Romney Campaign Press Release - Live, From Las Vegas ... It's a "Flailing" Newt Gingrich

The Reviews Are In For Newt's Saturday Night Press Conference

The Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes: "This is what flailing looks like. This was not a pretty performance by Newt Gingrich. ... He makes these arguments that undermine the rationale for his own campaign." (FOX News' "Nevada Caucus Coverage," 2/4/12)

Republican Strategist Matthew Dowd: "To me watching Newt Gingrich, you know, he says he has this 45-state strategy or this 46-state strategy and go all the way to Tampa. I think he needs a five-state strategy based on Elizabeth Kubler-Ross' 'stages of grief.' Because last week he was in denial, this week he seems to be in anger. He's probably going to go to bargaining next then depression and he's finally going to get to the state of acceptance. (ABC's "This Week," 2/5/12)

National Review's Victor Davis Hanson: "Gingrich should carefully play a tape of his post-Nevada caucus performance, and then he would quickly grasp that it was little more than a litany of excuses, whining, and accusations — characterized by stream-of-conscious confessionals and rambling repetitions. And, I think, will hurt him more than anything yet in the campaign." (Victor Davis Hanson, "Gingrich's Speech — How to Make A Bad Night Worse," National Review, 2/5/12)

The Atlantic's Conor Friedersdorf: "After Newt Gingrich lost the Nevada caucuses Saturday, he could've given a gracious concession speech like a more conventional candidate. Instead he offered a reminder of why it is so difficult to believe anything he says. ... In any case, he began his remarks by pledging to stay in the race all the way to the Republican convention. And what followed was surreal." (Conor Friedersdorf, "Newt Gingrich's Incredible Nevada Concession Speech," The Atlantic, 2/5/12)

Conservative Commentator Dana Loesch: "Whoever gave him that advice was horrible. He should have stopped talking at one point..." (ABC's "This Week," 2/5/12)

Commentary's Jonathan S. Tobin: "There were rumors flying around the blogosphere on Saturday night as the Nevada caucus returns were being tabulated that Newt Gingrich would use his press conference to adopt a new, more positive strategy going forward. But after watching Gingrich's bizarre 11 pm presser, it would appear that the new positive Newt bears a strange resemblance to the old nasty Newt." (Jonathan S. Tobin, "New Newt? Same Sore Loser Strategy," Commentary, 2/5/12)

The Hill's A.B. Stoddard: "For an analyst, it will be remembered as one of the most remarkable moments of the 2012 election — primary or general. He came out and wandered into the minutiae about petty complaints and about a game he should have been prepared for. ... I mean, he was in the weeds. It was very, very strange event — and it was to announce a new positive campaign, by the way." (Fox News' "Nevada Caucus Coverage," 2/4/12)

American Spectator's W. James Antle: "Despite the potential consolation prize of beating a better-organized Ron Paul, the former House speaker may be melting down. He gave an odd, long press conference where he said he would be returning to a positive campaign but proceeded to attack Romney for everything from liberalism to lying to vote suppression." (W. James Antle, "Mitt Romney Wins Nevada," American Spectator, 2/5/12)

Townhall's Guy Benson: "In lieu of an election night party, Newt Gingrich opted for a lengthy press conference, at which he was peppered with process questions about his horserace with Romney. He came off as whiny and aggrieved, at one point denying that Romney was 'in his head.'" (Guy Benson, "Video: Romney Rips Obama In Feisty Nevada Victory Speech," Townhall, 2/5/12)

Former Congressman Dick Armey: "I feel bad for [Gingrich]. I think he's digressed into a state of taking a second-rate campaign and turning it into a first-rate vendetta." (CNN's "State Of The Union," 2/5/12)

The Washington Examiner's Philip Klein: "Gingrich's entire campaign is premised on the idea that it's powered by people to challenge the establishment. Yet here he was, deciding to hold a press conference with media elites instead of rallying his supporters. So it was an odd decision to begin with, which Gingrich explained had to do with the fact that he thought it would be a more appropriate event for 'Super Bowl eve,' whatever that's supposed to mean." (Philip Klein, "Romney Wins Nevada, Newt Throws A Tantrum," The Washington Examiner, 2/5/12)

The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol: "I think we're underestimating ... what dire straits Gingrich is in." (FOX News' "Nevada Caucus Coverage," 2/4/12)

The Washington Post's Aaron Blake: "Gingrich's remarks about regaining his front-runner status by Texas — which he repeated — capped a bizarre press conference held Saturday in Las Vegas. Gingrich, shunning the traditional campaign rally for a half-hour press conference in the aftermath of his huge loss in the Silver State, weighed in on everything from his poor debate performances to the Super Bowl to Mitt Romney's staffing decisions." (Aaron Blake, "Newt Gingrich: 'I'm Not Going To Withdraw'," The Washington Post, 2/5/12)

New York Post: "Gingrich's conference — which came in place of a previously scheduled appearance — was greeted with some surprise by pundits, who saw it as lacking in positivity and rambling." (Gingrich Pledges To Continue Campaign," New York Post, 2/5/12)

CNN's Will Cain: "That was an hour-long press conference where he invoked George Soros, slammed Donald Trump, said 'poor me,' and called Mitt Romney a liar over and over. He's burned the village. No women and children will be spared. This is attack." (CNN's "Nevada Caucus Coverage," 2/4/12)