Scott Audette/Reuters
Frenemies Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney facing off at Republican primary debate in Jacksonville, Florida on January 26, 2012.
While they may have sparred during the Republican primary debates, Newt Gingrich offered his former rival Mitt Romney free advice on debating President Obama. (Lucky Mitt!)
On Wednesday, exactly one week away from the first presidential debate, a column written by the former speaker of the House appeared on the conservative website Human Events:
Newt's tip #1: "Relax and be prepared"
"I tell the stories to make the point that too much debate preparation is cognitive, fact-filled, rational and focused on verbal game playing. The most important aspect of a debate is how you feel. Mike Deaver, the great media adviser to President Reagan, used to assert that television is 85 percent visual, 10 percent how you sound and 5 percent what you say. In every Presidential debate I participated in I always remembered Deaver’s rule. More important than what Romney knows is how he feels. Is he confident? Is he relaxed? Is he in command of himself? Can he stand up to both the media and the president? These body language issues are far more important than the specific things he says."
Newt's tip #2: "Be assertive and be on offense against both Obama and his media"
"You can be on offense without being offensive. The strongest reactions I got to my debates came from people who were desperate for someone to stand up to the media and redefine the questions and reframe the assumptions.Americans are sick and tired of the unending liberalism and suffocating groupthink of the elite media. If you look at my strongest applause lines virtually every one was taking on the media. It is inevitable the media will ask Romney about 'the 47 percent.' Instead of answering it, Romney should pivot and say, 'Let me tell you about the 100 percent. Obama has failed the 100 percent who have to buy gasoline. Obama has failed the 100 percent who will be paying interest on the Obama national debt for the rest of their lives. Obama has failed 100 percent of those who want to get a job and move on with their lives. Obama has failed everyone in the Middle East who had hoped the Arab Spring would lead to freedom by allowing it to turn into an Islamist winter.' The country would be electrified."
Newt's tip #3: "Be honest"
"There are things Romney has done wrong. Admit it. There are things he would like to do better. Admit it. People can smell dishonesty and disingenuous efforts to sell or hide."
Newt's tip #4: "Use humor"
"Reagan and Kennedy both had this wonderful knack of using humor to make points. President Obama is a detached, often stiff person who overestimates his competence (the next time you see a story on the Middle East remember he got a Nobel peace prize for having done nothing). No president in my lifetime has been as vulnerable to humor as President Obama."
Newt's tip #5: "Enjoy the evening"
"My dad was a career infantryman in the Army. I have always enjoyed being a citizen because it is such a privilege to be an American. Mitt Romney ought to walk into that first debate as a remarkably fortunate man. God has given him a wonderful, loving wife, five great sons, wonderful daughters in law, loving grandchildren. His mother and father gave him a fabulous American upbringing. His Church has taught him faith and faithfulness and serving others. His hard work and intelligence have made him a wealthy man. Now he has a chance to share with the freest and most successful people in history. He should relax and bring to bear a lifetime of experience at decency, honesty, determination, applied intelligence and hard work. He will do just fine."
Gingrich loves him some debates. During the Republican primaries, he lamented the lack of old-fashioned debating in modern politics. If I had a nickel for every time he vowed to challenge Obama to a Lincoln-Douglas-style jam session…
The first debate focusing on domestic policy is slated for Wednesday, October 3.
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yeah because newts a Rhodes scholar
It is absolutely incredible what you people at NBC will do to push the liberal agenda. You cut and paste which sound bytes from Republicans will further your case. Do you not understand that Obama is a divisive socialist who constantly plays the race card to further his campaign? Have you not heard the audio from Howard Stern interviewing Obama supporters? They have no idea for whom they are voting or what issues they are voting upon, they simply like Obama because he has been painted as a working class hero and because of his race. Has Barack Obama ever had a JOB???? A job where is paycheck hasn't been signed by John Q Taxpayer?? I don't think so! We are out of a recession??? How?? IT'S BEEN FOUR YEARS.....TIME FOR CHANGE OBAMA....THAT'S WHAT YOU WANTED AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA GET IT
Another dumb ass right-winger getting talking points from Fixed News let me bring u down to reality ROMNEY IS LOSING SO NOONE BELIEVES FOX NEWS!!!!!
