"Good Newt and Bad Newt": Slasher epic? Sci-fi fantasy? Horror story? Grimm fairy tale?

Then there's Good Aaron and Bad Aaron . . .

This is definitely Good Aaron -- with a certain degree
of nakedness and no sound coming out of his mouth.

"Good Newt and Bad Newt will both be running in this race. The big question is which one we will see more of between now and the Iowa caucuses."

-- descriptive blurb for the lead "Headline" in this

afternoon's Washington Post PostPolitics e-newsletter

by Ken

The "Headline" in question is "Newt Gingrich: Serious candidate or sideshow?" Once again I got snookered in by a WaPo e-newsletter that touted a story without troubling to mention who wrote it. So I couldn't control my curiosity to find out:

(a) who came up with this idea that there's a Good Newt and a Bad Newt

(b) who or what this mysterious Good Newt might be (working theory: some sort of life form once eaten by Real Newt)

It turns out to be a fantasy of the Fixman, Chris Cillizza, whose life work is to take seriously everything he's told -- at least by Village stooges. With that answer to (a), most of my interest evaporated, but there was still (b), the question of who or what "Good Newt" might be. Well, read it and weep:

On the other [side] are those [Republicans] who see Gingrich as the brightest mind within the party, a man with command over a range of domestic and foreign policy issues that is the envy of everyone else in the race. This camp believes that Gingrich will drive the conversation in the contest through the force of his ideas, win debates and propel himself into the first tier of candidates.

The . . . the . . . uh, force of his ideas?

Let's read on:

“He is an idea factory and Republican voters love him for it,” said Ron Bonjean, a longtime GOP congressional aide. “They have watched him on TV while his think tank produces a streamof solutions to America’s problems.”

And on:

“If you added up all the IQ scores of all the other GOP presidential candidates, they might equal the IQ of Newton Leroy Gingrich,” said one unaligned Republican consultant granted anonymity to speak candidly about the Georgia Republican. “This is an extremely mixed blessing. Not only does Newt have a huge range of knowledge, experience, and ideas, he also has the huge ego to match.”

I am prepared to believe that our old pal Newt is "the brightest mind within the [Republican] Party," though it surprises me that any Republican would be bragging about it. I mean, let's say you did add up all the IQ scores of all the other GOP presidential candidates, and they did indeed equal the IQ of our Newt, what I'm wondering is: Have we cracked into the stratospheric IQ range of triple digits?


MEANWHILE NYTIMES.COM IS ATWITTER (IN THE
BIBLICAL SENSE) ABOUT ADORABLE AARON SCHOCK

That excellent reporter Jennifer Steinhauer blogs breathlessly:

The Politics and Government Blog of The Times

May 9, 2011, 11:46 AM

Shirtless Schock on Cover of Men’s Health

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

Representative Aaron Schock of Illinois, who already had the distinction of being the youngest member of the House, has a new feather in his cap (or maybe, his gym bag): he is the first member of Congress to appear shirtless on the cover of Men’s Health magazine.

Mr. Schock and his abs appear on the cover of the June issue of the magazine, which hits the stands May 24. The congressman, a Republican who starts his days on Capitol Hill working out and running before digging into his legislative business, was chosen by the magazine to inspire Americans to get a jump-start on their summer fitness routine.

“As the fittest congressman, who better than Aaron to help promote a healthy lifestyle,” said David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men’s Health, in a prepared statement. “He is deeply committed to health and fitness and is the perfect spokesperson to help motivate people to change their eating habits and their attitudes towards weight and health – and not just for the summer, but for life.”

Mr. Schock, 29, however, is not the first politician to grace the cover of the magazine. That was President Obama, who appeared in November 2008 (as president-elect) and again in October 2009. The president, however, was fully clothed.

I suppose Ms. S can be forgiven her excitement. Anytime the adorable Aaron is seen in a state of even partial undress (a privilege normally reserved for his, er, companions), this is a good thing. And it's that much better when his fool mouth is shut.

UPDATE: Some Of Our Friends In DC Reworked Aaron's

Cover A Little To Make Sure The Point Is Clearer

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