WASHINGTON -- Was I wrong about him? I have voiced a low
opinion of the Hon. Newt Gingrich since the mid-1990s. It was
then that I concluded Newt was the Republican equivalent of Boy
Clinton. That is to say, Newt was a 1960s narcissist of the
student government variety. A rather good book on these two
lovable lugs, The Pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the
Rivalry That Defined a Generation, by the
historian Steven M. Gillon, confirmed my assessment right down to
their early campaigns as campus Machiavels when the rest of us
were drinking beer and avoiding the library. Yet possibly I was
wrong about Newt, or possibly he has grown.
The other day in the Good Times
-- also known as the Washington
Times -- Newt published a very important piece,
revealing that Newt has given sustained intelligent thought to
the Prophet Obama's present Carrousel of Incompetence. Newt is
not the only observer to recognize that we face four years of
high seas, after which a Reagan or a Roosevelt (any Roosevelt)
will be exigent. Even the left is catching on. Recently in the
UK, Steven Hill, writing in the left-wing
Guardian, lamented, "Beyond Obama's
oratorical skills, which excited not only American voters but
people all over the world, he is mostly untested as a politician.
His previous experience was only a few years in the US Senate and
a few years more as a state senator. A sinking feeling is arising
[can a sinking feeling arise?] among many that President Obama
may not be up to the task…." Hill's gloomy appraisal reminds me
of me…and of Newt.
Now Newt proclaims boldly in the
Times that "the conservative hour in
America has once again arrived." In sum and in fine, Newt argues
that the combination of Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid has
loosed an avalanche of left-wing policy revisions that alarms
this center-right nation. The polling advantages held by the
Democrats and their candidate, Barack Obama, last autumn have
wilted and with unprecedented swiftness. The conservatives are in
the running again, as was to be expected notwithstanding our
obituaries in the media. For years, as the polls attest,
conservatives have outnumbered liberals two to one. As Newt
points out, on the economy, domestic affairs, and foreign policy
our conservative alternatives are more agreeable to mainstream
Americans than the radicalism of Obama-Pelosi-Reid.
The problem for conservatives with the arrival of our
"hour" is leadership. It appears that we are not flush with the
kind of leadership that we had in the Reagan years or even in the
1990s -- the Gingrich years? Well, maybe things are not as bad as
they appear at first glance. Possibly Newt has been chastened by
experience and is ready to lead soberly and steadily. Steadiness
was a problem for him in the 1990s. Moreover, we have superb
talent in the House of Representatives with the likes of Eric
Cantor, Thaddeus McCotter, Mike Pence, and Paul Ryan.
Let me suggest two more potential leaders. Steve
Forbes, the editor-in-chief of Forbes, has
been selflessly campaigning for Republican candidates. I heard
him just a week ago and no one has a better grasp of the issues.
He is eloquent and has years of management skills behind him. In
1996 and 2000 he ran competent presidential campaigns. Speaking
out on behalf of the flat tax, immigration reform, a forceful
foreign policy, limited government and market-oriented healthcare
reform, he has solutions to the problems facing us today.
Incidentally, as the Obamamaniacs run up the bills, now adding a
trillion-dollar healthcare monstrosity, what became of the
concern voiced a couple of years back that Medicare faced
bankruptcy? The predicted date looms just a few years from
now.
Also out there bidding to be a national conservative leader
is Dick Armey. The former congressman and House Majority Leader
is a solid conservative with a record of advancing intelligent
conservative policies similar to those advanced by Forbes. When
faced a few weeks back with choosing between FreedomWorks, the
conservative grass roots organization he heads, or continuing
with his lucrative work at a law firm engaged in, among other
things, advancing Obamacare, Armey took the side of principle and
left the law firm. My agents tell me he may resume his political
career. I hope he will.
I also hope that Newt is right, and it is conservatism's
hour once again. Giving the matter a second glance, I see some
very competent leadership available, and there is always Mitt
Romney. He did rather well the last time around until he started
listening to his pollsters.
topics:
Barack Obama, Conservatism
