With the departure of the beleaguered Herman Cain from the Republican presidential race the highly unpredictable contest seems to have been winnowed down to a two-man race: Mitt Romney versus Newt Gingrich. The Republican problem is that neither has been overwhelmingly embraced by the party.
Gingrich is surging now because he is the current darling of the conservatives in the party who welcome someone who can ably articulate their views. Gingrich as his debate performance and his PhD prove can definitely supply the goods with panache.
Surprisingly he has failed to persuade the conservative pundits, even those who could could have been expected to embrace a fellow intellectual. George Will, one of the most respected conservative columnists, described the candidate in particularly scathing terms.
Gingrich, however, embodies the vanity and rapacity that make modern Washington repulsive. And there is his anti-conservative confidence that he has a comprehensive explanation of, and plan to perfect, everything.
There also definitely pockets of resistance to a Gingrich candidacy on Capitol Hil.l Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) told Fox News that he “will have difficulty supporting (Gingrich) as president of the United States." Coburn served in the House during Gingrich's tenure.
“The thing is there are all type of leaders. Leaders that instill confidence, leaders that are somewhat abrupt and brisk, leaders that have one standard for the people they are leading and different standard for themselves…I found his leadership lacking.”
Republican Party insiders are afraid of Newt Gingrich's unpredictability and tendency to self-destruct. They also cite his baggage. However given the volatility of public opinion perhaps Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal is correct when she warns about placing too much stock in baggage. Noonan reminds us that Bill Clinton who would be eminently electable has accumulated enough baggage to break the hand trucks of 10 Pullman porters.
The nightmare of a professionals is that Gingrich could win the nomination but then cost the party the presidency in the same fashion that candidates such as Sharron Angle in Nevada cost the Republican Party a Senate majority in the 2010 elections. Gingrich they fear is a turnoff for independents who reject his abrasive style.
There are minority opinions that believe that Gingrich because of his position on immigration and his quiet cultivation of the Hispanic vote has strengths that are underappreciated.
As for Romney he has never shed the charge of being a flip flopper who will betray his political positions to fit the prevailing winds. Romney may also have been singed by the inevitability argument on his behalf. Voters instinctively reject the suggestion that they have no alternative and will seek out an alternative just to spite the pundits.
Romney also performed poorly in a recent interview with Fox news, provoking fears that he really cannot withstand a media barrage but is best suited for scripted situations.
One month before money time has started neither of the candidates has dispelled doubts and some Republicans like George Will are still looking for the third man.