David Brooks Slams Newt Gingrich: 'I Wouldn't Let Him Run a 7-Eleven Let Alone a Country'
New York Times columnist David Brooks Thursday took quite a swing at former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
During a videotaped interview with Time magazine, Brooks said, "I wouldn't let that guy run a 7-Eleven let alone a country" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
GILBERT CRUZ, TIME MAGAZINE: People read you because you write about politics. I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions about politics, the first being is Obama beatable in 2012?
DAVID BROOKS, NEW YORK TIMES: He’s certainly beatable. The economy is going to be better, but not in great shape. He's got real problems in the Midwest. Those are states that Republicans have done extraordinarily well in, and so I definitely think he’s beatable. I would still give him a slight odds of being reelected, but he’s definitely beatable.
CRUZ: What do you think of the GOP field for 2012?
BROOKS: I'm not overwhelmed by its quality. Some people are interesting personalities, like Newt Gingrich, but Newt Gingrich is not going to be President. I wouldn't let that guy run a, you know, 7-Eleven, let alone a country. He’s a really interesting guy, no management skills. And, so there are a couple leaders: Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty and Mitch Daniels. I think those are the three. And so I’m not sure there’s a huge number of great candidates, and that’s of the weaknesses that Obama has, the one strength he has is so far what looks like the weakness of the Republican field.
No management skills.
For the record, this is Gingrich's résumé:
- B.A. in history from Emory University in 1965
- M.A. in European history from Tulane University in 1968
- Ph.D. in European history from Tulane University in 1971
- Taught history at the University of West Georgia from 1970 to 1978
- Congressman from 1979 to 1998
- House minority whip from 1989 to 1994
- Speaker of the House 1995 to 1998
- Founded Center for Health Transformation in 2003
- Co-chair of a 2005 task force for United Nations reform
- Founded American Solutions for Winning the Future in 2007
- For over two decades has taught at the United States Air Force's Air University
- Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute
- Fellow at the Hoover Institution
Gingrich has also authored the following:
* The Government's Role in Solving Societal Problems, Associated Faculty Press, Incorporated. January 1982
* Window of Opportunity. Tom Doherty Associates, December 1985.
* Contract with America (co-editor). Times Books, December 1994.
* Restoring the Dream. Times Books, May 1995.
* Quotations from Speaker Newt. Workman Publishing Company, Inc., July 1995.
* To Renew America. Farrar Straus & Giroux, July 1996.
* Lessons Learned The Hard Way. HarperCollins Publishers, May 1998
* Presidential Determination Regarding Certification of the Thirty-Two Major Illicit Narcotics Producing and Transit Countries. DIANE Publishing Company, September 1999.
* Saving Lives and Saving Money. Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, April 2003.
* Winning the Future. Regnery Publishing, January 2005.
* Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History and Future, Integrity Publishers, October 2006.
* A Contract with the Earth, Johns Hopkins University Press, October 1, 2007.
* Real Change: From the World That Fails to the World That Works, Regnery Publishing, January 2008.
* Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less: A Handbook for Slashing Gas Prices and Solving Our Energy Crisis, With Vince Haley. Regnery Publishing, September 2008
* 5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours, with Jackie Gingrich Cushman, Crown Publishing Group, May 2009
* To Save America: Stopping Obama's Secular-Socialist Machine, With Joe DeSantis. Regnery Publishing, May 2010
Gingrich co-wrote the following with William R. Forstchen:
* 1945 Baen Books, August 1995
* Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War Thomas Dunne Books, June 2003
* Grant Comes East Thomas Dunne Books, June 2004
* Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory Thomas Dunne Books, June 2005
* Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th Thomas Dunne Books, May 2007
* Days of Infamy Thomas Dunne Books, April 2008
* To Try Men's Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom, October 2009
* Valley Forge: George Washington and the Crucible of Victory, November 2010
Here's Obama's curriculum vitae:
- U.S. Senator 2005 through 2008
- Illinois State Senator 1997 through 2004
- Lectured at University of Chicago Law School 1991 through 2004
- Harvard Law School graduate 1991
- Community organizer 1985 through 1988
- Graduated with a BA from Columbia University in 1983
Obama became president with those qualifications, but according to Brooks, Gingrich doesn't have the "management skills" to even run a 7-Eleven.
Readers are reminded that this is what the Times and its readers consider is a conservative.
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Comments
Rhino
Submitted by dan iroticiv on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 4:30pm.
Hey David go back to Meet the Press and play the token conservative on his panel Sunday.if obama had run for
Submitted by TruthMonger on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 4:30pm.
if obama had run for president of toastmasters i'd woulda voted for him in a heartbeatCongratulations Jimmy Carter!
David is afraid...
Submitted by johnsonl on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 4:38pm.
...very afraid. He knows that Obamao and the democratic party are dead in America, as of today, the day that the unions died in America.I wouldn't use Brook's
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 4:38pm.
I wouldn't use Brook's opinion as toilet paper.Jealousy
Submitted by Chandran on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 4:38pm.
knows no bounds, right Mr. Brooks ?I wouldn't let Obama run my
Submitted by VBaxter on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 4:39pm.
