Newt Gingrich may be a hell of a nice guy up close and personal, but his public persona suggests otherwise.  That’s always been his problem as a political figure.  As smart as he may be, he is just plain unlikable.

Watching Gingrich try to smile in television interviews — he began attempting the feat a month ago — is like watching Br’er Rabbit try to sound sincere or President Obama try to look humble.  It’s not natural.

Gingrich formally entered the presidential race on May 9th and by May 15th he was effectively dead as a Republican candidate.  It took him just six days to undo 10 years of planning.

How did he do it? He blasted Congressman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget reduction blueprint on television as “right wing” and “extreme.” Some Republican candidates might be able to recover from that, but Gingrich will not. Because Gingrich knows better.  He is the ultimate calculating politician, and in an effort to shed his own “extreme” mantle, he consciously threw Ryan — and his plan — under the bus. He used the guy next to him in the foxhole as a shield.

It was a particularly egregious breach of trust to conservatives because Ryan had voluntarily put his neck on the chopping block.  Ryan’s deficit reduction plan is tantamount to political suicide — it gores all the sacred cows in American politics, including Medicare — but Ryan did it anyway for love of country.  Medicare and Social Security as constructed today are bankrupting the nation, so Ryan devised a honest plan to amend the programs. One may disagree with Ryan’s assessment or his political philosophy, but his bravery is unmistakable.

Along comes Newt.  Six days into his candidacy, Gingrich pulls the lever on the guillotine. But instead of beheading Ryan, Gingrich has decapitated himself from the office of the Presidency.  Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.