went through newt gingrich with a fine tooth comb they didn't find anything let's remember newt gingrich balanced the budget under bill clinton who wanted to spend about as badly as barack obama wanted to spend they reformed welfare. he's got a whole bunch of good credits and the myth that newt gingrich shut the government down no sorry about that it was bill clinton that shut the government down we're going back to the same battleaxe remember when it happened steve do you want to get in there because there's also the freddie mac. money that gingrich got one point six million dollars i mean again all the way up to the he only made it to it when he was confronted with it i mean again he's the consummate insider how can this be something new how can he spend himself with something new. well you know the judge has got a difficult job there and i don't envy it all i mean there's gingrich always has an excuse for something he did you know he didn't do anything wrong you know they dismissed eighty four out of eighty five charges well you know dozens of judson's an attorney he knows better than

went through newt gingrich with a fine tooth comb they didn't find anything let's remember newt gingrich balanced the budget under bill clinton who wanted to spend about as badly as barack obama wanted to spend they reformed welfare. he's got a whole bunch of good credits and the myth that newt gingrich shut the government down no sorry about that it was bill clinton that shut the government down we're going back to the same battleaxe remember when it happened steve do you want to get in there because there's also the freddie mac. money that gingrich got one point six million dollars i mean again all the way up to the he did he only made it to it when he was confronted with it i mean again he's the consummate insider how can this be something new how can he spend himself in something new. well you know the judge has got a difficult job there and i don't envy you i mean there's gingrich always has an excuse for something he did you know he didn't do anything wrong you know they dismissed eighty four out of eighty five charges well you know judson's an attorney he knows better than that yo

went through newt gingrich with a fine tooth comb they didn't find anything let's remember newt gingrich balanced the budget under bill clinton who wanted to spend about as badly as barack obama wanted to spend they reformed welfare. he's got a whole bunch of good credits and the myth that newt gingrich shut the government down no sorry about that it was bill clinton that shut the government down we're going back to the same battleaxe remember when it happened steve do you want to get in there because there's also the freddie mac. money that gingrich got one point six million dollars i mean again all the way up to the he didn't he only made it to it when he was confronted with it i mean again he's the consummate insider how can this be something new how can he spin itself is something new. well you know the judge has got a difficult job there and i don't envy it all i mean there's gingrich always has an excuse for something he did you know he didn't do anything wrong you know they dismissed eighty four out of eighty five charges well you know judgment judson's an attorney he knows better

went to newt gingrich with a fine tooth comb they didn't find anything let's remember newt gingrich balanced the budget under bill clinton who wanted to spend about as badly as barack obama wanted to spend their reformed welfare. he's got a whole bunch of good credits and the myth that newt gingrich shut the government down no sorry about that it was bill clinton that shut the government down we're going back to the same battleaxe remember when it happened steve do you want to get in there because there's also the the freddie mac. money that gingrich got one point six million dollars i mean again all the way up to the he only admitted to it when he was confronted with it i mean again he's the consummate insider how can this be something new how can he spin himself as something new. well you know the judge has got a difficult job there and i don't envy it all i mean there is gingrich always has an excuse for something here you know he didn't do anything wrong you know they dismissed eighty four out of eighty five charges well you know dozens of judson's an attorney he knows better than that y

went through newt gingrich with a fine tooth comb they didn't find anything let's remember newt gingrich balanced the budget under bill clinton who wanted to spend about as badly as barack obama wanted to spend they reformed welfare. he's got a whole bunch of good credits and the myth that newt gingrich shut the government down no sorry about that it was bill clinton that shut the government down we're going back to the same battleaxe remember when it happened steve do you want to get in there because there's also the freddie mac. money that gingrich got one point six million dollars i mean again all the way up to the he didn't he only made it to it when he was confronted with it i mean again he's the consummate insider how can this be something new how can he spin himself as something new. well you know the judge has got a difficult job there and i don't envy it all i mean there's gingrich always has an excuse for something he did you know he didn't do anything wrong you know they dismissed eighty four out of eighty five charges well you know judgment judson's an attorney he knows bette

