The Gingrich Comeback

By STEPHEN MOORE

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich continues to surge in the polls. Last week a CBS poll had Herman Cain at 18%, with Mitt Romney and Mr. Gingrich tied at 15%. Even more impressive was the latest McClatchy-Marist poll, which had Mr. Romney at 23%, Mr. Gingrich at 19% and Mr. Cain at 17%. A little over a month ago, Mr. Gingrich was barely above 5% in any poll.
Is the former Georgia congressman simply the latest flavor of the month in the wake of the Herman Cain sexual-harassment allegations, or can he actually win? In an interview with me this weekend, he notes that "after every debate I keep rising in the polls." He sees at least 70% of voters looking for an alternative to Mitt Romney as the GOP nominee. Mr. Gingrich says conservative voters "know I am the one who would be best to debate President Obama."
One Gingrich strategy that seems to be paying off is to remind voters of his record as speaker. He says he was the one who was able to persuade then-President Clinton "to sign a balanced budget, welfare reform and tax cuts." He says he inherited a 10-year forecast of $2.7 trillion in deficits, but that when he left Congress the forecast was "more than $2 trillion in surpluses" and "voters would love to see that happen again."
Mr. Gingrich has clearly appeared presidential in the GOP debates, and he says focus groups almost always "pick me as the debate winner." Mr. Gingrich's campaign suffered some major setbacks earlier this year after he attacked the Paul Ryan's budget plan and his staffers began to resign. Now Mr. Gingrich is where Michele Bachmann was in late summer and where Rick Perry sat four weeks ago. Whether he has staying power is another matter, but for now Mr. Gingrich is positioning himself to be Mitt Romney's greatest rival. "I'm the anti-Washington-establishment candidate. That's why so few in Washington are for me."