Now that fall has arrived, FOX news is wetting itself over the official kick-off of the 2012 campaign season and the sudden flood of the media with Republican debates. While there are many outstanding candidates, and while each has something wonderful and innovative to bring to the White House, one in particular deserves ample recognition: Newt Gingrich.
This being his 43rd attempt at the presidency, Gingrich kicked his campaign off the way a candidate should. Trailing drastically behind frontrunner Mitt Romney and finding himself $1 million in debt, Gingrich showed the nation how resilient he was when he continued to fight even after a large portion of his staff resigned en masse (their reason being that they felt he was not as serious or dedicated as he should have been). Currently, Gingrich’s popularity is receiving a much-needed boost from his satisfactory performances on televised debates. He has not, however, put that same effort into his off-camera appearances, making many doubt his decisiveness about running. Some have even speculated as to whether he may have only jumped on the red-white-and-blue-tea-party-washington-needs-to-change-we-love-capitalism-and-hate-socialism bandwagon to publicize his books. The veracity of these speculations has yet to be confirmed, but there is new evidence that none of the allegations are true.
What many may not know about Newt Gingrich is that he frequents Amazon.com. Many believed the advent of Facebook and Twitter provided candidates with new ways to reach out to the public and stay in touch with voters; but Gingrich has proved, once again, just how progressive he can be with his use of Amazon as yet another campaign tool.
A simple Google search for “Newt Gingrich Amazon” will immediately turn up the link to his main profile page, where the viewer is greeted with a stunning photo of the former speaker that says, “Welcome! Isn’t this the face of someone to whom you can entrust the country?” The next thing you notice is the overwhelming number of votes that deemed his reviews helpful—4510 out of 5474, to be exact. At this point, the viewer must be thinking, “You know, this Newt Gingrich seems like a trustworthy guy.” And it only gets better from there.
Most of Gingrich’s reviews are fairly short descriptions of the book, either preceded or followed by praise for the author. (Having written twenty-three books himself, he knows what he’s talking about when he lauds someone for their work.) While there are a few fiction pieces included in the lengthy list, Gingrich primarily reviews non-fiction, usually historical books. Among the list are The Next Deal: The Future of Public Life in the Information Age (read October 2001), Gunman’s Rhapsody (also October 2001), Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power (December 2001), Stone Cold: A Jesse Stone Novel (February 2004), and The King of Lies (August 2007).
For those of you unfortunate enough to have not read any of Gingrich’s books, the reviews provide a brief glimpse into his masterful way with words. In his review for Stone Cold—the story of a police chief who becomes the target of a murderous couple—he writes “The couple begins to be fascinated with the idea of killing stone; the plot thickens.” The following paragraph reads, “In the middle of all this, Stone continues to long for his ex-wife and continues to date without the ability to commit. He struggles with the amount of alcohol he uses to compensate for the emptiness he feels from living without her.” A little reminiscent of something?
Perhaps the best part about his 156 reviews is the section of his profile titled “In My Own Words.” Here he describes himself (in third person) as an avid reader who only reviews books he enjoyed and believes others would also appreciate. As if knowing he was a kind, intelligent, considerate man weren’t enough, he goes on to list all of his accomplishments in a convenient, well-versed snippet. Gingrich lists everything from being the CEO of The Gingrich Group (which he describes as a “communications, and management-consulting firm [sic]”) to his job at FOX as a “political analyst” to his popularity as “a highly sought after public speaker and world-renowned strategist.” And, of course, who could forget his role as “the chief architect of the Republican Contract with America, as well as the key strategist and leader behind the 1994 Republican election victory”? That’s right, he was pretty much single-handedly responsible for the conservative tidal wave that hit Congress during the Clinton presidency. How can you resist voting for the man when you know all of this?
Through his use of Amazon, Gingrich has found a way into the hearts of the American people. Unlike the other social media sites, here we see the true Newt Gingrich, the man who is knowledgeable and truly concerned with the future of this great country. In his short reviews he’s saying, “Yes, I love to read, but I don’t have time to write out lengthy, philosophical interpretations. I’m a regular guy just like you, and I’ve got your interest in mind.” It’s that very same caring, genial persona he conveys who will finally get the break he so rightly deserves and be named our new President of the Untied States. Rest assured, it will happen.