went to newt gingrich with a fine tooth comb they didn't find anything let's remember newt gingrich balanced the budget under bill clinton who wanted to spend about as badly as barack obama wanted to spend their reformed welfare. he's got a whole bunch of good credits and the myth that newt gingrich shut the government down no sorry about that it was bill clinton that shut the government down we're going back to the same battleaxe remember when it happened steve do you want to get in there because there's also the freddie mac. money that gingrich got one point six million dollars i mean again all the way up to the only admitted to it when he was confronted with it i mean again he's the consummate insider how can this be something new how can he spend himself with something new. well you know the judge has got a difficult job there and i don't envy it all i mean there is gingrich always has an excuse for something here you know he didn't do anything wrong you know they dismissed eighty four out of eighty five charges well you know dozens of judson's an attorney he knows better than that you k

went to newt gingrich with a fine tooth comb they didn't find anything let's remember newt gingrich balanced the budget under bill clinton who wanted to spend about as badly as barack obama wanted to spend their reformed welfare. he's got a whole bunch of good credits and the myth that newt gingrich shut the government down no sorry about that it was bill clinton that shut the government down we're going back to the same battleaxe remember when it happened steve do you want to get in there because there's also the the freddie mac. money that gingrich got one point six million dollars i mean again all the way up to the he didn't he only needed to it when he was confronted with it i mean again he's the consummate insider how can this be something new how can he spin himself as something new. well you know the judge has got a difficult job there and i don't envy it all i mean there's gingrich always has an excuse for something here you know he didn't do anything wrong you know they dismissed eighty four out of eighty five charges well you know dozens of judson's an attorney he knows better than

went through newt gingrich with a fine tooth comb they didn't find anything let's remember newt gingrich balanced the budget under bill clinton who wanted to spend about as badly as barack obama wanted to spend their reformed welfare. he's got a whole bunch of good credits and the myth that newt gingrich shut the government down no sorry about that it was bill clinton that shut the government down we're going back to the same battleaxe remember when it happened steve do you want to get in there because there's also the the freddie mac. money that gingrich got one point six million dollars i mean again all the way up to the only admitted to it when he was confronted with it i mean again he's the consummate insider how can this be something new how can he spin himself as something new. well you know the judge has got a difficult job there and i don't envy it all i mean there's gingrich always has an excuse for something he did you know he didn't do anything wrong you know they dismissed eighty four out of eighty five charges well you know dozens of judson's an attorney he knows better than

prestige of newt gingrich. prestige of the speakership of the house. that's what they're selling. it's the newt gingrich signed gavel and newt gingrich framed certificate and the party where you're allowed or guaranteed you'll be allowed to be near newt gingrich. it is the letter you get from the desk of speaker newt gingrich. and today we have learned that it's not just small businesses and doctors who've been suckered into the whole access to newt fund-raising spam scam. it's big companies, too. today "washington post" reports that the newt gingrich's health care think tank, the center for health transformation, collected $37 million over the past 8 years from some of the biggest health care companies in the country. companies like astrazeneca and blue cross blue shield and ge health care and wellpoint. all of these companies would pay newt's for h-profit health care thing, $200,000 a year in membership dues. what would they get for their membership dues money? in part, they'd get special access to the former

mitt romney and newt gingrich. or as i keep saying newt romney and mitt gingrich. if i do that on air tonight, i'm sorry. it's embarrassing. the thing emerging as the biggest hurdle to newt gingrich getting the nomination is the establishment wing of the republican party. today this came out into the open. there are people in the republican establishment willing to voice concerns of mr. gingrich in recent weeks. today the flood gates opened. conservative columnist david brooks at "the new york times," quote, he has every negative character trait conservatives associate with 1960s excess. narcissism, self-righteousness, self-indulgence and intemperance. he would severely damage conservatism in the republican party if nominated. former reagan speechwriter, peggy noonan writing in "the wall street journal," quote, those who know him fear or hope he'll be true to form in one respect. he'll continue to lose to his number one longtime foe, newt gingrich. he is is a human hand grenade who walks around with his hand on the pin saying, watch this. quote, is he erratic and u

