Collegiate Times

Now, Gingrich and Romney are engaged in a vicious back and forth. All candidates tend to become more aggressive when every vote matters; Gingrich is unique in that throughout the campaign, he probably hasn’t ever seriously listened to consultants, while all his rivals have — especially Romney. Gingrich, it seems, only listens to
Gingrich.

I just can’t see any political consultant comfortably condoning Gingrich’s speeches about dinosaurs, building a lunar base amid a recession or criticizing debate moderators instead of his opponents.  

Gingrich’s campaign has continued to gain momentum. He won the South Carolina primary and has received many more endorsements after his victory. He has gained the support of former rival Rick Perry, several state-office holders in Florida and the supposedly coveted endorsements of Sarah Palin, Chuck Norris and Cain. There has to be a good joke involving Cain’s sexual harassment allegations and Gingrich’s two ex-wives.  

The ultimate question and concern for Republicans is, if Romney fails to galvanize the base, how would Gingrich fare in the general election against President Barack Obama. I don’t think he would do well. Gingrich has already stated that if he secures the Republican nomination, he will immediately challenge the president to three Lincoln-Douglass style debates. That almost certainly won’t happen — I don’t know why would Obama agree to such a thing. And while Gingrich is a great debater, everyone knows the president is better.

Also, it will be hard to contrast the conservative from the liberal when one advocates more spending on infrastructure while the other pledges to build a moon base. President Obama will win, however, because of personal factors. It will be hard for Gingrich to court the evangelical vote, which can be crucial, with three marriages while the president has only one.

That may, however, only be a small hindrance compared to Gingrich’s major liability: his unpredictability. The supporters of President Obama, Sen. Rick Santorum, Congressman Ron Paul and Gov. Romney know what will happen if their candidate wins.

Gingrich fans can’t say the same. He had one of the most turbulent speakerships in American history and has had a frantic campaign. The man himself is simply odd — his name is Newt.

And if voters have to choose between Obama’s overall stability and predictability, as well as Gingrich’s dynamic nature, even a few Republicans will likely vote for four more years of the same.

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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 2 issue of the Collegiate Times.