By Toby Harden
DailyMail.co.uk

If you'd just landed here in Orlando from a Gingrich-inspired moon colony this evening you wouldn't have known that Newt had just had his clock cleaned by Mitt Romney by a 15-point margin.

Magnanimous Newt was not in attendance. Apparently, no one had told the former House Speaker this was supposed to be a concession speech. Who knows, perhaps no one even told him he'd lost. He mentioned Romney only in passing - "Massachusetts moderate" - and never came close to congratulating him, or Rick Santorum (who he needs to butter up) and Ron Paul.

There was World Historical Newt. How could he defeat Romney? "It was stated at a historic moment in 1863, in dedicating our first national military cemetery by the president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, who said we have government of the people, by the people, for the people. And we’re going to have people power defeat money power in the next six months."

Newt Gingrich speaks in Orlando, but doesn't concede. Photo: Toby Harnden.

There was Grandiose Newt. After a long digression into the stump speech he'd been giving all week, he stated: "The reason I’m comfortable telling you all this is I have been studying what America needs to do, since the fall of 1958, when my dad was stationed in Europe in the Army."

He finished by pledging "my life, my fortune and my sacred honour" if he became president. Coming from a man who avoided service in Vietnam (as did Romney) despite coming from a military family, I can't imagine how this could sound to someone who has sacrificed a limb or a loved one in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Angry Newt was there, getting steamed up about the "five-to-one onslaught" against him and playing being the victim of "the elite media" who "said I was dead in June and July and said I was gone after Iowa, who seemed totally quiet the night of the South Carolina victory" - while at the same time name-dropping David Broder, the late dean of Washington political reporters.

Denial may not be just a river in Egypt, but Newt was adrift on it in any case. "I think Florida did something very important, coming on top of South Carolina," said Denial Newt. "It is now clear that this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader, Newt Gingrich, and the Massachusetts moderate. And the voters of Florida really made that clear."

The voters in Florida made a few things clear but Gingrich's uncontested leadership of the American conservative movement wasn't one of them. As Santorum said quite reasonably in his speech in Las Vegas, the result could be interpreted as a message to Gingrich that he'd "had his opportunity" to be the conservative alternative to Romney and it was now someone else's turn.

No amount of grousing about super PACs, negative ads and being outspent can explain away a 15-point loss after surfing into the state on a double-digit poll lead and a wave of momentum generated by his landslide South Carolina win.

Disppointed Gingrich supporters listen to his speech. Photo: Toby Harnden.

Reality Newt, however, was missing in action. In South Carolina 11 days ago, Romney responded to his humiliation at the hands of Gingrich by congratulating and at the same time laying out a new line of attack that he followed through on in Florida.

Gingrich offered nothing new tonight and gave no clues about how he will compete on a broader battlefield that very much favours Romney between now and Super Tuesday on March 6th.

The signs said "46 States To Go" but Gingrich said nothing beyond airy generalities about how he would win them. It was as if he had refused to come to terms with the reality of his defeat in the Sunshine State. The speech, it has to be said, was also a downer.

Romney is by no means invincible, as Gingrich showed in South Carolina. But a week in which Gingrich lost his temper, whined about negative attacks while launching even nastier and less truthful ones himself and was unable to move from defence to effective offence will hardly give his high-level backers much cheer.

Gingrich can clearly see a future in which he is President if only everyone was as wise as him, meaning wise enough to recognise his greatness. Alas for Newt, imagining himself into the White House is no more realistic a proposition than his promise to establish a moon colony by 2020.

Two young fans carrying the Gingrich message. Photo: Toby Harnden.