in newt gingrich's case, for 20 years. in mitt romney's case, he's the only governor in the united states' history to put into place "socialized" medicine. they both agree with barack obama. this is the seminal piece of legislation of barack obama. it's the one issue that our candidate has to take president obama on with, and they won't be able to debate him on this issue because they're on the same side as the president. but also newt romney are on the same side of the president when it comes to cap-and-trade, the $700 billion bailout, illegal immigration, even the payroll tax this week, which there isn't one shred of evidence that that has created a single job. when you take a look, and people say this is a two-man race, i would agree. but the one man is newt romney and the other man is michele bachmann, the only proven consistent constitutional conservative. i'm the only one that can take the debate to barack obama and win and be elected. >> schieffer: i'm going to separate newt romney into two people again just to ask

newt gingrich is a grad yea tor. romney doesn't like this stuff. >> romney can't win a barroom brawl. he won't win the nomination unless he proves he can do it. with respect to gingrich, he's under attack from the right on the ground in iowa. he's under attack from above the elite of the party, the commentary in washington and new york. under ordinary rules, no candidate could survive this kind of challenge. what gingrich has to bet is the conventional rules do not apply. this is not a conventional year or moment. an unconventional candidate can prevail. he's got a lot of what would ordinarily be fatal weaknesses. >> there used to be a phrase you don't hit below the belt. i'm not sure where the belt is anymore. the first attack on gingrich was religion in the romney ad highlighting his con sis ten si in his fate. look at this mistake venturing into the issue of religion. >> i think people understand i'm a man of steadiness. you are not going to find somebody with more of those attributes. i've been married to the sam

newt gingrich had a target. mitt romney benefited by that. the other benefit is that should he get the nomination, he will have a target on his back from barack obama. any time he has had that target, he has sort of choked and clutched. i think these debates are great for him. if it goes on for a while, it will be good for him because he has to get to the point where he can compete against the president of the united states, and not look at it like a rich guy. >> what about ron paul. >> he defined himself as a libertarian. his position on foreign policy is so far beyond pillar of the republican party -- the isolationist strain that he is talking about, that just does not sell beyond the libertarians. the person who lays the profile it is michele bachmann. >> first of all, by avoiding the bullying tactic used last saturday night, and that is what mitt romney did, you say the yankees won the world series, do you want to bet $10,000? the rich bully can do it. mitt romney avoided that. i thought michele bachmann did a formidable job on the influe

went through newt gingrich with a fine tooth comb they didn't find anything let's remember newt gingrich balanced the budget under bill clinton who wanted to spend about as badly as barack obama wanted to spend their reformed welfare. he's got a whole bunch of good credits and the myth that newt gingrich shut the government down no sorry about that it was bill clinton that shut the government down we're going back to the same battleaxe remember when it happened steve do you want to get in there because there's also the the freddie mac. money that gingrich got one point six million dollars i mean again all the way up to the he only made it to it when he was confronted with it i mean again he's the consummate insider how can this be something new how can he spend himself with something new. well you know the judge has got a difficult job there and i don't envy it all i mean there's gingrich always has an excuse for something he did you know he didn't do anything wrong you know they dismissed eighty four out of eighty five charges well you know judgment judson's an attorney he knows better

went through newt gingrich with a fine tooth comb they didn't find anything let's remember newt gingrich balanced the budget under bill clinton who wanted to spend about as badly as barack obama wanted to spend their reformed welfare. he's got a whole bunch of good credits and the myth that newt gingrich shut the government down no sorry about that it was bill clinton that shut the government down we're going back to the same battleaxe remember when it happened steve do you want to get in there because there's also the freddie mac. money that gingrich got one point six million dollars i mean again all the way up to the he did he only made it to it when he was confronted with it i mean again he's the consummate insider how can this be something new how can he spin himself as something new. well you know the judge has got a difficult job there and i don't envy it all i mean there is gingrich always has an excuse for something he did you know he didn't do anything wrong you know they dismissed eighty four out of eighty five charges well you know judgment judson's an attorney he knows better

