The Other McCain

And by “it,” I mean, Calista Gingrich:

The problem was the wife. Aides to Newt Gingrich have resigned from his presidential campaign in protest of what they felt was a takeover by Callista Gingrich, the candidate’s wife since 2000. . . .
Callista Gingrich gradually emerged as Gingrich’s most influential adviser this year, supplanting longtime aides like Rick Tyler, his press secretary and aide-de-camp, and Sam Dawson, who was a major adviser for more than three decades. That Tyler and Dawson would join four others in quitting was a particular blow to the Gingrich campaign.
The others who resigned are: campaign manager Rob Johnson, Carney, and consultants Craig Schoenfeld in Iowa and Katon Dawson in South Carolina. Besides the entire senior staff, ten other campaign aides also quit.

Given that the Newt 2012 bandwagon has now obviously run into a ditch, let’s talk bluntly: In February 2009, I attended the premiere of the Reagan documentary, Rendezvous With Destiny, which was produced by Citizens United and “hosted by Newt and Calista Gingrich.” It was a great movie, except . . .

Calista Gingrich? What the hell was she doing in this movie? Every time she appeared on the screen, it felt wrong. Jarringly wrong.

Here was this cast of authentic heavyweights –James Baker, Marlin Fitzwater, Jack Kemp,  Bill Bennett, Ed Meese, etc. — sharing their recollections of the Reagan era.

And then there was Calista Gingrich.

She quite clearly did not belong in this company and, while I understand she played an important role in helping coordinate production of the film, her on-screen presence was a distraction. I didn’t write about it at the time, but I talked to several people at the premiere who had the same impression: Why would she insist on intruding herself into the movie?

So now, it seems, Gingrich’s wife has helped destroy his presidential campaign. Lisa Graas has further thoughts.

This news just broke in the past hour:

Republican Newt Gingrich’s senior aides on his presidential campaign have resigned, according to the Associated Press.
Press secretary Rick Tyler told the AP that he, campaign manager Rob Johnson said other strategists and aides in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina stepped down.

UPDATE: Politico points to an obvious factor:

One official said the last straw came when Gingrich went forward with taking a long-planned cruise with his wife last week in the Greek isles. . . .
[After the campaign’s botched rollout last month] Gingrich then virtually vanished from the campaign trail, taking more than a week off the campaign trail. His whereabouts were unknown until this week, when POLITICO revealed that he and his wife, Callista, were on a cruise in the Mediterranean.

You’re making phone calls to volunteers in Iowa while your candidate is cruising the Aegean Sea — not exactly a moral booster for the campaign team.

UPDATE II: Allahpundit suggests that key members of Team Newt might be about to climb aboard the Rick Perry bandwagon.

Among the issues, according to knowledgeable sources, was the two-week vacation that Gingrich and his wife, Callista, insisted upon taking against the advice of his top political staff. Coming as it did after one of the most diastrous campaign launches in recent memory, it raised questions as to whether Gingrich would be willing to “commit time to the grassroots,” said Tyler. 

Linked by Republican Redefined, Fire Andrea Mitchell and Katy’s Conservative Corner — thanks!

UPDATE IV: Linked by Bob Belvedere at Camp of the Saints — thanks!