Newt Stepped On It

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich seems to be self-destructing just after he officially threw his hat into the presidential ring.

Gingrich was leaving an event at a Dubuque, Iowa Holiday Inn when an Iowa Republican approched him and said:

"Get out now before you make a bigger fool of yourself.”

Gingrich is under fire from Republicans for his statements on Paul Ryan's proposal on Medicare. On yesterday's Meet The Press, Gingrich said, "I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering. I don't think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate."

In this exchange with host David Gregory, Gingrich didn't help his cause:

GINGRICH: We ought to have some requirement that you either have health insurance or you post a bond...

GREGORY: But that is the individual mandate is it not?

GINGRICH: It's a variation of it.

What Gingrich did was, in effect, (I have to clean this up a bit) stepping on his [male member].

Powell's Illegal Immigrant Gaffe

On Meet The Press yesterday, Gen. Colin Powell said this about illegal immigrants to David Gregory:

We have millions and millions of illegal immigrants in our country, undocumented individuals, who are working, who are doing things we need done in this country. They’re all over my house, doing things, making repairs. I’m sure you’ve seen them at your house.

Then today, Powell tried to retreat:

I don’t hire illegal immigrants. On Meet the Press yesterday, I referred to illegal immigrants working around my house. I was referring to the many service contractors who work in my neighborhood, using mostly immigrant workers, who do good work. Some may well be “illegal.”

First, Powell says illegal immigrants are "all over my house" (Rush Limbaugh said that it sounds as if illegals are swarming Powell's estate like cockroaches) and then he says he doesn't hire them.

No wonder Michelle Malkin referred to Powell today as a "crapweasel." (Interesting term, I can think of a number of people who are crapweasels.)