went through newt gingrich with a fine tooth comb they didn't find anything let's remember newt gingrich balanced the budget under bill clinton who wanted to spend about as badly as barack obama wanted to spend their reformed welfare. he's got a whole bunch of good credits and the myth that newt gingrich shut the government down no sorry about that it was bill clinton that shut the government down we're going back to the same battleaxe remember when it happened steve do you want to get in there because there's also the freddie mac. money that gingrich got one point six million dollars i mean again all the way up to the he didn't he only admitted to it when he was confronted with it i mean again he's the consummate insider how can this be something new how can he spin himself as something new. well you know the judge has got a difficult job there and i don't envy it all i mean there's gingrich always has an excuse for something he did you know he didn't do anything wrong you know they dismissed eighty four out of eighty five charges well you know dozens of judson's an attorney he knows be

went through newt gingrich with a fine tooth comb they didn't find anything let's remember newt gingrich balanced the budget under bill clinton who wanted to spend about as badly as barack obama wanted to spend they reformed welfare. he's got a whole bunch of good credits and the myth that newt gingrich shut the government down no sorry about that it was bill clinton that shut the government down we're going back to the same battleaxe remember when it happened steve do you want to get in there because there's also the freddie mac. money that gingrich got one point six million dollars i mean again all the way up to the he did he only made it to it when he was confronted with it i mean again he's the consummate insider how can this be something new how can he spin himself as something new. well you know the judge has got a difficult job there and i don't envy it all i mean there's gingrich always has an excuse for something he did you know he didn't do anything wrong you know they dismissed eighty four out of eighty five charges well you know judson's an attorney he knows better than that

prestige of newt gingrich. prestige of the speakership of the house. that's what they're selling. it's the newt gingrich signed gavel and newt gingrich framed certificate and the party where you're allowed or guaranteed you'll be allowed to be near newt gingrich. it is the letter you get from the desk of speaker newt gingrich. and today we have learned that it's not just small businesses and doctors who've been suckered into the whole access to newt fund-raising spam scam. it's big companies, too. today "washington post" reports that the newt gingrich's health care think tank, the center for health transformation, collected $37 million over the past 8 years from some of the biggest health care companies in the country. companies like astrazeneca and blue cross blue shield and ge health care and wellpoint. all of these companies would pay newt's for-profit health care thing $200,000 a year in membership dues. what would they get for their membership dues money? in part, they'd get special access to the former ho

but really nothing else in newt gingrich's empire compares to newt gingrich as author. this is where he is the most, literally, prolific, he is his own cottage industry in publishing. look at what he's done. "valley forge," "to save america," "to try men's souls," "gettysburg," "the gettysbur trilogy," "the essential american," "real change," "pearl harbor," "rediscovering god in america," "why american exceptionalism matters," "1945," "days of infamy," "ronald reagan," "lessons learned the hard way," "5 principles for a perfect life." yeah, all of those books were newt gingrich's books. that's the part of the library that's under gingrich, n. this has all been a big dollar operation for newt gingrich. and it has to be noted that his zeal to hawk his wares has known not the boundaries of good taste. you'll recall december 7th, attack on pearl harbor, mr. gingrich sends this tweet, "the 69th anniversary of the japanese attack is a good time to remind folks of our novels, pearl harbor and days of infamy, newt." could be a good time. might also not be. beyond the movies an

