Taking this country back, saving this country, turning it around and restoring its place in the world cannot be done through legislation alone. It cannot rely solely on the repeal of unwanted prior legislation nor can it be accomplished only by the excising of useless government waste.

Yes, these things are necessary but if that is to be the end game, we shall remain lost.

As a nation we need something more.

We need a leader which is something we frankly are missing right now. We need a leader with experience but that experience can’t be found only in a board room or, for that matter, only in elected office. The leadership we need to correct the course is a combination of those things but to stop there would leave us short of the goal.

This nation, to right the ship, correct the wrongs and climb back into prosperity must find a leader with the X factor.

We, as conservatives have candidates with board room experience and elected experience and even with a combination of the two. Cain, Romney, Bachmann all have those experiences in their wheelhouse.

Perry has been a Governor for more than 10 years and that’s good experience.

Paul has served for many terms in the House and that’s also good experience.

Huntsmann has served several Presidents and has been the Ambassador to China and held the Governor’s office in Utah. Solid experiences all.

Santorum has served in Congress and has achieved great things there.

It’s the X factor they are missing and that X factor could well be the most important consideration leading to the primaries.

I submit that Newt Gingrich possesses that X factor.

Gingrich has the experience level none of the others can touch. As the Speaker of the House, Gingrich did what, at the time, was thought impossible. He balanced the budget. It was Gingrich who, as a Congressman, co-authored the “Contract With America” and as Speaker, brought all 10 points of that Contract to a House Vote in the 1^st 100 days, as he had promised to do.

While Gingrich never served in the military, he grew up in a career military family which, I submit, provides him with a solid respect for the institution and for those who have and continue to serve our nation.

Gingrich is a historian having received his undergraduate degree in History from Emory University in 1965 which was then followed by a MA in 1968  and later, a PHD in European History from Tulane University in 1971. Our strongest leader will know where we’ve been in order to know the way forward.

From Business Insider, “In 1981, Gingrich co-founded the Congressional Military Reform Caucus (MRC) as well as the Congressional Aviation and Space Caucus. During the 1983 congressional page sex scandal, Gingrich was among those calling for the expulsion of representatives Dan Crane and Gerry Studds. In 1983, he founded the Conservative Opportunity Society, a group that included young conservative House Republicans. Ronald Reagan adopted the “opportunity society” ideas for 1984 re-election campaign, supporting the group’s conservative goals on economic growth, education, crime, space exploration and social issues, which he had not emphasized during his first term.”

The list of Gingrich’s accomplishments is long and solidly conservative but not without baggage.

There was the 1992 Check Kiting issue in which Gingrich was just one of 450 House Members who had used the lax House banking rules to cover overdrafts but Gingrich was NOT one of the 22 House Members singled out for excessiveness in that regard and it was Gingrich’s own investigation of House ethics violations which led to the kiting becoming an issue.

Most notable as baggage was the 84 ethics violations filed against him in the mid 1990’s of which all but 1 was dropped. That 1 allegation contained two counts “of failure to seek legal advice” and one count of “providing the committee with information which he knew or should have known was inaccurate” concerning the use of a tax exempt college course for political purposes. In early 1997, the House voted 395 to 28 to reprimand Gingrich, including a $300,000 “cost assessment” to recover money spent on the investigation.

As for the charge regarding the tax exempt college course, the matter was left to the IRS – and 2 years later, the organizations involved were cleared of any wrongdoing leaving the 2 counts of “failure to see legal advice” as the only uncleared issues attached to Gingrich.

Also from Business Insider, Gingrich has served on several congressional committees, including the Hart-Rudman Commission, formally known as the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century, which examined issues affecting the armed forces, law enforcement and intelligence agencies with regards to national security. In 2005 he became the co-chair of a task force for United Nations reform, which aimed to produce a plan for the U.S. to help strengthen the UN. Gingrich also co-chaired an independent congressional Alzheimer’s Disease Study Group made up of health policy experts. The group was formed in 2007 to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of action taken within the U.S. to fight Alzheimer’s disease.

In September 2007, Gingrich founded the 527 group American Solutions for Winning the Future. The stated mission of the group is to become the “leading grassroots movement to recruit, educate, and empower citizen activists and elected officials to develop solutions to transform all levels of government”. Gingrich spoke of the group and its objectives at the CPAC conference of 2008 and currently serves as its General Chairman. Other organizations and companies founded or chaired by Gingrich include the healthcare think tank Center for Health Transformation, the creative production company Gingrich Productions, and the religious educational organization Renewing American Leadership.

