The new "Hot Air" poll of conservative activists is out and one feature of the "post Palin" poll is the rise of Newt Gingrich.
This seems a puzzle to Hot Air's Patrick Ishmael who asks for readers to try to explain this rise in the comments section.
"Second, Newt Gingrich continues to rise. The precise catalyst for this is unclear to me, but Gingrich has gained traction as Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul have lost it among Hot Air readers. Explanations for this are welcome in the comments."
I addressed the inevitable rise of Gingrich last week-which I reproduce below. The core, basic reason is that he stands head and shoulders above all the other candidates for his obvious intelligence, grasp of issues and ability to present them-in stark contrast to Perry for example.
Also, it has not escaped Palin supporters notice that his team has reached out to Todd Palin.
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Earl Levenson said
As sad as I am at Sarah’s departure from the race, I realize I must now reassess and move on.
Four tea party groups have endorsed Newt Gingrich recently and I want to now 2nd that approach.
Newt was the Speaker of the House of Representative and orchestrator of the 1994 Contract with America that nationalized every local election in America and changed the political landscape forever. Newt is far and away the best debater and most broadly knowledgeable candidate in the field. Newt was also the 2nd most powerful political figure in America when he was Speaker and 3rd in the line of presidential succession. And not to be overlooked is Newt’s solid support for Israel, and his desire to stop the funding of the PLO and Hamas.
Also of note is that the mainstream press has been very careful not to mention that Newt is now clearly in 4th place in the polling, has been coming in 2nd in a variety of state straw polls, and is almost within striking distance of Romney. The media wants Obama to run against Romney. The last person they want Obama to run against is Newt.
Today Newt is running under the 21st Century Contract With America, a very important way to battle the underworld of Obama and the left today.
I do not know, but I should expect that when Sarah makes her endorsement, if his candidacy is still in play, it will be Newt.
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The above is a letter posted on A significant Palin supporting blog The writer makes some excellent points in defense of his premise I believe.
It has been apparent to me, that in all the Republican candidate debates too date, Gingrich has stood out for his obvious intelligence, grasp of issues, speaking ability (in sharp contrast to Perry especially) and experience.
I will not vote for any of the current candidates, even if Palin endorses one, but, in my opinion, Gingrich stands out as the best candidate to go against Obama based on the ability to debate with him across a wide range if issues.
Cain would be totally out of his depth and the media has not even started on him as far as the "scrutiny"-I would prefer the term muck-raking. Perry is being lampooned already and would be mercilessly so by the wider media, as for Romney..well never is when I would support him.
Certainly Gingrich has personal issues which the media would latch on to but when push came to shove and the economic realities were being addressed the personal foibles would be secondary, if they registered at all, when the campaign got down to the business end. Gingrich would be, I believe, the best to represent the GOP in the serious business of calling the Obama administration, and Obama himself in a one to one debate, to task.
If the reports are correct, the Gingrich campaign has already reached out to Todd Palin, whom Sarah said was handling calls from candidates. If that is the case then I believe he is seriously worth Palin's strong consideration for an endorsement.
Such an endorsement of a candidate the media has written off would, if he shot up in the polls, show she is not "irrelevant" and that she does not endorse with personal reward in mind, given the hard row to hoe for Gingrich to get the nomination.
However, McCain was in very much the position Gingrich is in now.