Newt has unfairly maligned the reputation of General Leonard Wood in comparing his candidacy for the Republican nomination in 1920 to that of Mitt Romney today. On television today, March 13, 2012, Newt said, "Mitt would be the weakest candidate for the nomination since Leonard Wood in 1920."
Now, that's unfair to Leonard Wood. Wood was a distinguished American, a retired general in the US Army, and won the Medal of Honor for heroism in 1898. His rivals for the nomination criticized him for his strong support of the anti-communist movement (who wouldn't be for that?). But his greatest claim to fame came when he served as the second football coach at Georgia Tech. He led his team as coach and captain to its first ever victory over the University of Georgia Bulldogs, winning 28 to 6.
A weak candidate? Hardly. "Miracle worker" would better describe what he accomplished with the Yellow Jackets.
He certainly would have had a better record than the eventual nominee, Warren G. Harding.