The endorsement of New Hampshire's Union Leader, How big of deal is it? How many have gone on to win the
Presidency that was endorsed by the Union Leader? Doesn't mean much when you go back and look at
endorsements verses winning the party's nomination and the presidency.
Gingrich never had much luck in leadership positions. Once he was speaker of the House,
his career took a downward turn. He had trouble adjusting to the position of
being a leader. Colleagues joked that 70% of Gingrich could be president, while
the other 30% explained why he was not.
Gingrich
proved unable to tame members of his own party and to bring about a deal. His
difficulty controlling what he said in front of the media led to embarrassing
moments, such as when he was mocked as a "cry baby" for having
complained that President Bill Clinton didn't speak to him on Air Force One on
the trip to Israel for the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin (though the White House
released pictures showing that he did) and that he had to exit the rear of the
plane.
In
the end, as the partisan wars led to the House decision to impeach Clinton,
Gingrich was forced to step aside as a result of his own affair, his ethics
violations, and the poor results of the 1998 midterms.
While
it is unlikely that Gingrich, with his personal baggage and lack of discipline,
will survive the caucuses and primaries, he could offer Republicans a useful
boost in the coming months.More
