Longtime Gingrich watchers see clear signs that "Good Newt" (disciplined, charming, expansive in personality and intellect) is engaging in an internal battle with "Bad Newt" (off-message, bombastic, self-wounding) as his political fortunes rise.

"Remember, this is the man of the combination of Churchill and de Gaulle to begin with," conservative columnist George Will told radio host Laura Ingraham. "He's the embodiment of a nation in deep peril. The stage has to be lit by the fires of crisis and grandeur to suit Newt Gingrich."

"Gingrich [is] always a fine a line between charming and brilliant on one hand, and eccentric and borderline dangerous on the other," said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California. "He's been 'Charming Newt' for the last several weeks. But the last couple of days have been a reminder of his other side."