GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich might be abandoning his self-imposed positive-only campaign strategy. After failing to prevent others from highlighting his unflattering past by calling for an end to "negative campaigning", Mr. Gingrich has at least dipped a toe in political reality and tried to contrast one of his rival's ideas with his own. But he wasn't able to do that without taking a shot at that rival's supporters - voters he will eventually need to win over if he expects to be the GOP nominee and, eventually, the president.

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Recent polls show Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) leading in the upcoming Iowa Caucuses. The Paul campaign has also produced ads attacking Mr. Gingrich for what it calls "serial hypocrisy" so it makes sense that the former Speaker of the House would counter with comments about Dr. Paul's less than mainstream views. But today, Mr. Gingrich not only criticized Representative Paul's ideas on foreign policy; he dismissed Paul supporters as "people who want to legalize drugs."

In a radio interview with conservative commentator John McCaslin, Mr. Gingrich declared, "This is a guy who basically says, if the United States were only nice, it wouldn’t have had 9/11. He doesn’t want to blame the bad guys...He dismisses the danger of an Iranian nuclear weapon and seems to be indifferent to the idea that Israel could be wiped out. And as I said, I think the key to his volunteer base is people who want to legalize drugs."

Conventional wisdom says that even if Congressman Paul wins in Iowa, he will not be the GOP nominee. But his supporters in Iowa and across the country will remain a considerable force that could choose to offer their voices and votes to the eventual nominee in the battle to defeat President Barack Obama. But should Mr. Gingrich manage to become that nominee, how willing would they be to support the man who refused to acknowledge their libertarian-leaning positions on a host of other issues and wrote them off as nothing but "people who want to legalize drugs?"

One wonders what Mr. Gingrich might say if one or more of the more socially conservative candidates finish ahead of him in Iowa or any other state. Will he also be quick to dismiss the supporters of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota), Texas Governor Rick Perry or former Senator Rick Santorum by citing just one of the many issues they care about? Will he try to portray them as less valid in the political process because of a particular position on a particular issue?

Today Mr. Gingrich showed his propensity to marginalize and dismiss those who disagree with him instead of trying to win them over with sound ideas and persuasive arguments. That's not leadership and it's certainly not presidential.