President Bill Clinton on Gingrich: Would Appeal to Independent Voters; RCP Video: Obvious Clinton would Prefer a Romney nomination

then Speaker Gingrich and President Clinton - Gingrich known to hold the line on Conservative values while working with the Administration - image unabashedleft.blogspot.com

President Bill Clinton, perhaps one of the most moderate Democrats (or old school Democrats) of our time, has plenty to say about Newt Gingrich, the 2012 GOP Candidate. It is a natural course of events, when one considers that the two worked together (although at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum) in order to Balance the Budget and reform welfare so that it gave people a hand up and got them off the roles. Clinton, more than most politician’s, understands the process and who is up or down by looking at a combination of polls and strategy. In the video shown below, by NewMax.com TV, Clinton discusses the 2012 GOP contenders, and “predicted” that Newt Gingrich would break out of the pack, due to his ability to think about and present issues in a manner that is smart and compelling (paraphrasing).

In the video released this weekend by both Newsmax and Real Clear Politics, Clinton goes further noting that Gingrich’s performance in the debates has been outstanding, and that the National Security Debate in particular would put him in good stead with Independent voters. Clinton noted:

Former President Bill Clinton tells Newsmax: “He's articulate and he tries to think of a conservative version of an idea that will solve a legitimate problem,” Clinton said, by way of explaining the Gingrich resurgence. "For example, I watched the national security debate last night. And Newt said two things that would make an independent voter say, ‘Well, I gotta consider that.’"

However, what is missing from both the Real Clear Politics short story and the Newsmax longer article on the subject with video here at www.newsmax.com?headline?Bill-Clinton-Praises-Newt/2011/11/26/id/41943 is the fact that Clinton’s obvious preference for the GOP nomination, although he praises Gingrich, would be another less articulate thinking candidate that appeals to independents: Paraphrasing: (abridged transcript from video) “Romney comes across as strong forceful and knowledgeable, uh and I think that Perry had a better debate last night, I found it interesting.” He then reverts to Gingrich, as the question asked. One has to understand, there is a divide between praising a former foe with admiration, and taking the concerns of one’s political party into consideration.

With Newt Gingrich rising in the polls, (although it is still early in the game in terms of polling and political fortunes), there are several reasons those who wish to replace President Obama and stand a best chance of doing so, would choose Newt Gingrich:
1. He is, by far, the best in the debate arena
2. He appeals to independents
3. He has sound conservative, yet sensible solutions
4. He is by no means a moderate, stands on principle and gets the job done (based on his Congressional Record available here at Thomas.govsearchable by session. (Of particular interest are Bill’s written and sponsored by Newt Gingrich during his tenure in Congress: Focus on fairness in tax laws, education, and reform of social programs across the board are evident. In other words, he has a solid background as a Conservative during his time in the house.
5. He’s an open book: Try as they might, the media has got to dig deep to come up with something someone doesn’t know about Newt Gingrich – all personal and all ancient history (in this day and age, anything over 10 days or more). In addition, anything that Speaker Gingrich may have done, is less than (by comparison) Democrat counterparts.
6. He’s a professor of History

The last item on the list is critical to one who values and studies history. Had the current President studies the cause and effects of President Carters administration, perhaps, just perhaps, the economy would be in better shape right now. An old and appropriate adage: Those who fail to understand history are doomed to repeat it”.

In addition it behooves those who would look upon the answers proposed for immigrants by the former Speaker as reasonable, rather than taking an all or nothing approach. The all or nothing, deport ten to twenty or more illegal immigrants simply has not worked, not in the time Republican’s owned all three branches of government, and it has not improved. What the nation needs is reasonable and practical solutions.

Video: Clinton on Gingrich prediction he would rise in the polls.