he said newt gingrich is not a nice human being. new york congressman peter king thinks newt gingrich the qe owes it to his insistences -- thinks he owes it to his constituents not to let it happen again. the columnist george will says gingrich would make a marvelous marxist. "the conservative -- the conservative "national journal, is urging readers not to enter a marriage with newt gingrich. they say he is put his own interests among those of the causes he champignon public. what is it about this guy that is driving republicans crazy? >> you presented a strong indictment, but i have to say newt gingrich has an ability -- having been the man of the year in 1995, he plummeted in popular support where him a poll less than two years ago he was less than 14% favorable. there is a story where he turned to bob doll and said why do people take such an instant dislike to me, and bob dole responded it saves them time. [laughter] >> this is a man with an enormous amount of history and bad feelings, as you can tell about the people saying not

newt gingrich sounded

but really nothing else in newt gingrich's empire compares to newt gingrich as author. this is where he is the most, literally, prolific, he is his own cottage industry in publishing. look at what he's done. "valley forge," "to save america," "to try men's souls," "gettysburg," "the gettysburg trilo trilo trilogy," t"the essential american," "real change," "pearl harbor," "rediscovering god in america," "why american exceptionalism matters," "1945," "days of infamy," "ronald reagan," "lessons learned the hard way," "5 principles for a perfect life." yeah, all of those books were newt gingrich's books. that's the part of the library that's under gingrich, n. this has all been a big dollar operation for newt gingrich. and it has to be noted that his zeal to hawk his wares has known not the boundaries of good taste. you'll recall december 7th, attack on pearl harbor, mr. gingrich sends this tweet, "the 69th anniversary of the japanese attack is a good time to remind folks of our novels, pearl harbor and days of infamy, newt." could be a good time. might also not be. beyond

newt gingrich, has the new tv ad. the question is, does he have the money and the campaign organization infrastructure to beat mitt romney in a head to head fight? as we've often seen, who is up one month can be down the next. we still have a month to go. so a lot of twists and turns ahead, thomas. >> takes a lot of stamina. mark murray, appreciate it. >>> since herman cain suspended his campaign, the candidates are scrambling to grab his supporters. cain may announce he's endorsing gingrich today. joining me now is andrew rafferty, covering the cain campaign and jennifer jacobs joins us, chief political writer for the des moines register. andrew, i'll start with you. what are you hearing about the possibility that cain is going to endorse newt gingrich and also is there a revised public schedule now after this weekend's announcement, at least this week, in lieu of what's supposed to take place? >> reporter: good morning thomas. what we're hearing is the herman cain endorsement of newt gingrich seems a matter of when

who's newt. newt gingrich. center of attention on the "washington post" editorial page today and the same way the guy in handcuffs is the center of attention at a perp walk. today we got a glimpse of the great newt gingrich panic. not just at the national media level but also in the states, particularly in the northeast where republicans say they're worried newt gingrich at the top of the ticket in november could hurt candidates in lower tier races. they say specifically they're worried about candidates like senator scott brown in massachusetts and chris shays running for senate in connecticut. republican strategist brad todd telling "roll call" mr. gingrich, "may have a hard time in competing with obama in the parts of the campaign that talk about the future." which i think is republican for newt gingrich is going to sink this ship. talking points memo also reporting on a new anti-scott brown fund-raising letter from the massachusetts democratic party. their killer pitch against scott brown, "newt and scott br

i will speak with newt gingrich in the next hour. the front runner already looking forward to potential runni ning mates, but is he still in danger? and rick perry is back in the pack but says it's still a very fluid race. he talks about president obama's "war on religion." you're in "the situation room." >>> but first, this just coming in right now at this moment, our brand new poll shows newt gingrich leading the pack in three of the first four states to hold republican presidential contests. with less than a month to go before republicans start voting, newt gingrich has double digit leads in iowa, south carolina, and florida. he trails mitt romney in new hampshire but they still have some competition. ron paul essentially tied with romney in iowa and double digit support in new hampshire. let's discuss these numbers. they spell it exactly the same but they pronounce their names differently. >> he pronounces it incorrectly. >> we won't discuss the history right now. iowa is coming up january 3. here is what we have in our cnn time

