Newt's two-week vacation: Giving up already?

Shortly after the much-ridiculed launch of his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich took off on a cruise with his wife

While many prominent religious conservatives were meeting in Washington, D.C., GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich was on vacation.
(Image credit: Mark Hirsch/Getty Images)

After just two weeks on the campaign trail, Newt Gingrich has gone on a vacation with his wife, Callista. Gingrich has not made a public appearance since a Rotary Club lunch in South Carolina on May 27, and his next one is scheduled for Wednesday, June 8. This holiday comes after the former House speaker's bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination got off to a rough start, largely due to controversial comments about the House GOP Medicare plan, and reports that he ran up a $500,000 revolving tab at luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. Is Gingrich conceding that he's already in trouble, or is he just resting up before the campaign goes into high gear?

It sure looks like Gingrich is giving up: "The timing of the vacation is odd," says Dave Davidson at The Iowa Republican. If he really just needed a little rest, he should have done it before he announced his candidacy. While on his cruise in Greece, Gingrich missed a chance to woo skeptical evangelicals at Ralph Reed's big Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference. That sends the message that he's not committed to this race.

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