By Christopher Underwood and Kieron Hazell — February 2, 2012

After a comprehensive victory in South Carolina’s Presidential primary it momentarily seemed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was yet again resurgent in the race to be crowned the Republican Party’s nominee. But a stumbling performance in last Thursday’s Florida debate has left his candidacy endangered.

Unlike Mitt Romney, the perennial frontrunner, Gingrich has very few financial resources to support his candidacy. He has succeeded on the back of strong debate performances and Romney’s woodenness, neither of which were on display Thursday night.

Regardless of whether Gingrich yet again surges back into the race, his candidacy has shown the Republican Right’s acceptance of hypocrisy. In their eagerness to find an alternative to Mitt Romney – truly socially conservative, pro-life, and anti-same-sex marriage – they have stumbled upon Newt Gingrich.

Undoubtedly, he supports these positions. He has described same-sex marriage as an ‘aberration’, and endorsed strong family values throughout his career, but he has not practiced them. He is a thrice married man who left his first wife whilst she was recovering from cancer.

Such inconsistency has proven to be less of an issue for Gingrich than one might have expected. He fine-tuned his ability to manage the gulf between his public rhetoric and private life whilst Speaker of the House in the 1990s. At the time of his affair with his future third wife he was fervently leading the impeachment against Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair. So even if Republican voters appear to confirm the old adage tradition that Americans don’t get irony, Gingrich’s candidacy proves they are more than capable of hypocrisy.

Gingrich is not your average politician. As one Republican insider warned, his hand is “always six seconds away from the self-destruct button.” Yet his volatility is also his greatest strength. In both the Iowa and South Carolina debates, Gingrich received standing ovations as he swatted away criticism of his provocative stance on both child labour and his extra-marital affairs. Outright hypocrisy and sheer condescension it may have been, but his sentiment struck a chord with those who came to watch.

Romney’s tentativeness when under fire from Gingrich in South Carolina, over his stance on healthcare and how much tax he pays, have seen Gingrich firmly establish himself as the most charismatic candidate in the Republican field. Romney’s adoption of such combativeness in Friday’s debate seems to be working – polls have him surging in Florida.

When placed on the spot, Gingrich’s silence was telling; allow him to attack, and he will cover all manner of sins. Put him on the defensive, and cracks begin to show.