WACK-A-MOLE--Newt Gringrich Next

In the never-ending quest for someone other than Willard, the next candidate is Newton Leroy MacPherson--Gingrich. The disgraced former Speaker of the House claims he is not a Washington insider and not a lobbyist.

So today news breaks that Newt received $1.6 million from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for activities that translated into English would be considered lobbying. This is the same Newt who, while receiving their largesse, called for Congress to investigate all politicians recieving funds from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He called on President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Chris Dodd and Barney Frank to return the campaign donations from this troubled mortage lender.

While he is a Beltway outsider with parking privileges at the House, Newt said that this fee for advice on Congress showed he was an expert on the ways of Washington, which can--now--be considered a good thing for the presidential race.

Newt has always been modest. He blames the faltering beginnings of his campaign on the fact that standard consultants,all of whom fled the campaign because he was too busy selling books, didn't treat him like Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher, the two people he most resembles. Ross Douhout actually picks this up in referring to Newt as a "futuristic conservative" who think of the bigger picture beyond today's mundane realities. Ross does admit that Newt's messianic tendencies can be off-putting.

Dana Milbank, writing in the Washington Post, says the boomlet can't last long because the Newt out of office has taken positions on issues all over the place. He points to his meetings with Hillary Clinton on healthcare and his support for the individual mandate. His "green" period when he wrote a book "Contract with Earth". His statements about climate change and his embrace of cap and trade. Newt has appeared with Al Sharpton to back President Obama's education program. Almost the same opinion has been expressed by conservatives in the Washington Examiner, who warn conservatives that Newt is no conservative.

Again I come down to the same position I have had on Herman Cain. Newt has all of $400k in the bank . How will this get him through the primaries?

But now we actually have to consider Newt's positions. We will have to hear his multiple positions on Libya. His belief that Barack Obama is some Third Worlder with an intent to make America a socialist secular country. And his views on American exceptionalism and how President Obama abandons all American allies and apologizes for America. I'm sure he will take up Romney's nonsense that President Obama called Americans lazy. He actually said that we had been lazy in not attracting foreign investment in the United States. But that doesn't matter.

So gone are the little scandals about Newt's Tiffany account or how he bought Calista's compliance for the presidential run with a Mediterranean cruise. Now we have to hear the down and dirty of Newt,Inc., which he uses for his credentials as a businessman.

Oh, spare us!