Newt Gingrich Should Tout Speakership in 2012 Bid, Advisers Say

He’s a successful history author and Fox News commentator, but Newt Gingrich’s advisers are telling him that if he decides to run for the presidency, he needs play up his four years as speaker when many bipartisan policies were put into place. Working with former President Clinton, for example, he won support for welfare reform and balanced the budget—and almost reformed Social Security. “Newt can say he has been there, done that on the economy and social issues, and then he can pivot and say how he’ll fix the current problems,” says one adviser. Some think that his successes as speaker would top those of many two-term governors, like Indiana’s Mitch Daniels, because Gingrich worked on a national stage where victories are harder to score and have greater impact.

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