Newt Gingrich’s strategy is to portray the avenger in 2012 as Obama did in 2008; it was as hard to believe Barack Obama as president and Michelle as first lady then as it is to imagine Newt and Calista as president and first lady today, but Newt is taking a page from the Obama playbook — not addressing the substance of the issue but attacking the messenger of the question.

And the public seems to be responding to the bully approach, whether it be the ‘elite’ media or the opposition, although you must look for the subtitles of Gingrich’s responses and how he reacts to the audience he is appearing before.

Romney is the better choice of Republican candidates that are before the party, but Gingrich is the candidate who is gaining momentum because he is an avenger, aggressive, attacking like a street fighter.  He may win debates against Obama because he is an excellent debater, intelligent, an historian that doesn’t need a teleprompter to speak articulately and can rip the opposition apart in such confrontations without them even knowing it as well as the late William Buckley.

However, Newt Gingrich is unelectable, is arrogant, not likeable, much like Buckley, and comes with more baggage than is even acceptable when traveling first class on today’s airlines.

If Newt Gingrich is the candidate, Obama will win in a landslide because he is likeable, but an ineffective president.  And Republicans should think about this and whether the nation deserves a President who will give us four more years of an Alinsky philosophy of community organizing, much like Occupy Wall Street; because this country will look much like the cruise ship Costa Concordia sitting on its starboard side off the coast of Giglio island in Italy captained by incompetence.

Romney needs to stay on message and understand the importance of his key message points and target, President Obama.  He needs to learn how to bridge from the question to his talking points and stay on them.  He hasn’t done that and this sends a perception of flipping on positions and issues.

On taxes Romney said during last night’s debate, ” I don’t pay more taxes than is legally necessary.”  Many would find this acceptable, but in today’s Obama environment of wealth redistribution and ‘Occupy Wall Street,’ mentality, the perception is different than the reality of today’s job issues, housing and economy.

When it comes to Gingrich’s consultant arrangement and contract with Freddie Mac, Romney scored some points.

The fact of the matter is that there is a law that a lobbyist must register as such and identify with the federal government who he represents.  This was not done by Gingrich, that is why he denies being a lobbyist, because it is against the law.

While Gingrich tried to deflect the issue by switching to Bain, who Romney was with, Romney did not let him off the hook.  The perception of the debate was that Gingrich was a lobbyist for Freddie Mac and possibly violated the law.

Romney scored big on this issue of Gingrich’s lobbying and his contract for Freddie Mac, which Newt at first said he was a ‘historian’ but last night said he was a ‘consultant.’  Romney called it ‘influence peddling.’

When it came to Florida specific issues Romney ripped into Obama on unemployment, which is more than 9 % and underemployment around 18%, with foreclosures topping out and many homes underwater.

It is apparent that Gingrich has gained some momentum by being an avenger.  Should an avenger with a similar attitude replace one to have more of the same.? There is an attitude similarity.  Gingrich may hit home runs in the debates, but the nation needs a leader to run the country, not a winner in a debate, the nation needs an electable candidate that can reverse the negativity Obama created for America.

Republicans need a candidate that can bring this country back to a semblance of what it was meant to be by our founding fathers, representing the constitution, which the Obama administration has worked on eroding through big government and entitlement programs.

It is time for the electorate to educate themselves about what is going on and to get involved in the democracy this nation was meant to be – participatory.