Maureen Dowd’s OpEd column “My Man Newt” (NY Times Nov. 29^th) is a marvel! The formulation is a rowdy mix of her own fascinating take on Gingrich, pungent quotes from the DC elite and fascinating statements by the would-be president himself.,

Dowd begins with tongue firmly in cheek: “In many ways, Newt is the perfect man. He knows how to buy good jewelry. He puts his wife ahead of his campaign. He’s so in touch with his feelings that he would rather close the entire federal government than keep his emotions bottled up …

Then deeper digs: … “Newt Gingrich is a phony with gobs of historical grandiosity. The 68-year-old has … noted nonchalantly: ‘People like me are what stand between us and Auschwitz.’ As speaker, he liked to tell reporters he was a World Historical Transformational Figure.”

And the plaintive question, “What does it say about the cuckoo G.O.P. primary that Gingrich is the hot new thing?”

But my favorite passage comes from Barney Frank, who since he is soon retiring, calls it like he sees it: “‘Gingrich was the single biggest factor in destroying a Washington culture where two parties respected each other’s differing views yet still worked together ... He got to Congress in ’78 and said, ‘We the Republicans are not going to be able to take over unless we demonize the Democrats.’”

Dowd sums up, “Newt is the progenitor of the modern politics of personal destruction … boasts that he’s full of fresh ideas ... but it always seems to essentially be the same old one ... let’s turn the clock back to the ‘50s.”

Read it here.

Positively,
Carolan