Dissecting Newt's Nosedive

There is a new Newt Gingrich in the GOP presidential race - which many say is merely the emergence of the old Newt.

After plunging in the polls and placing a distant fourth in the Iowa caucus, the candidate who once portrayed himself as the congenial elder statesman,has morphed into another Newt - one who is thin-skinned, vengeful and angry.

The sole target of Newt's rage is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the well-funded candidate who has maintained steady support throughout the rise and fall of most of his rivals. When Gingrich suddenly ascended to the top of the polls, Romney and other candidates naturally shifted focus to the former speaker's record.

As Newt lost favor with voters, he lashed out at Romney, calling him a liar and blaming his fall in the polls on a blistering barrage of negative ads run by Romney's political action committee.

While Newt's frustration at seeing his presidential chances slip away is understandable, placing the blame squarely on Romney's shoulders is misguided. There were many factors that led to Newt's implosion:

• Simply put, Gingrich has tremendous personal and political baggage for someone seeking the highest political office in the country. In the campaign's early days, Gingrich was not a perceived threat and was able to impress voters with his debate performances without scrutiny of his past.
• When Gingrich suddenly surged in the polls, his opponents and the media resuscitated Newt's past performances. Many voters were not aware of Gingrich's background or had forgotten many of the details. It would have been surprising if Newt maintained his frontrunner's status after closer examination of his baggage.
• Many Republican colleagues who worked with Gingrich in Congress came out aggressively against his candidacy to be the GOP nominee.
• Gingrich concerned many voters when he proposed issuing Congressional subpoenas to federal judges to explain controversial rulings. Hearing a presidential candidate's plan to arbitrarily weaken the judicial branch of the government was chilling enough to dampen the enthusiasm of many voters.
• The former speaker has gone off message with other controversial comments about child janitors and the Palestinians being an invented people - reinforcing the concern about Newt's lack of self control.
• Gingrich failed to adequately explain his relationship with Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant that many blame on the failure of the housing market. Voters didn't buy that Freddie Mac would pay Gingrich $1.6 million simply for being a "historian".
• Gingrich attacked Romney's capitalistic background, a message that doesn't resonate with most Republicans. 

Gingrich has spent his life in politics and should understand that when a candidate is leading the polls, he becomes the natural target of his opponents. When someone like Gingrich with a messy personal history of infidelity as well as a reputation of being arrogant, divisive, undisciplined and incendiary among members of his own party, the vetting process will not be pleasant.

If Gingrich becomes unhinged during the primary battle, he evidently does not have the temperament to defeat Obama in the general election.