Gingrich: Obama lives in 'Kenyan, anti-colonial' fantasy land

Newt Gingrich may not be a "birther" -- a believer in the false claim that Barack Obama was born in Kenya -- but he evidently doesn't have a problem pandering to that demographic.

In an interview with the National Review, the former Republican speaker of the House said Obama's perspective on the world is "factually insane" and the president's actions only make sense when it's understood that he has a "Kenyan, anti-colonial" attitude.

Gingrich, now tipped as a potential presidential candidate in 2012, told NRO that Obama "worked very hard at being a person who is normal, reasonable, moderate, bipartisan, transparent, accommodating — none of which was true."

He pondered, "What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]? ... That is the most accurate, predictive model for his behavior."

Gingrich was referring to a recent article in Forbes magazine by Dinesh D'Souza, in which D'Souza asserts that "clearly the anti-colonial ideology of Barack Obama Sr. goes a long way to explain the actions and policies of his son in the Oval Office."

D'Souza describes Obama as "the most anti-business president in a generation, perhaps in American history."

Jeremy Schulman at MediaMatters described Gingrich's comments as taking "Republican race-baiting" against Obama "to new levels." He asserts that D'Souza's article is "an impressive combination of factual distortions and twisted logic."

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Gingrich predicted that the GOP will gain 40 to 60 seats in the House in the mid-term elections, riding on an anti-White House "momentum that's building in our country."

The most recent Gallup poll shows Democrats and Republicans tied in overall support.

Gingrich also said the GOP would "surprise" Democrats by signing on to any tax cuts the Democrats propose, "as long as it isn't offset by a tax increase."