Gingrich, Steele Big Stars at CPAC

Newt Gingrich and Michael Steele emerged as the GOP stars at last weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Steele was mobbed by supporters looking for pictures and autographs. Gingrich commented, "I got more bang for my buck than the other [2008 presidential hopefuls]," a smiling Mr. Gingrich told The Washington Times after he marched from the back of the Regency Ballroom at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, amid stirring music nearly drowned out by applause and cheers.(source)

Gingrich has yet to form an exploratory committee and did not purchase a table at CPAC for supporters, yet he polls high in straw polls, even beating out John McCain, who is considered the 2nd favorite right now behind Rudy Giuliani.

The former NYC governor has been winning over more and more conservatives as of late, but he has also avoided having to answer tough questions about his positions on gay marriage and abortion.

The Washington Times reports:
Mr. Gingrich was the only top-tier potential contender for the Republican nomination who hadn't formed a presidential exploratory committee or bought any CPAC banquet tables for supporters. Yet in the largest presidential preference straw poll in the conference's history, he placed fourth (14 percent) -- ahead of Arizona Sen. John McCain (12 percent), who rejected an invitation to address the event.

Mr. Giuliani made his decision to accept CPAC's speaking invitation four days before the conference, yet managed to place second (17 percent) in the straw poll behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (21 percent), who had invested heavily in pre-event organization.

Perhaps most importantly, the conference poll conducted by the Fabrizio-McLaughlin firm allowed attendees to indicate their second preferences. Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Giuliani each got 16 percent of the second-choice votes, so that when first- and second-place were combined, Mr. Giuliani was on top (at 33 percent), with Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich tied for second at 30 percent each.

Gingrich has done well with the conservative base by emphasizing individual freedom while stressing the incredible need to return to fiscally responsible government in Congress. He has also declared the need for a radical overhaul of government to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

"Newt showed he is the strongest spokesperson for today's conservatives," said Tom Edmonds, a veteran campaign strategist and chief executive officer of the Edmonds Hackney media-consulting firm.(source)

Gingrich still maintains that he will not announce a decision on possible candidacy for president until September 2007.

Cross posted at Newt Gingrich for President 2008http://gingrichforpres.blogspot.com

Posted by Jonathan Strong at 11:44 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)