After a week of keeping the media guessing on a nearly hourly basis as to whether he was going to officially enter the 2012 presidential fray, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich finally stepped forward to say that his vague presidential ambitions were now vague presidential ambitions that came with a website. Yes, "Newt Explore 2012" is now live on the web, allowing people to do something they've already successfully done for 16 years: donate money to Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign.
It didn't take the unruly web long to have it's way with the latest site on the block, however. Soon after the launch of "NewtExplore2012," a new neighbor moved in. Via Ben Smith:
POLITICO's Juana Summers reports:
"Buddy Roemer is trying to get a piece of Newt Gingrich's online action.
Transpose the words in the URL for Newt Gingrich's exploratory website, and you won't get Newt. Newt Gingrich's exploratory website can be found at NewtExplore2012.com, but if you navigate to ExploreNewt2012.com, you'll get Roemer instead."
All right, Buddy Roemer, that was well played. Roemer, formerly the governor of Louisiana, has been out of politics since 1992 until this week, when he suddenly stamped down on the pedal and burst into the 2012 presidential race. Unlike Gingrich, Roemer hasn't spent these many years out of office teasing America with White House ambitions that then never materialized. And coming hard on Gingrich's heels really cuts a contrast: if Gingrich is the guy who spends a week dithering in confusion, then Roemer is the guy who's going to stick and move with decisiveness.
Of course, the most creative take on Gingrich's new site isn't an overtly political one. On GingrichExplore2012, the first thing you see is a banner image of Newt and Callista Gingrich superimposed on an image of people waving American flags. The underlying image is a stock photo from Getty Images named "large crowd of people holding Stars and Stripes flags." This inspired a blog named Newt Gingrich Standing In Front Of Stock Photos. They are, as you might imagine, hilarious.
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