There's No Business Like Show Business

I’ve been bored with the Republican nomination process since it started. To me it lacked suspense since I’ve felt all along, and still do, that Romney will be the nominee. The media coverage got so silly that reporters were pretending to spend serious time on Herman Cain and Donald Trump. So I tuned out not realizing that there was more to this tent show than a bunch of buffoons doing crude political slapstick. I’d forgotten about Newt Gingrich.

I received the message in spades the other night with his initial response in the South Carolina debate to a question on his marital history. Moderator John King concluded the question politely with the words “would you like to take some time to respond to that.” Gingrich’s immediate response was an ever so casual disinterested “no” followed by a more matter of fact “but I will.” For me this was a moment of entertaining political theater.* My guess is that under similar circumstances the other candidates would have already shifted into response gear before the question had ended,** except possibly Perry who might have forgotten what he’d planned to say.

My admiration for Newt is limited to his ability as a performer. Great entertainers are not necessarily nice people. I confess a warm spot in my heart for Ron Paul who, some of his positions notwithstanding, ranks surprisingly high on my likability scale. But in his field Newt is a pro surrounded by amateurs, the only one running on all cylinders, although his GPS is in need of adjustment. In my book an unabashed scoundrel has more class than a common garden variety thief. I’ll give this rascal a measure of respect, but heavens, not my vote!

*The entirety of his response was an anti climactic run of the mill “how dare you bring up such a subject at a time like this” variety.

**The merit of listening to the entire question before answering was shown recently by an Arianna Huffington interview in the N.Y. Times. When asked if she was “trying to tell” the interviewer something with which he disagreed, she responded, “I’m not trying to tell you anything. I’m telling you.”