In one of the closest Iowa caucus races ever, I stood apart; I was one of the people who voted for Newt Gingrich, as opposed to the top three.

I have always been a Newt fan, since he first announced that he would be running for the Republican nomination. My fandom of him was brought up even more when I heard him speak at the Ronald Reagan dinner.

Newt is an incredibly smart and witty man, and I think he would be an amazing president.

One criticism that has been made of Newt since he started his campaign was the work that he had done with then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on global warming, and he has been ripped mercilessly by the other candidates, but I look at this as a fact that he is at least willing to attempt to work across the aisle.

He was working with Pelosi toward new Environmental Protection Agency regulation that would deter global warming, which most conservatives don’t appreciate, but at least he was making an effort to cross the aisle and work with the Democrats.

Everything is so gridlocked anymore that it is near impossible for Washington to get anything done, and we need a president that is willing to work with both parties to compromise and find solutions to our national problems that work for everyone.

Newt has the best platform dealing with the issues as well. He has comprehensive plans for the economy, national defense and he has recently laid forth a plan that he believes will bring gas prices down to $2.50 during his presidency.

He also has the best plan regarding a solution to the left’s “ObamaCare.”

His plan regarding the economy is far and beyond the best one; he is pushing to stop the 2013 tax increases in order to promote stability in the economy.

He is also pushing to eliminate the capital gains tax in order to make American entrepreneurs more competitive in the global market, as well as lowering America’s tax rate (among the highest in the nation) to make the United States a more desirable location for businesses.

He would also push to set an optional flat tax of 13 percent that would give Americans the freedom to file their taxes on a postcard if they wanted to.

This flat tax would maintain deductions on charitable donations, as well as create a new personal deduction of $12,000, well above the poverty level, making sure that this system doesn’t unfairly target the poor.

I’m unfortunately running out of space, so I’m going to discuss Newt’s plan dealing with “ObamaCare.” Newt has laid forth a plan that he is calling the “Power Patient” system.

This system would make health insurance more affordable and portable by giving Americans the choice of a generous tax credit or the ability to deduct the value of their health insurance up to a certain amount, and by allowing Americans to purchase insurance across state lines, increasing price competition in the industry.

It also reforms Medicare in the fashion that it gives seniors the option to choose, voluntarily, a more personal system in the private sector with greater options for better care. This would create price competition to lower costs.

He is a very brilliant man, who I think would make an excellent president.

Kyle is a freshman member of the Student Government Association and a Culver Fellow. He participated in Model United Nations and is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.