Newt for President? Turn Off Your Television By Richard Craig December 19, 1997

There are some mighty unsavory rumors down South. Okay, they're more than rumors, at least according to a Georgia newspaper. Word has it that Newt Gingrich is considering a run for the presidency in 2000.

Do yourself and America a favor, Newt. Don't do it.

If ever there was one candidate who could engender the most negative presidential campaign in history, it's Gingrich. And neither Newt nor America needs that.

This isn't really about whether he's qualified to be president. To be sure, Gingrich has both qualifications and supporters. Men with far less legislative experience than Gingrich have served as president, and men with less well-organized support have been elected to the office. He's been speaker of the house for nearly four years, has helped define several key elements of the Republican legislative agenda, and been an effective leader on many causes. He's also considered an excellent speaker and a strong campaigner. Sounds like a slam-dunk for the GOP nomination, right?

Well, he may be -- I just don't want to be there when it happens. First of all, his personality is hardly fit for a civilized campaign. His style has always been confrontational, his pugnaciousness is legendary, and he has an ego considered mammoth even in Washington. As a national figure, he's been abrasive enough to have gone from leader of a Republican revolution in 1994 to a pariah in 1996. Even in today's America, that is a swift fall from grace.

But setting all that aside, a campaign with Gingrich as the Republican nominee would create an unsettling scenario. Given his history and styles of operation, Gingrich would almost require a negative campaign from the Democrats. In spite of his positives, it's a virtual certainty that the 2000 campaign would be forever remembered for the nightly parade of skeletons in Gingrich's closet.

To begin with, in this age of media microcoverage of campaigns, a certain amount of decorum and reserve -- or at least the appearance of humility -- are necessary for a presidential candidate's survival. Gingrich, on the other hand, has no unexpressed thoughts. "I have an enormous personal ambition," he said a few years ago. "I want to shift the entire planet. And I'm doing it ... I'm unavoidable. I represent real power." This is the man who once called Bob Dole "the tax collector for the welfare state," the man who once promoted statehood for space colonies, and campaigned to replace Social Security with mandatory IRAs. Statements like these practically beg to be used in opposing candidates' TV commercials.

Still, if Bill Clinton survived Gennifer Flowers, Gingrich might well survive his history of silly statements and become the Republican nominee. The general election, however, could well see the airing of some truly unparalleled dirty laundry. By the simple act of telling the truth about Gingrich in TV ads, the Democrats could make watching prime-time TV an emotionally turbulent experience.

Where do you begin? How about with some early footage showing Gingrich arguing his hawkish views on defense, segued into more recent tape of him calling Bill Clinton a draft dodger. This, of course, would be overlaid with the fact that Gingrich himself skipped out of the draft during Vietnam. Another ad could show Gingrich lecturing an empty house chamber in front of C-SPAN cameras in the early '80s, questioning the patriotism of Democrats in general and the Democratic leadership in particular. Addressing the empty chamber might well be referred to as Gingrich's preparation for leading Republicans in Congress.

This is relatively tame, though embarrassing enough to cause damage, and irritating enough to grow old very quickly for viewers. But if Gingrich were to stay close in the race as November drew nearer, the Democrats would not hesitate to use even seamier personal material. You might see a commercial showing how Gingrich won his house seat in 1978. You might see film of a young Gingrich running on a platform of moral leadership and family values, though aides later admitted he was having an extramarital affair at the time.

You might also see a clip from Gingrich's own TV ad in the 1978 race, claiming that if his opponent were elected, she would leave her husband, while Gingrich would keep his family together. Gingrich won that race and dumped his own wife a few months later in favor of a woman 15 years younger. A related ad would doubtless follow quickly, showing Newt visiting his first wife in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery, not to present her with a rose or best wishes, but with the final details of the divorce.

I don't know about you, but I don't want this on in my house. Given the current state of campaigning, however, unless the Democratic nominee was ahead by a steady 20-25 points throughout a race against Gingrich, all of the above would be considered fair game. In addition, this is just one side of the potential equation. With his history of confrontational politics, there's no reason to think that Newt's own ads wouldn't attack his opponent just as viciously as this, perhaps with less basis in fact.

Bill Clinton has plenty of his own problems, and we all got sick of hearing about them in 1992. I don't want to live through Newt Gingrich's past every night on TV in 2000.

©1997 Richard Craig. All rights reserved.

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