Newt. That dog whistle doesn't work.

NEW ORLEANS -- Newt Gingrich made a rock star's entrance at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference Thursday night, entering to a standing ovation as the song "Eye of the Tiger" blared over the speakers and lights shined out over the crowd.

When Gingrich eventually got to the podium, he delivered a self-assured address peppered with historical allusions. Democrats in Washington, he said, had put together a "perfect unrepresentative left-wing machine dedicated to a secular socialist future."

Mr. Obama is "the most radical president in American history," Gingrich said. "He has said, 'I run a machine, I own Washington, and there is nothing you can do about it.'"

"What we need is a president, not an athlete," Gingrich said during a question and answer period after his speech. He added: "Shooting three point shots may be clever, but it doesn't put anybody to work"