Can Gingrich Afford to Stay Positive?

December 22, 2011

Can Gingrich Afford to Stay Positive?

As Newt Gingrich slides in the polls amid an onslaught of negative ads and comments by his opponents in the Republican presidential primary, The Hill looks at Gingrich's challenge: remain positive or fight fire with fire.

"In a way, running a positive campaign was almost a necessity for Gingrich. He's so very vulnerable to attacks -- from his support for an individual healthcare mandate to his consulting work to his personal infidelities -- that his best shot at winning was always in an environment free from acrimony and negativity... But by promising to stay positive, he gives up the opportunity to fight back, and thus, when he does, it's immediately called hypocritical. In short, Gingrich is fighting with a hand tied behind his back -- one he's bound himself... In order to staunch the bleeding, Gingrich might have to openly discard the promise of positivity and make someone else bleed, too."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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December 22, 2011