Newt

(Community Matters) Shortest presidential campaign ever?

Mike Allen’s Playbook: THE PERSON YOU DON’T WANT TO BE TODAY: Newt Gingrich, who yesterday had to apologize to Paul Ryan for dissing his Medicare plan on “Meet the Press,” fend off questions about a Tiffany’s debt, and endure repeated airing of a video of an Iowa voter saying: “Get out now before you make a bigger fool of yourself.”

–Rich Galen, the veteran strategist and former Gingrich aide, says the campaign is “close to being functionally over” unless “adult supervision” is brought in: “This is what people in Washington knew would be the great weakness of a Newt presidential campaign: that he would say whatever came into his head, the moment it came into his head.” The telephoned apology has not solved his problems. A top House GOP aide emails: “The response and eventual apology proved how unprepared he is for a 21st-century political campaign.” http://bit.ly/mypuwh

–Team Gingrich thinks the crisis is serious but survivable. He held two conference calls with tea-party leaders, and one with conservative bloggers. Rick Tyler: “We’ve tried to correct the record and admit it could have been done better. Newt will get up to bat again, and he’ll hit a home run. This is just one event. I don’t think it’s a defining event.” http://bit.ly/lhP2XY