Alrighty, then! The Newt wrote him a book on environmental issues. Counterbalance to Gore, I guess.
Gingrich's solutions beat Gore's doom rhetoricJames P. Pinkerton
November 1, 2007
Al Gore and Newt Gingrich are very different figures, but they are both going through a similar process: They are becoming elder statesmen.
And how does one become an elder statesman, anyway? It's an easy, two-step process: First, have something important to say and be tireless in saying it. Second, stop running for president, because then people will let their guard down; they will listen to the substance of your message, not worry about tracking your upward political mobility.
Oh, and a third thing: Optimism sells better than pessimism. So while the former Democratic vice president is getting most of the glory, worldwide, with his message of profound eco-repentance, it's the former Republican House speaker's message of practical problem-solving that is ultimately going to play better in America.
http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-oppink5440539nov01,0,933724.column Geez. It doesn't get much better.
For another view:
An Inconvenient Newt: Newt Gingrich, environmentalist.By William Saletan
Posted Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007, at 7:43 AM ET
"In the Hegelian model, it's not enough to be the antithesis party."
It's Monday afternoon, and Newt Gingrich is expounding, over lunch, on his new book about saving the Earth. Moments like this remind me why I have a soft spot for Gingrich. How many other Washington big shots go around quoting Hegel? The point of the reference impresses me even more. Gingrich is criticizing his own party, the GOP, for failing to offer environmental solutions. He agrees that Democrats' ideas—"litigation and regulation," he calls them—are wrongheaded. But opposing those ideas isn't enough. He's calling on Republicans to lead what Hegel would call a "synthesis"—a movement that deploys conservative mechanisms to address an important liberal concern.
Gingrich loves to point out that conservatism and conservation are related words. But he was never a real conservative, in the sense of preferring old things. In his early days, he promoted the quasi-oxymoronic "Conservative Opportunity Society," preaching dynamism more than constancy. Today, chatting with a small circle of reporters, his eyes sparkle as he again extols "creativity" and "innovation." He calls himself "pro-growth," "pro-freedom," and "pro-change." Not just change, but "massive," "dramatic," "radical," "fundamental," and "extraordinary" change. I can't help glancing at the gold band on his left hand. He's been wearing a ring on that finger since he was 19, but the rings, like the wives, keep changing. He's a restless man.
http://www.slate.com/id/2176957/ sigh. Newt, Newt, Newt. It's not enough to think you're the smartest motherfucker in the room. You actually must have knowledge.