What Does the Gingrich Virginia Debacle Say About the Campaign?

COMMENTARY | Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's debacle in not getting on the ballot for the Virginia Primary highlights two failings of his campaign: the campaign's organizational problems and the tendency of the candidate to say off putting things.

It was bad enough that the Gingrich campaign did not manage to get 10 thousand valid signatures in a state of about 8 million people. That points to a severe organizational deficit in the campaign. One cannot hope to win an election if one cannot get ones act together sufficiently to get on the ballot.

The worst thing was how the Gingrich campaign reacted to the debacle. First, Gingrich groused about how the "failed system" in Virginia caused him to be denied a place on the ballot, according to Politico. That didn't fly, of course, because clearly the system did not fail for Mitt Romney and Ron Paul who did manage to get on the Virginia ballot.

Then, the Gingrich campaign compared the debacle to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, according to the Washington Examiner. One can understand what they were trying to get at. The Gingrich people were trying to convey the impression of Virginia as a galvanizing event that would cause the campaign to revamp and gain some kind of focus needed to recover and win the campaign. However the statement was vintage over the top Gingrich. Unlike at Pearl Harbor, no one actually died because of Gingrich's blunder in Virginia.

Besides, did the Gingrich people actually want to convey the image of their campaign as-say-the USS Arizona, aflame, sinking into the harbor?

The question arises, what does Gingrich do now if he proposes to soldier on, as he seems bent on doing? Three things come to mind.

First, he needs to hire an experienced campaign manager who can clear house and set up something resembling an organization of volunteers who can make phone calls and knock on doors. Then he needs to start raising money. This can consist of the traditional $1,000 a plate dinners as well as Internet style money bombs in which supports send in small amounts to-it is hoped-a large haul.

Finally, Gingrich needs to not embarrass himself in Iowa and New Hampshire, then make a comeback in South Carolina. If Virginia was his Pearl Harbor, South Carolina needs to be his Midway.

Otherwise the choice for Republicans in 2012 will be Romney and Paul, the bland vs. the insane. That would be a sad state of affairs indeed.

Sources: Virginia Population Data, U.S. Census Bureau, July, 2009

Newt blasts 'failed system' in his home state, Maggie Haberman, Politico, Dec. 24, 2011

Newt: My ballot fail is like Pearl Harbor, Francisca Chambers, Washington Examiner, Dec 25, 2011