but really nothing else in newt gingrich's empire compares to newt gingrich as author. this is where he is the most, literally, prolific, he is his own cottage industry in publishing. look at what he's done. "valley forge," "to save america," "to try men's souls," "gettysburg," "the gettysburg trilogy trilogy trilogy," the "the essential american," "real change," "pearl harbor," "rediscovering god in america," "why american exceptionalism matters," "1945," "days of infamy," "ronald reagan," "lessons learned the hard way," "5 principles for a perfect life." yeah, all of those books were newt gingrich's books. that's the part of the library that's under gingrich, n. this has all been a big dollar operation for newt gingrich. and it has to be noted that his zeal to hawk his wares has known not the boundaries of good taste. you'll recall december 7th, attack on pearl harbor, mr. gingrich sends this tweet, "the 69th anniversary of the japanese attack is a good time to remind folks of our novels, pearl harbor and days of infamy, newt." could be a good time. might also not be.

newt gingrich is finding out what it means to be the front-runner. newt's under siege from rivals like mitt romney and rick perry. perry's hitting him for his three marriages, believe it or not, and romney's hitting him for changing positions, and religions. and now a conservative pastor out in iowa who's backing santorum is running a video calling newt the kim kardashian of the gop, and also attacking his serial marriages and his conversion to catholicism. with two debates in the next seven days, the attacks against gingrich are going ballistic. but republican voters are falling for newt, because they see him as a gladiator. he can counterpunch, and his supporters are betting he can survive the onslaught. are they right? >>> then, there aren't that many house republicans who endorse newt gingrich, but we'll talk to one of them about his chances -- newt's chances of winning iowa. georgia congressman jack kingston. he joins us tonight. >>> and dumping trump. that debate donald trump wanted to host has been rejected by count them, five republican presi

no, not newt gingrich. we've got elizabeth warren. >> let's go to newt versus romney. >> yeah. >> romney unloaded today. >> mitt romney has no time to lose. they are turning the fire hose on newt. >> in florida, gingrich also beat romney by 23 points. >> a lot of the tea party people are for mitt romney. >> gingrich has made the calculations so far that romney is still having a difficult time with tea party supporters. >> newt gingrich over obama in ohio in a head to head match up, 43-42. that is a heart attack. >> that is mind bending. >> conservatives like mitt romney. >> gingrich on top in iowa with 33% support among likely caucus goers. >> gingrich is not the only front-runner, he's eroded romney's electability. >> this is clearly a statement from the american people and has less to do with newt gingrich than it does with the state of american politics. >> newt gingrich has an argument against obama that is entirely based on hatred. >> i have one opponent, barack obama, and that's how my campaign is goi

newt gingrich senior aide to newt gingrich. mr. gingrich's spokesman telling "the new york times" mr. gingrich did not want to be identified as himself to avoid the impression that he was getting into a fight with the romney camp. which, of course, he was. you wouldn't want to sound negative. at least not with your own name attached to it. better to lob the bomb anonymously. the other reason for the collapse of the smiles everyone, smiles, idea, is the entry of mr. gingrich himself into the top tier of the presidential race is bringing out the best i negativity from all over the right wing. the newt gingrich pile-on is already a who's who of the republican establishment. "the new york times" conservative columnist david brooks calling gingrich out for narcissism, self-righteousness, intemperance. peggy noonan saying people who know newt gingrich, quote, are mostly not for him. karl rove writing of mr. gingrich, quote, when a man of his self-confidence begins to feel on top of the world, bad things often happen. former republican se

