Gingrich back from the dead?

Newt Gingrich.

I repeat: Newt Gingrich.

Ladies and Gentlemen: take a moment and welcome Newt Gingrich to the GOP primary race. Then take a moment and think about what I just said. And keep on thinking about it…

Newt Gingrich is a political enigma. Who would have thought that the small Pennsylvania born and raised boy would become the boisterous political spearhead of the far right that he is today? Gingrich is one of the most polarizing controversial, and interesting figures in the history of the Republican Party.

-See his views

Gingrich has been the center of numerous scandals. He was the Speaker of the House of Representatives under President Bill Clinton, and was a major contributor to the government shutdown of 1995 and 1996. He has been married three different times, with the first two marriages being ended by affairs. He has married double digits his senior and double digits his minor. Hardly conservative by any standards.

Controversial as he may be, none can deny that the man possesses immense leadership qualities, and a personality that can drown out a room of movie stars. Most importantly he has the power of persuasion. He still maintains that the government shutdown he contributed to led to a balanced budget deal a year later, and despite his continued marital unfaithfulness, he continues to claim devout faith in his Catholic denomination of the Christian faith.

His ideas are mind boggling to both those to the left and the right of political equilibrium, infuriating to some, and a rallying cry for all to one side or another.

Despite his oft illogical, brash statements and ideologies, he is a political titan that cannot seem to be controlled for any extended period of time.

Look back at the polls from the summer and early fall and you will see his name on the straw poll ballots, but getting little to no recognition by anyone. He was out of it.

Even the man himself thought that his career was headed for the dreaded “Elephant Graveyard.” He told CNN in a recent article, “I’ve done this for 53 years. And the two hardest months were June and July.”

What he did not take into account in the summer heat was the fickle nature of the GOP voters as they scavenge the pool of potential presidential candidates for the one that might be able to topple over President Barack Obama.

Or maybe he was right in thinking his career was dead. Perhaps his career did die. Perhaps the GOP mourned the death of Newt much like we mourn the death of loved ones, forgetting their past transgressions as we fondly recall every positive moment shared throughout the life of the deceased.

The one crucial difference lies within the composition of a political career when put next to the composition of the human body. Once the person is gone, we cannot have them back. But in the case of Gingrich’s political career, it seems to have experienced a resurrection of sorts.

Gingrich claims to have undergone a rebirth, asking the public to place his past transgression in the past. It’s working. At least for now.

He is soaring up the polls at the moment, and is appearing to assert himself as a true challenger to the presidential candidacy.

Will this be simply the next in the ever-growing line of Republican flavor of the week candidates? Will his mouth get him in trouble and stifle his momentum like it has so many times in the past, or could this finally be his moment of glory? It will certainly be entertaining to follow at the least.