COMMENTARY | Newt Gingrich will continue his push for the Republican nod even though his campaign has amassed $4.3 million in debt, according to Fox News. By continuing his campaign, even though he is way behind in the numbers and in debt, Gingrich proves he is the wrong man for the job of president. He now symbolizes part of the mentality that caused the financial crisis.
As a political consultant, I know that a small amount of debt has to be carried by campaigns. Typically, this is short-term debt based on paying off campaign suppliers in 30 or 60 days, Gingrich's debt, though, is outweighing the money coming in. His debt will make new suppliers leery of dealing with him under the worry of him not being able to pay for the services. Relate this to banks who do not want to deal with everyday citizens who have acquired too much debt.
As Americans, we have had to learn a hard lesson about living outside of our means. Many of us have taken a look at the mistakes from a few years ago and sworn that we would never make them again. We have had hope in various candidates who might be able to turn the country around and help us out of the mess we have gotten ourselves into. By displaying the mindset that people had before the Great Recession, Gingrich proves he is not a worthy candidate for president.
Instead of becoming a symbol for economic recovery, Gingrich is making himself into a symbol of part of the problem that got us into the recession. How can we have any reliance in the candidate when he talks about fixing the economy when he can't deal with the debt of his own campaign? While he has paid off some of the debt, according to the Fox News report, his focus is on pressing forward instead of focusing on what is holding him back.
The time for Gingrich to withdraw from the race has already passed. He should have stepped down when his debt began to outweigh the amount of money coming in. Instead of staying in the race, the former Speaker of the House should suspend his campaign before he amasses more debt than he has to deal with his own personal recession.
