Gingrich Rises in Polls, Offers New “Contract With America”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign got off to a self-admittedly “bad start,” which is more than a bit of an understatement. His candidacy has been dismissed since then — but two recent polls show improvement. He now plans to make a splash with his “21st Century Contract with America.”
Gingrich has consistently gotten some of the biggest applause lines in the presidential debates, and wisely positioned himself to gain by staying out of the combat as the others attacked each other. A recent CNN poll, taken after the the last debate, shows Gingrich in a solid third place at 10 percent with Herman Cain, Sarah Palin, and Ron Paul at 7 percent. (This was taken before Herman Cain’s rise in the polls following his straw poll win in Florida.) Michele Bachmann’s support collapsed to only 4 percent.
Former President Bill Clinton was asked by Newsmax to assess the field and if he thought it was down to a contest between Romney and Perry. The one candidate Clinton mentioned who could shake up the race was Gingrich. He also said: “Politics is not so static that it will be these two guys fighting it out all the way to the end, with nothing unpredictable happening.”
Gingrich’s new Contract, which he states is “10 times deeper and more comprehensive” than the 1994 proposal, may be what moves Gingrich to the top of the second-tier pack.
