Gingrich fiddled while Romney, Paul burned up campaign trail

It took some doing, but Newt Gingrich strolled into Xtreme Manufacturing on Thursday looking like a presidential candidate and not a man whose gravity-defying campaign was winging it.

Xtreme manufactures heavy-duty forklifts capable of raising thousands of pounds, but its engineers would be challenged to come up with a model capable of pulling the Gingrich campaign out of the hole it dug itself in Nevada as the Saturday GOP presidential caucus approached.

Without the 11th-hour aid of Xtreme boss Don Ahern and political operatives George Harris and Dan Burdish, the former speaker of the House might have spent Thursday morning staring at his shoes without an appearance slated.

Instead, the professor gave a tailored stump speech at the manufacturing facility and added a Hispanic business roundtable at Mundo restaurant downtown before ending what passed for campaigning for the day. By noon, the former college lecturer appeared ready for a nap.

At a time other candidates were bouncing from Las Vegas to Pahrump, up to Reno and all around the state, Gingrich was satisfied with evening fundraisers in the presence of his super PAC sugar daddy, casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson. That's surely the best way to remain in the good graces of the man with the big bankroll, but it's no way to show that you're seriously trying to compete for your party's nomination.

Mitt Romney and Ron Paul have spent years working Nevada for votes. They've invested time and money, have built volunteer bases and current voter lists.

No so Gingrich, who appears to believe he can defy the gravity of a nationwide campaign on the strength of his intellectual prowess and rhetorical gifts.

He sounded like the smartest man in the room Thursday at Xtreme, attracting some loyalists impressed with his congressional experience, sharp criticism of the incumbent, and ability to turn a phrase like, "What the poor need is a trampoline so they can spring up. So I'm for replacing the safety net with a trampoline."

Despite his career as a political insider, Gingrich continues to position himself as the conservative populist. What he lacks in "money power," Gingrich has been saying, he'll make up for in "people power." Which is the sort of thing a candidate has to say when he is lacking money power.

"If you want somebody who will comfortably manage the decay so that the big boys get to still make money while the country decays, then don't vote for me," he said. "It's not complicated."

Forget that he's been hanging with the "big boys" most of his career. He must deny the undeniable.

As a college man, he should know campaigns are rarely won with speeches. They're won with strategic planning, money, voter registration drives, money, vast get-out-the-vote efforts , TV airwave invasions, and more money. It's comical to think anyone believes a candidate can beat President Barack Obama's campaign machine by outdebating him, but that's our Newt.

This past week, Team Gingrich immediately embarrassed itself when it botched a meet-and-greet with popular Hispanic Gov. Brian Sandoval. Word immediately circulated of a rift between Newt's national representatives and his Nevada surrogates.

Saturday's Nevada caucuses was more proof of the gaping hole in Gingrich's game. The well-funded Romney and thrifty Paul campaigns did their homework, and it showed.

And whenever the words "morals" and "ethics" entered the conversation, ideals on the minds of values voters and those jaded by DC sleaze, Gingrich took a beating.

His die-hards believe Gingrich can continue to defy gravity on the strength of his rhetoric and message, but that violates the laws of politics. If he can't shine in the backyard of his biggest financial booster, Gingrich is just another gasbag whose 15 minutes are up.

The professor didn't do his homework and isn't making the grade.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Email him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.