Matchup Between Newt Gingrich and Barack Obama : View from the Border Fort

If Newt Gingrich survives the campaign trail to take on Barack Obama in the general election, he'll have to make a stand in South Carolina. That primary election takes place on January 21. This is January 8.

Time to delineate the matchup.

Nobody else in the GOP field still standing can generate half as much pop and flash as the sometimes nice, sometimes nasty Newt. Gingrich, he of the big Harvard-educated brain and the big, funny-looking head. The man with the obvious temper, fire to Harvard Obama's ice, both of them professors, one hardcore to the right, the other hardcore to the left.

If we want a candidate who stands in stark contrast to the incumbent on everything except Harvard connections, this guy is about as stark as you can get...with one very important and very scary exception:

Both of them lust for power.

So? Isn't that a virtual prerequisite for a Presidential candidate?

Kinda sorta. But Newt's promises regarding his intentions should he gain the White House are just as spooky as Barack's declarations were in 2008. To counter Obama's hundreds of horrid Executive Orders, Gingrich intends to sign hundreds of countermanding Executive Orders--on the day of his Inauguration.

He talks of taking down the Courts a peg or three, and he makes it sound like he's willing to do that single-handedly.

His record as Speaker of the House comes replete with oodles of former Representatives more than willing to recount their experience with his high-handed, fiercely pushy and unforgiving ways during the time he held the gavel.

Ah, these are but the maunderings of a nervous voter fretting under the psychic influence of the full moon, a man who has but recently disocovered that he and the Newt dude are the exact same age...for what that's worth. We must get on with it. Veteran ring announcer Bruce Buffer introduces the combatants:

"In the red corner, the man who can throw details at you till your head spins, the man with the plan to wipe out every single Czar on his first day in office, the subject of countless attack ads that took him from the lead and tossed him in the Iowa dumpster, the challenger, the former Speaker of the House...NEWT...GING-G-G-RICH-H!!"

"And in the red corner, the ultimate narcissist and perpetual pessimist, the lean, mean flip-flopping machine on recess appointments and all in between, the Oval Office obfuscator who treats gate crashers at the White House better than he does Israeli heads of state, President...BARACK...HUSSEIN...OBAM-M-M-MA-A!!

"Let's get ready to RUM-M-BLE!!"

And now, this brief intermission for the Tale of the Tape.

1. Age: On Election Day, Barack Obama will be 51 years of age. Newt Gingrich will be 68...and he looks every minute of it. Middle aged Derek Jeter vs. an old, fat white guy? No contest. Advantage: Obama

2. Family man: Discounting the lurid tales found in the tabloids, Obama has a sterling image as a non-wandering husband of one and father of two. If he does wander, it's been covered up even better than his college transcripts. Newt, on the other hand, is packing a trophy wife (some 22 years his junior) on the campaign trail after having parted with his ex at a time when she wasn't exactly healthy, giving the smear-slingers excellent grist for their mill. Advantage: Obama.

3. Debate power: Both men are veteran debaters. However, Obama's default positions run to B.S. talking points and class warfare. Gingrich is armed with a vast mental storehouse of actual knowledge of the issues at his fingertips, and he knows how to both attack and defend. Quite frankly, he has the capacity to tear the President to shreds in verbal combat. Killer advantage: Gingrich.

4. Legislative experience: Despite having held office as a U.S. Senator and at the state level before that, Barack has just about zero real experience as a legislator. He wasn't a Senator for very long, and he didn't do very much while he was there. Newt, on the other hand, rose all the way to Speaker of the House and had much to do with engineering the 1994 Contract with America and conservative takeover of that year. Advantage: Gingrich.

5. Plan for the recovery of America's economy: As ever, Barack Obama has no plan. It's not clear that he'd know a plan if it whopped him in the face. Some even suspect he's allergic to plans. Newt Gingrich has a relatively understrandable 9-point plan that looks workable, including a corporate tax rate deduction to 12.5%. That percentage works out as second best overall, behind only Rick Santorum's plan for bringing outsourced jobs back to America. And yes, part of Newt's plan does include repealing and replacing Obamacare. Killer Advantage: Gingrich.

The one super-obstacle facing Gingrich has always been money...but that problem dissipated somewhat with today's news of a billionaire's $5 million donation to the Super-Pac favoring Newt.

Is Newt Gingrich electable despite his well known past that provides so much rich, fertile ground for Obama's attack ads to till? Yes, would seem that he is, especially in light of the Speaker's clear Killer Advantage over the incumbent in the debate arena...but with all that vulnerabilty to smear campaigns of every sort, it's no sure thing. You make the call.

Remember in November!

[Photo edited in Corel Paint Shop Pro X4.]