Landslide victory. Gingrich
Photo: Reuters
Gingrich attacks 'radical' Obama in SC victory speech
Former House speaker tells cheering supporters 'president so weak that he makes Jimmy Carter look strong'
Newt Gingrich used his victory speech Saturday after winning the South Carolina primary to accuse President Barack Obama of presiding over a radical, disastrous first term, AFP reports.
After turning the Republican nomination battle on its head, Gingrich railed against elites, the media and the unpopular US Congress, but saved his most stinging criticism for Obama.
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"The centerpiece of this campaign, I believe, is American exceptionalism versus the radicalism of Saul Alinsky," Gingrich said, referring to the founder of modern community organizing who reportedly influenced Obama.
"If Barack Obama can get re-elected after this disaster, just think how radical he would be in a second term," the former House speaker told supporters cheering "Newt can win! Newt can win!" in Columbia, South Carolina.
Next stop - Florida. Romney (L) and Gingrich (Photo: AP)
Gingrich, famous for his debating skills, challenged the Democratic incumbent to a series of six three-hour presidential debates, should he overcome main rival Mitt Romney and claim the eventual nomination.
"I don't want you to be disappointed, but I've already conceded that he can use a teleprompter if he wants to," he said, resurrecting a popular Republican barb targeting the president's supposed reliance on the prompter machines.
Gingrich, 68, repeated the charge that Obama was a "radical" several times, spelling out why at one stage by accusing the president of seeking to install a "European-style bureaucratic socialist system."
"President Obama is a president so weak that he makes Jimmy Carter look strong," he taunted, pointing at his policy on Iran and his dealings with the Chinese.
Gingrich's attacks on Obama were in stark contrast to the chivalrous praise he heaped upon his Republican primary opponents: Romney, Christian conservative Rick Santorum and veteran Texas congressman Ron Paul.
The Republican nomination battle is now wide open after Santorum's narrow win in Iowa, Romney's romp in New Hampshire and Gingrich's landslide victory here.
Florida, which votes on January 31, is the next stop in the state-by-state voting process that will decide the nominee.
Obama is considered vulnerable in the November 6 general election due to the flagging American economy and stubbornly high unemployment.
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