Gingrich Campaign Press Release - Newt Opens Victory Office, Holds Townhall in Bluffton, SC

Yesterday in South Carolina, the Bluffton Victory Office -- the campaign's fifth in South Carolina -- was opened. 200 people attended and there was barely room to move around. From there, it was to on to a town hall in Old Town Bluffton that had nearly 1,000 people. The crowd raved about Newt's performance, with one South Carolinian saying it was "absolutely astounding" Newt could provide so many substantive solutions to so many questions.

Newt Gingrich brought all the trappings of a newly minted front-runner Tuesday when he spoke at a campaign rally in old town Bluffton.

More than a dozen journalists crowded around the Republican presidential candidate, each jostling for the best camera position.

A CNN truck with a rooftop satellite parked nearby, beaming Gingrich's words into living rooms nationwide.

Hundreds of residents, who braved chilly weather for the campaign stop, reacted with riotous cheers and laughter to the candidate's applause lines about President Barack Obama's leadership.

"Obama has two different problems: performance and ideology," Gingrich told the crowd. "I mean, you can't be the most radical president and incompetent. You're allowed to be one or the other."

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After opening a Bluffton victory office -- his fifth statewide -- Gingrich spoke for about 20 minutes. Then for 45 minutes, he answered questions on a variety of subjects, including illegal immigration, ethanol subsidies, "too big to fail" banks, the future of the space program, and the danger of electromagnetic pulse attacks on American infrastructure.

Bluffton resident Larry Hughes said he was impressed by how Gingrich spoke for so long on so many subjects without hesitation.

"I mean, it was a tour de force," Hughes said. "It was absolutely astounding, and I don't think there are very many politicians on today's scene who could do that."

Standing behind a small wooden podium in the Calhoun Street Promenade square, Gingrich called on Congress to abolish funding for the National Labor Relations Board. He said it was a "disgrace" for the federal government to fight against state illegal-immigration laws, such as the one passed by South Carolina's legislature this summer.