In 1918, the United States proved militarily decisive in the defeat of the Kaiser's Germany and emerged as first power on earth.

Now that Newt Gingrich has become the latest in a series of Republican front-runners, he is getting the kinds of scrutiny and attacks that have done in other front-runners.

Here's both my qualifier and my bona fides for the opinion that follows: I earned my Republican stripes working for a GOP U.S. senator, for Ronald Reagan's first successful presidential campaign and for Newt Gingrich.

Let's get this straight once and for all: The vast -- and I mean vast -- majority of those who identify themselves as Republican voters, or as independents who likely will vote in Republican primaries in 2012, have no problems with the tenets and beliefs of the tea party movement.

WASHINGTON -- The headline on Democratic strategist Paul Begala's recent Newsweek essay dodged subtlety: "The Stupid Party."

"Republicans used to admire intelligence. But now they're dumbing themselves down," was the subhead.

WASHINGTON -- The great thing about Iowa is that no matter who the voters select in their neighborhood huddles, it doesn't really matter.

WASHINGTON -- Rick Perry's rapid lead over previous Republican front-runner Mitt Romney was predictable.

Why Iowa? It was the 29th state to be admitted to the Union, it is the 30th state in population, it has given the nation Grant Wood's "American Gothic" and Meredith Willson's "The Music Man."

Leadership, said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in his press conference Tuesday announcing he would not reverse his decision not to run for president, is something you can't be taught or learn.

In "The Book of Man," his new book offering readings to help educate boys, William Bennett offers a quick profile on U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to illustrate two forms of polis -- democratic America and tyrannical communist Cuba.

Remember when former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty about-faced on a promise not to throw elbows during the 2012 GOP Presidential Primary campaign?

After his fourth-place showing in Florida, Ron Paul, by then in Nevada, told supporters he had been advised by friends that he would do better if only he dumped his foreign policy views, which have been derided as isolationism.