. >> i believe newt gingrich is a gingrichite. all he cares about is newt gingrich. i don't think newt gingrich cares about conservative principles. newt gingrich cares about newt gingrich. >> what's the firepower right now of 72-year-old john sununu, steve? >> well, i think he's laying the predicate for a broader argument about the difference between the things that newt gingrich says and the things that newt gingrich does. you know, for example, fannie and freddie mac, an excellent example of this, and how many other issues there are out there. you know, for example, in the weeks ahead, whether newt gingrich be compelled to release his client list? will he be compelled to disclose the amount of money he made in the private sector, working on issues that were opposite of what he advocated when he was speaker? and i think that he's laying the foundation for a pretty robust look at newt gingrich's character in front of republican primary voters. >> but, steve -- >> i would say one thing to jennifer in iowa -- jennifer, hold on a second. let me say one thing. in iowa,

newt gingrich campaign. newt gingrich still doing more than a third of his upcoming events as book signings and dvd screenings. running for president it turns out is a great way to sell your stuff. the whole idea behind newt's stuff, the whole idea behind newt incorporated is that you should want to buy newt gingrich books and should want to buy newt gingrich dvds and want to pay thousands of dollars to get fake awards from newt gingrich enterprises because newt gingrich is such an important and very serious man. that is the whole marketing concept behind newt gingrich incorporated. and that dovetails really nicely with running for president because if you're newt gingrich, running for president sort of givings givings you a justification to talk about yourself in rather grandiose terms. for example, late last week at an event in michigan, mr. gingrich was asked about judges. dave wiegel at slate.com was at the event and quotes mr. gingrich as responding this way. "if you go to newt.org, you'll see an entire

no, not newt gingrich. we've got elizabeth warren. >> let's go to newt versus romney. >> yeah. >> romney unloaded today. >> mitt romney has no time to lose. they are turning the fire hose on newt. >> in florida, gingrich also beat romney by 23 points. >> a lot of the tea party people are for mitt romney. >> gingrich has made the calculations so far that romney is still having a difficult time with tea party supporters. >> newt gingrich over obama in ohio in a head to head match up, 43-42. that is a heart attack. >> that is mind bending. >> conservatives like mitt romney. >> gingrich on top in iowa with 33% support among likely caucus goers. >> gingrich is not the only front-runner, easy roaded romney's ee electric ta built. >> this is clearly a statement from the american people and has less to do with newt gingrich than it does with the state of american politics. >> newt gingrich has an argument against obama that is entirely based on hatred. >> i have one opponent, barack obama, and that's how my campaig

newt gingrich senior aide to newt gingrich. mr. gingrich's spokesman telling "the new york times" mr. gingrich did not want to be identified as himself to avoid the impression that he was getting into a fight with the romney camp. which, of course, he was. you wouldn't want to sound negative. at least not with your own name attached to it. better to lob the bomb anonymously. the other reason for the collapse of the smiles everyone, smiles, idea, is the entry of mr. gingrich himself into the top tier of the presidential race is bringing out the best in anythi negativity from all over the right wing. the newt gingrich pile-on is already a who's who of the republican establishment. "the new york times" conservative columnist david brooks calling gingrich out for narcissism, self-righteousness, intemperance. peggy noonan saying people who know newt gingrich, quote, are mostly not for him. karl rove writing of mr. gingrich, quote, when a man of his self-confidence begins to feel on top of the world, bad things often happen. former repub

newt gingrich campaign. newt gingrich still doing more than a third of his upcoming events as book signings and dvd screenings. running for president it turns out is a great way to sell your stuff. the whole idea behind newt's stuff, the whole idea behind newt incorporated is that you should want to buy newt gingrich books and should want to buy newt gingrich dvds and want to pay thousands of dollars to get fake awards from newt gingrich enterprises because newt gingrich is such an important and very serious man. that is the whole marketing concept behind newt gingrich incorporated. and that dovetails really nicely with running for president because if you're newt gingrich, running for president sort of givings you a justification to talk about yourself in rather grandiose terms. for example, late last week at an event in michigan, mr. gingrich was asked about judges. dave wiegel at slate.com was at the event and quotes mr. gingrich as responding this way. "if you go to newt.org, you'll see an entire paper o