For over two decades, Gingrich has taught at the United States Air Force’s Air University, where he is the longest-serving teacher of the Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course. In addition, he is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar and Professor at the National Defense University and teaches officers from all of the defense services. Gingrich informally advised Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld on strategic issues, on issues including the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and encouraging the Pentagon to not “yield” foreign policy influence to the State Department and National Security Council.

Gingrich is a fellow at conservative think tanks the American Enterprise Institute and Hoover Institution, focusing on U.S. politics, world history, national security policy, and environmental policy issues. Gingrich is also a guiding coalition member of the Project on National Security Reform.

While many of the Tea Party faithful, of which I am one, consider Newt Gingrich a RINO, one could also offer that Gingrich laid the footings upon which the foundation of the Tea Party has been built.

While Gingrich and his campaign, at this point, does not have the deep financial pockets of others in the race, it should not go without note that many pundits and bloggers alike have stated that Gingrich has in fact won several of the debates. That, I believe, is important especially if, as Herman Cain has stated, the message is more important than the money.

On social issues, Newt Gingrich is a solid right conservative who advocates the defunding of Planned Parenthood, wants to make English our nation’s official language, does not support gay marriage and does support overturning Roe vs Wade. To read more regarding his positions on social issues, please click here.

There are a few X factors to take into account as well not the least of which is the fact that Gingrich, in a one-on-one debate with Obama, could run circles around the current resident of the White House; and when it comes to the general election, Gingrich’s depth of knowledge and his ability to articulate it is insurmountable. Other candidates such as Romney and perhaps Cain could easily hold their own in this regard – but to have our candidate bury the opponent in a single or series of debates would be epic.

Another of the X factors would be Gingrich’s ability to sway the independent voters. No one from either side of the aisle can win in 2012 without the independent vote and Gingrich, above the rest of the field, would be the one who could reverse that portion of the electorate from their 2008 left leaning votes.

The 3^rd X factor would be Newt Gingrich’s steadfast refusal to descend into the melee of attacking his fellow candidates. While the “front runners” have taken every opportunity to grab headlines by bashing those closest to them in the polls, literally promoting themselves at the expense of others, Gingrich has stayed true to promoting conservatism and his vision of the opportunity for a bright national future at his own expense.

The first primary may well be only 6 weeks away – but if we, as conservatives, only focus on winning the nomination with a candidate we have adhered to at the exclusion of others based on cherry-picked issues of our own personal interest, we will split the vote into so many splinters we may well be left with what we get rather than what we need.

If, however, we factor in the general election and focus our attention on that, now, before the primaries, we will have a much better opportunity to nominate the best possible contender against Obama in 2012.

For many conservatives, who have dedicated their hearts to specific candidates, the idea of voting with their heads rather than hearts is too tough a pill to swallow and in many ways, unnecessary. I simply suggest that hearts be diverted from those cherry-picked issues and specific candidates and redirected to the long-term goal of reclaiming this great nation. Let your hearts belong not to a candidate but to America and allow your head to discern the best course of action.

Many of the current candidates could well be more effective in various posts rather than in the oval office. Consider where your current candidate of choice would be, given their specific talents related to your specific issues of interest, most effective in taking this country from where it is to where it needs to be.

I could easily see someone like Allen West as the VP, or Sarah Palin as the Sec. of Energy or Interior. John Bolton as Sec. of State. Ron Paul cleaning out the fed or as Sec. of Treasury. John Huntsman as Chief of Staff.  Michelle Bachmann rewriting the tax code. There are, of course, many options and opportunities.

Is Newt Gingrich the only viable candidate? No. If you stand back and look at the big picture, beyond the nomination and even beyond the next 4 years, is Gingrich the best choice to undo the harmful policies and legislation while coordinating a strong foreign and domestic policy? Yes.

Is Newt a long shot given his current financial campaign status? Yes. Can he close that gap? Possibly – but only if enough conservatives consider the merits rather than the baggage and find a way to look at this race to the nomination objectively rather than subjectively.

The National Patriot will support whoever the eventual nominee might be – but, considering the overall objective, the big picture and what it will take to achieve the desired long-range goals of saving this nation, TNP, as a site, will support Newt Gingrich as we continue to rush toward the primaries and the nomination.

Newt Gingrich may not be the shiniest new ball on the stage but he is unquestionably the smartest candidate in the room with a proven track record of conservative success and 3 major X factors which bode well for the general election.

Newt Gingrich 2012

Business Insider

Editor’s note: Craig Andresen is the Publisher and CEO of The National Patriot and while TNP has endorsed Newt Gingrich, all contributors are free to endorse the candidate of their choice. TNP will stand with and promote the eventual GOP nominee.