Gingrich says campaign exceeding even his expectations

Newt Gingrich said that his campaign was taking off at a pace that even his team did not anticipate, and that he was the most electable of the Republican candidates during an interview set to air Wednesday night on Fox News' Hannity program.

“I'm beginning to think we may actually see a totally different dynamic than anybody could have predicted even a month ago, including me," Gingrich said. "A month ago, I didn't think we would get here for another 60 days, but it's clear the country is talking to itself…. And so I think, whereas I would have thought originally it was going to be Mitt and not-Mitt, I think it's going to -- it may turn out to be Newt and not-Newt.  And that's a very different formula than, frankly -- I mean we're having to redesign our campaign strategy because we're at least 60 days ahead of where I thought we'd be."

Gingrich said that part of the reason he was succeeding - and would be the best opponent for President Obama in 2012 - was a willingness to "fight" the liberal media and create a clear contrast between himself and the president.

“The electability thing is a question of how you think the environment -- how you think elections work.  I think, in the Reagan tradition and in the tradition of 1994 and the Contract, if you get a real contrast in a country which is more than two to one conservative, the liberal loses," Gingrich said. " But you have to have the courage to fight your way through "The New York Times" and through CBS News and through MSNBC and -- and be steady in drawing the contrast. So I think the person who is able to debate Obama and draw a sharp and defined contrast has an enormous advantage."

He also addressed a report from one such source - The New York Times - that revealed that that the the former Speaker pushed lawmakers to consider clients for government contracts. Gingrich has adamantly denied lobbying on behalf of his clients, who paid him millions in consulting fees after he left Congress.

"Some elements of the press, largely the Obama reelection team, are determined to distort everything they can," Gingrich said.

But Gingrich played up his recent rise in the polls, and said that conservative voters were consolidating around his candidacy.

"It's clear that across the country, people are saying, you know, I think we need Newt Gingrich because we need somebody who can debate Obama, we need somebody who has actually done it before, we need somebody with very substantial big ideas," Gingrich said.

He also praised his fellow candidates, despite a day that saw Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Michele Bachmann all take swipes at his campaign.

"I look at my friends and I think of them as my friends.  I have one opponent, Barack Obama," Gingrich said.

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