Newt Gingrich Returns to The Upstate

More than a year after he coasted to victory in the SC GOP presidential primary, Newt Gingrich touched down in Greenville Monday as he kicks off a tour of the state.

Gingrich appeared Monday with wife, Callista, at the Global Trade Center on Fairforest Way to sign copies of their books and to participate in a town hall forum, moderated by conservative radio talk show host Mike Gallagher.

With about 90 people in attendance, Gingrich first gave thanks for what he called one of the greatest experiences of his life when he won the primary.

"We wanted to come back and say thank you, in part, because South Carolina was such an extraordinary experience," Gingrich said. "I feel bad because, historically, of the role you've had in picking the nominee, and I feel like I failed you…. But there are very few moments I remember with greater joy… than the night we won the primary."

Gingrich cruised to victory in the state's primary, only to lose the nomination to Gov. Mitt Romney. Until Gingrich's ultimate collapse, every SC primary winner since Ronald Reagan had gone on to win the party's nomination.

Looking ahead, Gingrich said he was optimistic about the Republican Party's future after its defeat in the presidential election. Part of that optimism, he said, is based on what he sees in South Carolina's party diversity, giving a shout out to Indian-American Gov. Nikki Haley and black U.S. Sen. Tim Scott. The state party, he said, reflects a "much broader, much more diverse Republican party and yet still a solidly conservative party."

"I thought we'd (the GOP) win," Gingrich said of the presidential election. But reality was a different matter, he said, as results from the first dozen or so states on election indicated that GOP models were way off and that an Obama reelection seemed inevitable.

"If you have that big a gap between what you thought was going to happen and what happened, you'd better rethink your fundamentals," he said. "I don't know if I would have beaten Obama or not. But I would have run a very different and more aggressive campaign [than Romney]."

Gingrich gave his thoughts on what kind of candidate the party needs to regain the White House.

"I don't think it's about liberal, conservative, moderate, etc.,," he said. "We need a candidate who knows what they believe, actually believes it, and can answer questions that make sense. I think that person will be broadly conservative, but that person can still be pretty broad ranged." The ultimate nominee in the past several cycles has not been hard right wing, he noted.

"We've had a series of bumper sticker candidates," he said. "Reagan was the last Republican nominee who actually understood what he believed, understood why he believed it, and could make decisions on the fly because he was operating off the principles inside his own head."

In addition to a Reaganesque candidate, Gingrich added, the GOP should take notes from the Democrats who have mastered the use of "soft media" to reach larger numbers of independent voters. He noted that Bill Clinton's famous appearance playing the saxophone on the Arsenio Hall Show, a stunt derided by those in the Republican Party, was actually a brilliant idea and that Republicans should learn from it.

"We have to have candidates that have the guts to go on 'The View' and 'The Daily Show,'" he said.

As for his own political future, Gingrich said he hasn't decided whether he might run again, but he did say that he is in talks with CNN to resurrect the political talk show "Crossfire," but that no deal has yet been inked.

Today, Gingrich was scheduled to stop by the Revolutionary War battlefield at Cowpens before heading to Columbia for a reception with state lawmakers and other political figures.

Gingrich also will travel to Florence, Georgetown and Myrtle Beach, where he will take part in an energy forum with U.S. Reps. Jeff Duncan and Tom Rice of South Carolina about tapping wind, gas and oil resources off the state's coast.