Nancy Pelosi vs Newt Gingrich: "He Will NEVER Be President Because I Know Some Things!"

Nancy Pelosi: Newt Gingrich presidency 'will never happen ... there's something that I know'

Nancy Pelosi, speaking with John King yesterday—and doing Newt Gingrich a tremendous favor in his battle with Mitt Romney:

KING: Because of your history with Speaker Gingrich, what goes through for mind when you think about the possibility, which is more real today than it was a week or month ago, that he would be the Republican nominee and that you could come back here next January or next February with a President Gingrich?

PELOSI: Let me just say this. That will never happen.

KING: Why?

PELOSI: He's not going to be president of the United States. That's not going to happen. Let me just make my prediction and stand by it. It isn't going to happen.

KING: Why are you so sure?

PELOSI: There's something that I know. The Republicans, if they choose to nominate him, that's their prerogative. I don't think that's going to happen.

If Nancy Pelosi actually knows a secret about Newt Gingrich that would destroy his presidential ambitions, it's bad news for Newt in the long run.

But she didn't actually offer any evidence that she does, and while it's possible she's got the goods, her words will not be convincing to any Republican who hears them. Moreover, by turning the story into a Pelosi vs. Gingrich contest instead of a Romney vs. Gingrich contest, Gingrich gets to be the unequivocal "good guy" in the eyes of Republican primary voters.

Also important: when King pressed Pelosi about the Gingrich ethics report, she flatly stated that everything that is important to the investigation is already public. "I think the public record speaks for itself," she said. "I don't know if there's any reason to go further than that. But read the public record."

So according to Pelosi, there's nothing important in the ethics investigation that isn't already public, but there might be some other secret floating out there that could destroy Gingrich. Whether or not she's right, most Republicans will interpret her claim as hot air—and many will probably see it as fear of Newt.

Given that Pelosi chose to make the claim with John King—who has become the latest target of Republican anger against the media—I'd bet my bottom dollar she knows exactly what she's doing. It's a brilliant move, and yet another reason why we need her back in the speakership.


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Sources: CNN, Daily Kos, Huffington Post, Youtube, Google Maps