One's a born liar...

Newt Gingrich is right now suffering the fate of most firebrand populist politicians--think William Jennings Bryan, Huey Long--in that people don't really pay much attention to him unless he's saying shocking things, going nuclear. The problem is that when he does this he opens himself up for attacks by the likes of Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, both of whom laid into him during Thursday night's debates, essentially calling him unstable. Even Ron Paul thought Newt should be "sent to the moon." Newt's demeanor was quite mild under attack--it's difficult to know if he was reeling in shock because Mitt was actually biting back or simply not perturbed in the slightest. It certainly showed in the polls. And Newt is certainly right that the Republican establishment is out to bring him down--Bob Dole, who ran the most tepid of campaigns against Bill Clinton in 1996 (he was criticized by other Republicans for claiming that Clinton was his "opponent, not my enemy") lashed out at Gingrich with what felt like real venom. Next they'll be trotting out the "alienists," as they did to Bryan in 1896, to claim that Newt is crazy.
      I don't think Newt is crazy, but I do think he believes his own bullshit, which may not be something you want in a national leader. But he and Romney are quite a pair. Paraphrasing the great Billy Martin, a friend of mine said the other day: "One's a born liar and the other [lacks] conviction."