Thursday, January 26th, 2012 12:27:34

Sweating in South Carolina

The sweat somehow made the moment more real. There we were, standing on the stage at the Hilton Hotel in Downtown Columbia, S.C., on Saturday night with my dad, Newt Gingrich, celebrating his primary victory. It was the sweat rolling down the faces and dripping off the noses of the television cameramen, photographers, audience members and even those on stage celebrating that transformed the almost surreal scene into reality.

The room was hot and humid; cameramen were wiping the condensation from their lenses as they fogged up, only to wipe them again a few minutes later. I longingly looked over at my daughter, who was on the other side of the podium, her hair in a ponytail, wearing a short-sleeved dress. She looked cool as a cucumber. My wool jacket and long hair were adding to the temperature in the room. I felt as though I were in a sauna, rather than a ballroom for a victory party.