (iPhone or iPod) case, Callista Gingrich asked, “Is that Kate Spade?” (It was.) Newt, noticing one young man’s college sweatshirt, started talking to him about the school.
In his brief remarks, Gingrich looked beyond South Carolina. “After you get done making sure everybody you know votes, I want you to make a list of everybody you know in Florida,” he said. “Call them, send them an e-mail or put it on your Facebook.”
“This will be an extraordinary campaign,” he added later on in his remarks, “and if we win, it’ll be an extraordinary process of trying to get the country back on the right track..”
“I don’t want to be presumptuous,” Gingrich continued, perhaps thinking of certain recent criticisms. “It’s up to God and the American people.”
He ended on a somewhat solemn note, asking the audience to keep “Callista and me and our family in your prayers.”