Gingrich Learns From Others’ Failures

As Newt Gingrich looks to sustain his rise to the top of the Republican presidential field, the Atlantic Wire
looks at some of the lessons Gingrich learned from watching other
candidates’ who briefly enjoyed the status of front runner only to crash
and burn.

Lessons from Michele Bachmann: “Don’t be
anti-science: Gingrich knows he can’t say he agrees with the majority of
scientists who say global warming is real and win the Republican
nomination. But he’s smart enough not to flat-out say it isn’t
real… Don’t forget about the church crowd: Just because we’ve spent
the last few years talking about the Tea Party and it’s lack of interest
in social issues doesn’t mean the culture war went away. Gingrich has
been working hard to win over evangelicals.”

Lessons
from Rick Perry: “Don’t be bad at debates: Obviously. Gingrich is
already trash talking President Obama’s debate skills. Don’t be too
mean: The top word associated with Perry in an Ohio focus group was ‘bully.’ Gingrich has worked hard to avoid criticizing his fellow
Republicans on stage during debates.”

Lessons from
Herman Cain: “Deal with the woman situation: In fairness, Gingrich
probably didn’t learn this from Cain, but from his old foe Bill Clinton.
Gingrich got out in front of his woman problem a long time ago… Know
things about foreign policy.”