“[Gingrich]’s been a college professor, an author and a politician,” John Meyer, co-chair of the Greene County GOP, says before adding, almost off-handedly: “And he’s the leading candidate for the Republican party’s nomination for president.”
The audience greets this with cheers and a standing ovation. Even the usually unflappable Gingrich seems a bit surprised by the assertion—leading candidate for president? The former speaker of the House quickly regains his composure. The look of disbelief morphs into a smile as he approaches the podium.
“That’s the first time anybody, anywhere has introduced me as the leading candidate,” Gingrich says to laughter.
This frontrunner designation is tenuous—perhaps misleading—since there’s only one poll, a new one from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, that shows Gingrich ahead of his Republican rivals in the national primary. According to an average of recent polls, Gingrich is actually in third place, five points behind Mitt Romney, who has now regained his lead over Herman Cain.
Yet it would be understandable if Gingrich were to revel in his resurgence in the polls. As he points out, his campaign was pronounced over nearly as soon as it had begun.
“Remember that in June and July, my campaign was dead,” Gingrich says. “Every TV commentator said I was dead. One guy said I was actually like the Bruce Willis character in The Sixth Sense. I was the only guy in the room that didn’t know I was dead.”
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