aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Friday, November 10, 2006

We know Newt

Is this really so different from Ohio or Indiana or Colorado or Idaho or anyplace else in America:

ATLANTA - If former House Speaker Newt Gingrich runs for president, he may not get much support from his home state.

Exit polls conducted with Tuesday’s elections indicate only 30 percent of Georgia voters think the Republican would make a good president, while 63 percent say he wouldn’t. Seven percent declined to answer the question. Gingrich’s press secretary, Rick Tyler, said the former suburban Atlanta congressman had no comment on the responses.

Gingrich’s firmest support in Georgia came from voters who strongly approve of President Bush’s performance; nearly three out of five such voters said the former speaker would do a good job. Among the voters who strongly disapprove of Bush’s work, only 6 percent said they thought Gingrich was suited for the White House.

DON’T BLAME, ABANDON OR DEMONIZE THE SOUTH!

LATER: In the AJC today, “If the president had decided to replace Secretary Rumsfeld he should have told us two weeks ago,” Gingrich said. “I think that we would today control the Senate and probably have 10 to15 more House seats. And I found it very disturbing yesterday in the press conference, the explanation that the President gave.”