Through the eyes of Newt

JOLIET - Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich believes 30 to 35 percent of voters nationwide are undecided today in their choice for president in the November election. “What Senator Obama has accomplished in creating the largest Internet-based support system in history is pretty remarkable,” Gingrich, a healthcare reform advocate, said Tuesday during an appearance at Silver Cross Hospital to discuss the future of connected healthcare communities. “This is the year the Republicans ought to lose. The president's in bad shape because of public opinion polls. People are not very happy with how the Republicans ran the Congress. The economy's not in very good shape. You have an energy problem. You have a housing problem.” Normally, what should happen is the Republicans will lose and the Democrats will win, Gingrich noted. However, he believes this to be a much more open race than that for two reasons. “One is that Senator Barack Obama is young enough - and I think it's as much age as it is race - and is far enough to the left that he keeps having a very hard time closing the sale,” said Gingrich. “When he goes to Berlin and says ‘I'm a citizen of the world,' that jars. People don't vote for presidents who are citizens of the world. They want presidents who are citizens of the United States.” So, Obama has not yet closed the sale, although he has a very good chance to do this, Gingrich noted. On the other hand - by pure luck in Gingrich's judgment - GOP Senator John McCain of Arizona, the potential Republican nominee for president, is probably the only Republican with a chance to win the election. “He would be the only GOP who was sufficiently a maverick that you could not possibly argue he was (President George W.) Bush's third term,” said Gingrich. “So what you have is McCain outperforming his political party by about seven points, and Obama underperforming his party by about 11 points. They are currently almost statistically tied.” Gingrich said the presidential race has already been one of the most intriguing campaigns in his own lifetime. “From now until the election is going to be one of the most interesting periods in American history,” he said. “I think people don't know who they're going to elect right now. I think they are paying attention in a serious kind of way. I think they're hoping one or both of these guys will give them a positive reason to be for them. “There's a block - my guess is 30 to 35 percent of the country that is genuinely undecided and leans one way or another, shifts back and forth, and is not quite sure for who to vote,” he added. “Very intriguing.” During the short question-answer period following his brief remarks, an 87-year-old man in the audience said he wanted to live long enough to see Gingrich run for president. The audience chuckled. “So in order to try and extend your lifespan, I will try not to run before 2020,” Gingrich said. The audience laughed. Gingrich served as the Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999. In 1995, he was recognized by Time magazine for leading the Republican revolution in the House, ending 40 years of Democratic Party majorities there. His leadership was marked by opposition to many of the policies of the Clinton Administration, culminating in the impeachment of President Clinton. Shortly after the 1998 elections, where Republicans lost five seats in the House, Gingrich resigned as Speaker. He was succeeded by Republican Congressman Dennis Hastert of Yorkville, the longest-running House speaker to date in history. During his talk before the invited audience, Gingrich spoke of his vision of the future of connected healthcare communities as part of his founding mission at the Center for Health Transformation. Gingrich noted that connected health communities use technology such as electronic medical records and e-Prescribing to integrate local physician practices with area hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories and other healthcare facilities. This trend promotes patient safety, complete medical record and streamlined processes.