On Thursday, when I interviewed Newt Gingrich, he made a comment about Governor Romney which immediately struck me as newsworthy. Turns out, it was; it's quoted by reporter Kit Seelye in today's New York Times print (and online) edition:
“As a middle-class person, I can’t compete with Governor Romney, who can write a personal check for a hundred million dollars,” Mr. Gingrich told Matt Lewis, a blogger with Townhall .com, referring to Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential candidate and the former governor of Massachusetts. “But if there is a big enough citizen movement that wants to have somebody who could debate Senator Clinton next year and somebody who could outline and articulate our values, then I think we’d be compelled to run.”
Reporters (and bloggers) love conflict, and that's why this quote made a splash. Speaker Gingrich knows this unwritten rule as well as anyone, and clearly wanted me to quote this line ... But why? (I have my theories, but that's for another day).
It will be interesting to see how this plays out ...