Remember the Democratic primaries in 2008 when Hillary Clinton choked up and almost came to tears? Conservative pundits practically crucified her, accusing her of trying to pull a political sympathy stunt to win the New Hampshire elections and possibly the White House.
Mrs. Clinton went on to win in New Hampshire a few days later, but the White House eventually went to Barack Obama.
So what, I wondered, will the Conservative talking-heads say now that Newt Gingrich – a one time leader of the Republican presidential field, who now trails Mitt Romney and Ron Paul – has opened up the water works?
Speaking at an event in Iowa, Gingrich was asked a question about his deceased mother from Frank Luntz, a pollster and close friend of Gingrich. As if on cue, Gingrich faced reddened as he mentioned that talking about his mother made him “teary-eyed.” He blubbered on a bit more and then came the water works as he exclaimed how she loved to sing in the choir and embarrassingly admitted that she made him sing in the choir also. How cherubic he must have been in those days.
We all know that talking about one’s beloved deceased mother can stir up a lot of emotion, but coming from Newt Gingrich – a man known for trying anything and everything possible to win a political race, a man who’s demonstrated time and time again that honesty is not his forte… one can’t help but wonder how many practice sessions were needed to make this moment just right for television.