I have some more advice for the Big Flipper.
In a news story from Minnesota, there is a potential lesson -and hope- for candidate Mitt, The very same Mitt Romney, who in recent remarks, abandoned nearly half the people in America.
It’s a story about a 4 year old Pekingese dog, appropriately enough named Mittens, and an abandoned kitten.
Mittens' owner, Pat Weber, says the kitten was just days old when her grandson found her in the family's barn and brought her into their house in early September. Weber says the 2-inch kitten was "ice cold," ...She wrapped the animal in a warm towel and it started meowing, which attracted Mittens.
The kitten, now named Bootsie, began suckling on Mittens. Weber says her dog, which had a litter two years ago, has nursed Bootsie ever since. "Mittens has been mothering this baby, as far as she is concerned it's hers," she said. "And as far as the kitten is concerned, this is her mother”.
Mr. Romney: What a wonderful, heart-warming lesson for you!
For if Mittens the dog can find it in her heart, not only to adopt Bootsie the cat, but to actually start lactating for her....then perhaps you too Mitt, can start lactating a bit with the milk of human kindness and understanding.
Perhaps it may even encourage you to run as President for ALL the people - not just a potential President of the wealthy, by the wealthy, and for the wealthy.
Think about it Mittens, ....I mean Mitt.
It's appears Romney has already been taking Gingrich's advice on how to win and look where it has gotten him so let him take Gingrich's advice on how to do a debate. After all look where all of that great knowledge got Gingrich. Gingrich is still out there selling his 2-bit butt. It makes you wonder how much did he demand from Todd Akin for his worthless endorsement.
The fact that the Obama campaign chose John Kerry to play the part of Mitt Romney in Obama's debate preparations will surely work against him. Kerry was never able to learn the sharp, concise, and often cuttingly pithy manner of addressing directly his debate opponent, or that manner in providing answers to the questions put forward, and that will surely set Obama back when he encounters it with moderators that don't allow him to drone on and run off in tangents as he does when before the press. Obama has also shown himself to be very prone to fall back on lazy phrasing when he is speaking off the cuff, which is jarring to the viewer given his ability to deliver a teleprompter scripted speech like nearly no other we have seen in our recent national political experience.
The Democrat's would have been far better served by having chosen someone like Congressman Barney Frank from the House of Representatives, who has also had the opportunity to be fully aware of Mitt Romney's debate style and shares some of that politicians strengths of expression economy, in my opinion.
This should be the last word for night.
Contempt for the GOP and it's candidates is going through the roof.
As of today the GOP has now been branded forever as "AKINIZED" This should be a great slogan for the democrats campaign.
I beg to differ. Bloomberg News new poll out asked the question "Who would better deal with terrorism", and the response was Romney 48%, Obama 42% only. And the average of the national polls have the race in a statistic tie, Obama/Biden 47%, Romney/Ryan 46%. You need to get out of you insular echo chamber of leftwingnut ignorant of the real world blogospheres, and start tuning in CNN, Bloomberg News, and Fox New and not just spend your time watching the Obama cheerleaders on this lowest in ratings cable news and commentary network, LAR!
Kieth calm down you and your right wing idiots are in denial and my heart bleeds for yall.I cant help that yall have a flawed candidate that yall cant sell to the American people.Nobody in the Republican party believes Romney can win if they did they wouldnt be trying to stop us from voting.
I'm a registered In dependant, and by education and life experience far more knowledgeable of the real world than anyone I've met on the blog or in a perusal of its comments in the past 6 months I have been participating here on the extreme out in left field spectrum, Michael, with the exception of participant Adam Selene who shows a promising inquisitive bent and a moderate liberalism.