Legend in his own mind

13 June 2011 |permalink | email article

To tell from the polls Newt Gingrich is losing altitude at a rapid pace. But the former Republican House Speaker, despite the fact that 16 of his top staffers resigned last Thursday, continues marching to his own drummer.

“I will carry the message of American renewal to every part of this great land,” he vowed Sunday. “And with the help of every American who wants to change Washington, we will prevail.”

The early buzz about the speech he made to the Republican Jewish Coalition Sunday in Los Angeles was that Gingrich would announce pollster Frank Luntz as his new campaign manager. Soon afterward, Luntz denied any truth to the rumor, and admitting that he floated the idea for the sake of his own publicity. Asked by reporters after the speech if he was a viable candidate Gingrich responded only “Go ask the voters.”

Medicare

Our goal shouldn’t be to “save Medicare,” whatever that means. It should be to ensure that Americans get the health care they need, at a cost the nation can afford. – NYT columnist Paul Krugman raising the question about where’s the gain from pushing seniors out of an admittedly expensive system, Medicare, into even more expensive private health care insurance?

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