Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr
Newt Gingrich, fresh from his victory in South Carolina, has now been anointed by the British media, at least, as the front runner in the race to be the US Republican Presidential candidate.
And it does seem that his campaign is now taking off like a rocket.
People have been hearing about doom and gloom, deficits and economic disaster, for years now. They want to feel they have a future. Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic have noticed that.
In the UK, the Governor of the Bank of England says we should cheer up because
There is no reason to despair… All crises come to an end.
Meanwhile, in the US, Mr Gingrich said that
exploration of the universe would inspire the country’s young to feel “part of a generation of courageous people who do something big and bold and heroic.”
In the UK, Mervyn King reckons that “something will turn up”, and in the US Newt Gingrich proposes to send a man to Mars.
I guess that sums up the difference between the UK and the US really.
Meanwhile Mitt Romney was left floundering and claiming he supported NASA too. (NASA is a big employer in Florida, the next primary battle ground.)
And that sums up the difference between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. The one a calculating tactician, aiming for the centre ground because of a tactical decision that that is the way to win the most votes. And the other a politician who, love him or loathe him, speaks from his gut instinct.
I know which I prefer – and it isn’t the squidgy middle ground spin merchant. We have one of those ourselves. His name is David Cameron and he is frankly pathetic.
We in the UK have been there, seen it and bought the T shirt. If you are an American Republican, take it from me. Mitt Romney is another David Cameron, and you don’t want to go there. Really.
Go for it, America. Who knows where Newt Gingrich would take you, and the world. But it would sure be fun.
Reality check. Most western nations have wrapped themselves into a blanket of social democracy even the US more so with the advent of Obama. The people like it and have no wish for it to be taken away from them. The fact that the blanket is a costly apparel is an irrelevance to those that it adorns. Anyone who attempts to take it away from them is looking for trouble that is why we have people like Cameron as our leaders. Even if Gingrich was elected to the White House a most unlikely event he would swiftly learn that to remain there he would need to be more Mitt than Newt. We do need TEA party but with it you need a person of stature, resilience, fortitude, vision and charisma and a lot more including luck. There is no one that fits that bill coupled with which you need not one but a succession of them. For the West the dye is cast the decline is unstoppable it may falter now and then but the collapse is inevitable we have had our day. Rising societies are in the East now and one day they will also arrive at their apogee and their decline will follow. Perhaps each collapse will be softer than the preceding ones until such time as cycle of rise and fall will not matter or even not happen at all.
Well, as you know, I am less pessimistic than you. I also rate Mr Gingrich a bit higher.
I also think that in the US, in contrast to the UK, there is still huge appetite for free enterprise and cutting back the State.