(10 of 10)
Yet not everyone is impressed. "Newt's got everybody scammed," says Frank, one of the most respected liberal intellects in the House. "Newt doesn't have ideas. He has ideas about how nice it would be to have ideas." Gingrich's fellow Republicans, especially the moderates, are skeptical too. Senator Mark Hatfield, the Oregon Republican who will chair the powerful Appropriations Committee, believes that his party will succeed in passing most of Gingrich's contract into law, but he dismisses much of it as "symbolism." Hatfield and ) other G.O.P. moderates warn that their party, including Gingrich, will be judged by a sterner standard: they must cut federal spending, taxes and borrowing in a way that will be seen as both prudent and equitable, rather than just showering new tax breaks on the rich while leaving the bill to the young. Gingrich is well aware that if Republicans fail, voters will send them packing as brusquely as they did the Democrats. In his first public speech to his members, Gingrich cautioned that the electorate has twice since World War II granted Republicans control of the House only to take it away again in the next election. But in private moments, Gingrich allows himself a fabulously optimistic daydream. "I think we'll have a good run," he said contentedly last month. "My guess is it will last 30 or 40 years."
CHART: NOT AVAILABLE
CREDIT: From a telephone poll of 800 adult Americans taken for TIME/CNN on Dec. 7-8 by Yankelovich Partners Inc. Sampling error is plus or minus 3.5%
CAPTION: DO YOU THINK NEWT GINGRICH HAS GOOD IDEAS FOR THE COUNTRY?
IS GINGRICH A LEADER YOU CAN TRUST?