The Grand Shuffle

There's a rather curious opinion piece by Alexandra Le Tellier in the Los Angeles Times which poses an interesting question: why is Newt Gingrich running for the GOP presidential nomination? Unfortunately, the article doesn't really add anything to the various suggestions posed by other pundits. It does, however, provide an interesting compendium of some of those opinions.

Is Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign just a way for him to pass the time? That’s the take of Dante Scala, a political science professor at the University of New Hampshire. "He's on a lark," Scala is quoted as saying in a Wednesday story by Seema Mehta. "It just seems to be a hobby more than a campaign at this point."

I suppose that's about as good an answer as we are likely to get for Newt's improbable run. Actually, I think "run" is probably the wrong word to use for a campaign which involves a few appearances, super expensive private jet transportation, and the loss of most of the experienced campaign staff which originally signed on with the puckish former Speaker of the House. "Run" implies a certain energy and dedication. I think what we're getting from Newt is a stroll, perhaps even a shuffle.

Not content, however, with Scala's assessment, Alexandra Le Tellier moves on to extensively quote Maureen Dowd's heatherish column on Gingrich's penchant for pretty women, each of whom he leaves after lining up the next beauty, and the trenchant observations of Doyle McManus, who thinks Gingrich is a man driven by his love for "the big idea."

Frankly, I really don't care why Newt Gingrich is running, I'm just glad he is. His performances really do take the edge off the boring seriousness of Mitt Romney, the crackpot idiocy of Michele Bachman, and the frenetic "look at ME" contortions of Tim Pawlenty. I say let the man have his campaign, whether it's just the swansong of a man who loves being the center of attention or it's a serious attempt to change the nature of campaigning itself.

I think he's earned it.