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CINCINNATI - While voters cast Republican ballots in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado Tuesday, Newt Gingrich spent the day in Ohio looking for support in the March 6 Ohio Primary on Super Tuesday.
The former House Speaker started his campaigning at Price Hill Chili, considered by most politicians and neighborhood leaders to be a microcosm of America for its conservative nature and diverse population.
"I want to run a campaign this fall that's an American campaign -- open to every American," Gingrich said to dozens of supporters packed shoulder-to-shoulder inside the Glenway Avenue restaurant.
Gingrich said his experience as House Speaker plus success in helping to balance the federal budget four times and lower the unemployment rate make him the best choice for the GOP nomination and the best chance to defeat President Obama.
Following his speech Gingrich sat down with 9 News for an exclusive interview. Watch his full interview by clicking on the video player above.
However, Gingrich currently trails former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the campaign. However, he vowed to stay in the race all the way through the Republican National Convention this summer in Tampa.
Not surprisingly, much of Gingrich's 25 minute speech dealt with rebuilding the U.S. economy. He supports a 15 percent flat tax, a 12.5 percent corporate tax, a zero at zero and letting businesses write off 100 of the cost of new equipment.
"We want American workers to have the most modern equipment in the world so that they can compete and be productive and they can be more productive than Chinese or Indian workers," he said.
The former Speaker also wants to change unemployment rules so that laid off workers have to sign up for a business-based training program to learn a new skill before receiving benefits.
"It is fundamentally wrong to give people 99 weeks of money for doing nothing," Gingrich said. "Think about it. In 99 weeks you can earn an associate degree. That's how big the difference is."
Another area where Gingrich said massive changes are needed is in the area of entitlements.
"I've said over and over again that this is the best food stamp President in American history," Gingrich said of Mister Obama. "I'm running because I'd like to be the best paycheck President in American history."
He wants to use entitlements as a springboard to give every American a chance to get a job, move up to a better position and even own a company.
"If you'd like your children and grandchildren to have jobs and a paycheck, come work with us," said Gingrich. "If you think food stamps and a safety net which turns into a spider web which traps you in poverty and dependency, you should vote for Obama."
Bringing down the national deficit is another priority on the Gingrich to-do list.
"I'm not running to be the tax collector for Obama's credit card," he said. "I am running to cut up the credit card and reduce government spending so we actually have a country that's dynamic and growing."
Other items on the Gingrich agenda include:
* Modernizing the federal government could save $500 billion a year
* Turning energy companies lose could generate $500 billion a year in royalties -- two-thirds of which would be applied to the federal deficit and one-third going to repair America's aging infrastructure
"The time has come to reassert the principles of America. The time has come to reassert the work ethic," said Gingrich. "The time has come to reassert strength as the basis of our foreign policy and the time has come to have a President with the courage to be honest, both about who is trying to kill us, about the challenges we face and about the fact that all of us are going to have to work together."
Robert Jetter of Delhi Township handed out Gingrich literature and even had the candidate sign one of them.
"He has the experience and the vision to bring us back to what I have in my mind is the former greatness of the United States," he said.
Listening intently to the speech was Loveland resident Hunter Whitten, who brought his two young home-schooled children to get a first-person lesson in government. He said when President Obama took office, he had to learn how to do the job. Now he believes the country can't afford four more years.
"Newt knows how it works. He understands how it works. He's been there. He's done that," Whitten said. "So, I feel like he's more experienced and can get in there and get it done faster and quicker."
College students Hanna Faulkner and Jacob Carter drove to Price Hill because they're concerned about what the economic policies of today might mean for their future tomorrow.
"Gingrich is a really intelligent and strong individual and that's what we need," Faulker said. "Our country is in danger -- especially for us young kids. We're not going to have a future, so we need someone like him who's going to be able to push for us to have a future."
Carter said Gingrich has show he can work with all political parties to get things done.
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