mitt romney and newt gingrich. or as i keep saying newt romney and mitt gingrich. if i do that on air tonight, i'm sorry. i keep doing it in the office. it's embarrassing. the thing emerging as the biggest hurdle to newt gingrich getting the nomination is the establishment wing of the republican party. today this came out into the open. there are people in the republican establishment willing to voice concerns or out right opposition to mr. beginning risch in recent weeks. today the flood gates opened. conservative columnist david brooks at "the new york times," quote, he has every negative character trait conservatives associate with 1960s excess. narcissism, self-righteousness, self-indulgence and intemperance. he would severely damage conservatism in the republican party if nominated. former reagan speechwriter, peggy noonan, writing in "the wall street journal," quote, those who know him fear or hope he'll be true to form in one respect. you he'll continue to lose to his number one longtime foe, newt gingrich. he is is a human hand grenade who walks around with

newt gingrich's case for 20 years. in mitt romney's case he's the only governor in the united states' history to put into place socialized medicine. they both agree with barack obama. this is the seminal piece of legislation of barack obama. it's the one issue that our candidate has to take president obama on with, and they won't be able to debate him on this issue because they're on the same side as the president. but also newt romney are on the same side of the president when it comes to cap-and-trade, the $700 billion bailout, illegal immigration, even the payroll tax this week which there isn't one shred of evidence that that has created a single job. when you take a look and people say this is a two-man race, i would agree. but the one man is newt romney and the other man is michele bachmann. the only proven consistent constitutional conservative. i'm the only one that can take the debate to barack obama and win be elected. >> schieffer: i'm going to separate newt romney into two people again just to ask you this

conversation about newt gingrich, speaker pelosi said. i served on the investigative committee that investigated him. four of us locked in a room in an undisclosed location for a year. a thousand pages of his stuff. gingrich was quick to pounce on that one with an interesting choice of words. >> i want to thank speaker pelosi for what i regard as an early christmas gift. if she's suggesting she's going to use material she developed while on the ethics committee, that is a fundamental violation of the rule of the house and i would hope members would immediately file charges against her the second she does it. >> so does nancy pelosi intend to release secret information about the former speaker? here's her official answer. quotes, leader pelosi was clearly referring to the extensive amount of information that is in the public record, including the comprehensive committee report with which the public may not be fully aware. well, this is the sort of sharp, threatening counterpunch newt gingrich would deliver, let's face it, in a presidential

so newt gingrich is the man to beat. statewide polls show him with wide leads in new hampshire, south carolina, florida, and even nationally. and in new hampshire, which shares a border with the state mitt romney used to govern, the former house speaker has narrowed the lead. politicians in both major parties are struggling to absorb the new political reality and so is gingrich himself. >> we still have a lot of work to do. with the next four weeks in iowa, then a real rush in new hampshire, then on to south carolina, then on to florida and nevada. i mean, all those are within about a month. so i think if we have a little interview right after nevada, we'll have a better sense of how real it is. gwen: cue the takedown. including this mitt romney video. >> doesn't have the discipline that you want in a president. >> he's out and basically out on the left wing of the republican party. >> with allies like that you don't need the left. gwen: the gingrich people today called this a sign of unbridled panic. is that what it is,

if newt gingrich wins iowa, newt gingrich wins south carolina, doesn't newt gingrich win florida? >> i -- the florida republican primary is closed. and what that means is it's only registered republicans. that electorate is going to be more conservative than maybe some people think a florida republican primary normally would be. and you have to say gingrich would be the heavy -- >> george lemieux, senator from florida, newt is running away with florida in a lot of polls. how does newt gingrich fare in your state that you represented in the united states senate? >> the numbers for newt in the polls are really amazing. he was in single digits and now he's at, you know, 38%, 40% of the polls. we'll see what happens. >> mark, ask him the question you asked off sound. >> senator, nice to see you. a lot of debate about general election electability. iowa caucus voters are shown to think gingrich would be a stronger candidate by a little bit over mitt romney. in your state you hope to be the general election candidate for senate. who do you think would be a stronger general election cand