I wouldn't let Obama run my my birthday party, but morons likes David Brooks got him elected to run the country. Now we're all paying. And no one gets free cake.Ron Paul 2012
I wouldn't let Brooks use the
Submitted by Average_JoeMN on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 4:40pm.
I wouldn't let Brooks use the bathroom at my 7-11. So there.Because
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 4:41pm.
Brooks has so much experience running highly successful businesses.David Brooks Is A Troll
Submitted by stratman on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 4:41pm.
According to Joe Biden, Newt could not run a 7-11 or a Dunkin Doughnuts in Delaware. We await Bite Me's proclamation on other states.
Brooks is a Conservative
Submitted by libBuster on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 5:20pm.
Here we have a conservative who does not like Sarah Palin or Newt Gingrich or Michele Bachman. I guess that is the New York Times idea of an enlightened conservative.Brooks is a lot of things,
Submitted by bassndude on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 5:25pm.
Brooks is a lot of things, but conservative ain't' one of them. NObody but the NYT could call him that with a straight face.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal/troll!!
the New York Times idea of an enlightened conservative...
Submitted by needle on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 6:35pm.
...should like Barack Obama, natch.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
And exactly what "management
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 5:00pm.
And exactly what "management skills" would our current president have if he applied to run a 7-11? He's the guy who, when asked for evidence of his management experience, was only able to cite his running of his campaign!Woo - Hoo!
Submitted by needle on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 6:40pm.
I bet we all could get a lot of stuff -- maybe even mortgages -- cheap or for free for the two or three days that he ran the 7 - 11 until the franchise owners found out about the total bozo running the store.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
Obama's management experience
Submitted by stratman on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 6:42pm.
Obama's management experience - scooping ice cream at a 31 Flavors and procuring weed in his 'yut'. There may be more but these seemed to have had the most impact on his skilz as presididdleysquat.No to Newt but you would allow a community organizer?
Submitted by JLin on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 5:09pm.
"Conservative" Brooks really needs to explain himself on this one. Gingrich is a talented and accomplished historian and politician, while Barack Obama is nothing more than a gifted script reader celebrity. He has done nothing of note in his life. He has absolutely no written record of accomplishment. He has no personal history that can be corroborated. Anything that exists is sealed from public view. That raises red flags for any thinking person. Brooks. Explain yourself.David Brooks is a faux
Submitted by marpel on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 5:33pm.
David Brooks is a faux conservative. There's a name for his kind, but I'm a southern lady..."Deep within my heart lies a memory. A song of ol' San Antone..."
Second Shift Manager
Submitted by Caringwhiteguy on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 5:45pm.
I'd be a little concerned about how Newt might relate to an attractive female second-shift manager.I await...
Submitted by okiehawk44 on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 6:02pm.
I await David Brooks pick for the Republican nominee for President in 2012. I know he likes men with good creases in their pants but beyond that...?So David,
Submitted by needle on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 6:30pm.
Tell us how you feel about Bill Clinton.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
Daviv... David.... David
Submitted by donabernathy on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 7:00pm.
Habib...... the cashier at the 7/11 near my house is more qualified than the guy in the Whitehoue now..... as far as Newt is concerned....... if there is a pimple on his butt...... Barry Obama could only dream of being as qualified as that pimple...... and Newt is an Idiot roflmaoAfter all,.....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 7:45pm.
We all know - "You can't even go into a 7-Eleven unless you have a slight Indian accent" - Harry Reid (D-NV)Let, Kemosabe?
Submitted by Tenebrous on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 7:52pm.
I'm afraid Brooks doesn't understand how elections work in this country. You vote and that's your voice. There's no "letting" beyond that, as if David Brooks were at the helm of the making the president-elect officially the president committee or something. Egotistical, Brooks? Nah.Visions and Principles blog
David Brooks is the John McCain of Journalism.
Submitted by Thalpy on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 8:16pm.
His articles and opinions should be judged in that light.Brooks
Submitted by batcat on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 10:20pm.
Brooks couldn't get laid in a whorehouse with $100 dollar bills hanging out of his pockets. Even whores have standards.Speaker of the House
Submitted by Boudin on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 10:28pm.
But no management skills? Wonder what he thinks of PelousyBrooks also lies
Submitted by Cowboy on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 11:34pm.
Brooks also lies McCain... 'nuff said.She's shopping at 7-11 song
Submitted by Hog_Flambe on Fri, 03/11/2011 - 12:11am.
David wouldn't last a week as an over night manager @ a gas n go. * Do a search of my subject line on YouTube.80% of all Post-War Balanced Federall Budgets Not Good?
Submitted by Avitar on Fri, 03/11/2011 - 1:38am.
Those over forty remember that the Speaker dragged the President kicking and screaming into those four years of balanced budgets. Though the liberal media control in the days before Matt Drudge prevemted anyone from discusing the President shuting the Governmment.Hate to break it to you Dave
Submitted by Cappmann1962 on Fri, 03/11/2011 - 11:28am.
BROOKS: I'm not overwhelmed by its quality. Some people are interesting personalities, like Newt Gingrich, but Newt Gingrich is not going to be President. I wouldn't let that guy run a, you know, 7-Eleven, let alone a country. - But it ain't up to you. Fortunately...
P.S. I see a bunch of Newt's accomplishments and credentials, but what has this Brooks clown done (besides run his newspaper into the ground)?