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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) is batting
down the hype that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin heads into 2012 as the frontrunner
for the GOP presidential nomination. Palin energized the Republican base after GOP
presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) tapped her as his running mate
and she has tried to preserve her high public profile since Election Day.
But Gingrich, an architect of the Republican revolution
of 1994, took Palin down a notch, asserting that she would not become the
party’s leader, as some have predicted.
“I think that she is going to be a significant player,”
said Gingrich during an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation”. “But she’s going
to be one of 20 or 30 significant players. She’s not going to be the de facto
leader.”
Since the defeat of the GOP ticket, Palin has pursued an
aggressive media strategy, scheduling a full slate of interviews to keep her
face on television.
CNN aired a lengthy, wide-ranging interview between Wolf
Blitzer and Palin on Sunday. Palin has also sat down for interviews with CNN’s
Larry King, Fox New’s Greta Van Susteren, and invited Matt Lauer of the “Today
Show” to Wasilla for dinner.
Palin refused to rule out a presidential bid in 2012
during her interview with Blitzer, which aired on CNN’s “Late Edition.”
Some political analysts, citing her high name
identification and loyal following among the base, say that Palin will be a
frontrunner for the GOP nomination in 2012.
Palin dominated media coverage at the Republican
Governors Association meeting in Miami last week. She grabbed the spotlight at
a Thursday press conference, answering reporters’ questions while a dozen other
GOP governors stood awkwardly behind her on stage.
Crowds of reporters and cameras chased Palin in Miami
while ignoring more experienced colleagues from other states.
But Gingrich on Sunday sought to divert some media
attention away from Palin and to other governors such as Louisiana Gov. Bobby
Jindal (R) and Utah Gov. John Huntsman (R).
“She’s going to be a much bigger story in the short run,”
said Gingrich, explaining Palin’s higher media profile compared to other GOP
governors. “But, I think, as she goes back to being governor and as she works
in Alaska, you’re going to see a group of governors emerge, not just Sarah
Palin.”
Gingrich said Huntsman and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R)
may emerge as political leaders on the economy while Jindal could claim the
mantel on healthcare reform.
“I would say, for example, to Republicans who are about
to face this question of how do you get the economy growing again, bring in Gov.
Daniels and bring in Gov. Huntsman….”
“If you want to understand healthcare, you can do a lot
worse than to bring in Bobby Jindal who may well know more about health policy
than any other elected official in America and is doing an extraordinary job in
Louisiana.”
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