The Gingrich candidacy deserves the two consecutive posts I am giving it. It deserves both because it’s critical that his candidacy be terminated as quickly as possible. Newt Gingrich is dangerous man, I am sorry to say…dangerous because of something we all struggle with: ego.

So many Americans, in their haste to be entertained and their willingness to abdicate personal responsibility are distracted by Gingrich’s intelligence and showmanship. Intelligence without ethics is a vacuum waiting to be filled by whatever steps up first. Usually, it’s pure ego. The desire, one might even say the inherent need, for self-aggrandizement.

I have no doubt Gingrich will have to bow out… either gracefully or perhaps, with that theatrical “hook” around his throat that you see in comedies when the actor refuses to timely exit stage left. My certainty comes from the fact that he’s left too much ugliness in his past personal and public service lives… and too much of it is recent.

We are a forgiving people, but the mea culpa goes a lot farther when the act(s) needing forgiveness occurred in the distant past.  When you’re asking for access to the control button on ultimate power…well…even recent acts sincerely seeking forgiveness will be forgiven.  It’s just that the forgiveness will be followed by a “No thank you. We forgive you your past we just don’t trust you with our future.”

So, yesterday Nancy Pelosi hinted at one of the dark sides of Newt Gingrich.  Today former Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams reveals another. The House Ethics Committee considered his prolific “doodles” where he routinely drew himself as the center of the political Universe. And so it begins. Exit stage left.

My real concern is not if he will go but how soon before damage is done. We are heading into the most important election of our lifetime. Our continued well being depends on its outcome. Literally. Gingrich’s showmanship and eloquence are a distraction.

Newt Gingrich and Barack Obama are examples of intelligence without ethics. The Nation is in dire need of a candidate with an ethical foundation who is bright enough to discern and gifted enough to lead.  It’s the ethical foundation that is key.

At the moment the alternatives are Santorum, Romney and Paul.  Stay tuned and stay alert. Your voice and your desire to be more than simply entertained for the next 9 months is why you’re here.