Newt Gingrich Spokesman Outs Candidate As Anonymous Source

The New Hampshire Union Leader recently quoted "a senior aide in the [Newt] Gingrich campaign" pushing hard, and at length, against criticism from former Governor John H. Sununu, an outspoken surrogate for Mitt Romney's campaign.

The aide, it turns out, was as senior as you can get: It was Gingrich himself.

R.C. Hammond, a spokesman for the Gingrich campaign, revealed the source of the comments to The New York Times, telling the paper that the candidate has also been studying Franklin D. Roosevelt press conference transcripts to get some insight into how he handled reporters. The Times noted that "reporters often quoted President Roosevelt without identifying him."

But should the Union Leader grant a candidate anonymity to defend himself? Union Leader publisher Joe McQuaid wouldn't say or even confirm the source.

"Don't know about you or the Post or the Times, but the Union Leader does not disclose its sources," McQuaid told The Huffington Post in an email. (McQuaid got testy when Politico's Dylan Byers asked him about the Times story).

Gingrich recently won the Union Leader's endorsement, a sought-after blessing from the state's biggest paper and one that is influential among conservatives.

Although Gingrich only spoke on background for this specific piece, national political reporters should have plenty of opportunities to get Gingrich on the record in the near future.

The Times also revealed that the campaign is planning to include space for media on the campaign bus, "and the joke is that it will be the 'Newt Talk Express' a nod to Senator John McCain’s 2000 Straight Talk Express, on which he often he gabbed for hours with reporters."

Comments

[Dr of psychology]

11:41 PM on 01/01/2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY51z1kar-4

[RepsSuck]

01:49 PM on 12/15/2011

If I were Gingrich, I'd fire that senior aide.....!

[RepsSuck]

01:45 PM on 12/15/2011

Palin used to be her own inside source too. Not the wisest political move! What is it that draws all the extreme odd balls to the Republican party? I have been to side shows that seemed more normal!

[szweir]

11:28 AM on 12/15/2011

Newt is a person using this for personal gain (book signings are his job running for president is his exposure). Don't be fooled by the man behind the curtain.

[jrfunkenstein]

06:53 AM on 12/14/2011

Looks like Gingenricher will have no one to blame but himself when he torpedoes his bs campaign with yet more asinine and incendiary comments which have characterized his grifting thus far.

Oh...almost forgot; he can always blame his downfall on some 'invented' terrorists.

[JohnBryansFontaine]

10:29 PM on 12/13/2011

Newt Gingrich’s revisionist history
By Ruth Marcus

"...For a man who likes to tout his expertise as a historian, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has a decidedly revisionist approach when it comes to his own history.

In 1997, Gingrich became the only speaker in history to be reprimanded by the House of Representatives. He agreed to pay $300,000 to settle the matter, which involved using charitable groups to promote his political views and submitting misleading documents to the House ethics committee.

The ethics charges sound like ancient history. They involve dreary matters of tax law. But the episode is worth revisiting because it offers insights into Gingrich’s bombastic, push-the-boundaries style. More troubling, in recent days, Gingrich has been blatantly dishonest in his self-interested rewriting of this history, dismissing the ethics sanction as the action of “a very partisan political committee...”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/newt-gingrichs-revisionist-history/2011/12/13/gIQAKFShsO_story.html

[JohnBryansFontaine]

09:44 PM on 12/13/2011

Gingrich Surges, but Swing Voters Are Wary
by Neil King Jr.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203430404577096703573975494.html

[JohnBryansFontaine]

07:40 PM on 12/13/2011

Two nasty Republicans say nice things about Newt
First Dick Cheney, then Rudy Giuliani suggests Gingrich may be the toughest candidate in the GOP field
by Joan Walsh

http://www.salon.com/2011/12/14/two_nasty_republicans_say_nice_things_about_newt/singleton/

[valeskas]

10:10 AM on 12/16/2011

That's why I would never vote for him, Obama 2012

[gwbsucs1]

06:21 PM on 12/13/2011

let me see Newts lookin for ways on how to handle the press by readin ol newpapers on how FDR handled them - do any of these pugs have any of their own ideas ?

[gwbsucs1]

06:19 PM on 12/13/2011

i don't know if Newt can comingle with all those "Mickey Mouse " question askers

[ernestvalerius]

01:54 PM on 12/13/2011

"Newt talk" isn't meant to be factual.

[vidtrainer110]

01:34 PM on 12/13/2011

Could Newt's ego fit in a bus with reporters? I hope he follows through on this disastrous idea. Newt will get excited and blow himself up if he exposes himself that much. My advice to Newt and his handlers (if any handlers can control him) is to disappear except at debate time and run a nasty nasty nasty negative media campaign...and pray it works. I can wait for this guy to win the nomination. I still somehow think the Repubs will come to their senses (unfortunately) but you never know. Things change fast as we have seen with Gingrich. He is the last guy I would have thought would emerge as a tea party anti-Romney. This is supposed to be the anti-establishment alternative? You can't make this stuff up!

[snoopjohnny]

01:25 PM on 12/13/2011

Newt's pretty darn smart, but if he was as smart as he thinks he is, he might restrain himself now and then. As it is, he's seldom at a loss for words, even when it might be a good idea. Looks like he's shaping up to be Ron Paul's secret weapon.

[Matt LoCoco]

09:43 AM on 12/13/2011

These idiot Republicans are creating the BIGGEST opening for Ron Paul...while Newt and Mitt dig themselves deeper and deeper graves, Ron just gets more support. This is going to be a strange series of Primary elections.

[Iamwoman]

10:42 AM on 12/13/2011

Love Ron Paul.

[Matt LoCoco]

10:48 AM on 12/13/2011

Me too. I hope he's the nominee. At least then there'd be a viable candidate to compete against Obama.

[valeskas]

10:11 AM on 12/16/2011

Did you already cook some squirrel recipe from his book ?

[stephan67]

09:17 AM on 12/13/2011

Richard Nixon is alive.