Newt’s CNN debate performance compared to McEnroe without follow-through

• Joeff Davis
• Newt during last Saturday’s victory speech in Columbia, South Carolina.

Last I counted, GOP candidates had participated in 19 hour-plus, televised debates since the GOP nomination process started. According to reports, these events — which political strategist Todd Harris told the Washington Post were “one part soap opera, one part reality TV, one part C-SPAN” — huge ratings draws.

These showings, which are discussed on Twitter in realtime, lampooned the day after, and analyzed to determine a “winner,” will do much more to help decide the GOP presidential nominee than eating biscuits with old people in diners and shaking hands at county fairs. Very sad but also very true.

And according to the reviews, Newt Gingrich flubbed last night’s jawbone session, which was presented by CNN. Says the New Yorker’s John Cassidy:

From the first question, about immigration, to the last one, about why he was the man to beat Obama, he said virtually nothing that was new, funny, or of particular note. He didn’t even attack the press. Or, rather, he did try to once or twice, but Wolf Blitzer, CNN’s host, smacked him down, and he stayed smacked.

When that happens, you know there is something badly wrong. Where was the fiery Newt of Myrtle Beach and Charleston, the man whose verbal fusillades had taken down Juan Williams and John King, whose fulminations about Bain Capital and undisclosed tax returns had transformed his rival into a stuttering wreck? In his place, there was a withdrawn and sullen fellow who repeatedly complained about unfair attacks against him, while missing numerous opportunities to stick it to Romney. Instead of George Foreman beating his opponent to a pulp, we got John McEnroe complaining about the line calls and how long his opponent was taking between points. But where McEnroe used to whine and cuss himself into a fury and then play better, Newt whined and flubbed it.

You’re like Ivan Lendl, Newt! Or some other tennis player from the 1980s whose name we can’t remember! Says Politico’s Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns:

All told, Gingrich’s performance was more a throwback to the last days of his Iowa campaign — a floundering, listless, message-free affair — than an extension of his Palmetto State victory tour.

Again and again over the course of the two-hour CNN debate, Gingrich either soft-pedaled his attacks against Romney or failed to make them altogether. Asked to explain it afterward, Gingrich backers offered a collective shrug — it wasn’t the performance they needed heading into Tuesday’s primary.

His somnolent showing left other November-minded Republicans with a mix of shock that the famously hard-charging politician would go soft at such a high-stakes moment and relief that he may not be able to capitalize on his South Carolina win.

It should be noted that not everyone’s saying Gingrich has lost the Sunshine State. Let us know in the comments if you found any other interesting takes.