'President Gingrich' Promises Permanent Moon Base   Republican
presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt
Ging...  Newt Gingrich is a self described space nut. He
traveled to Florida's Space Coast Wednesday to outline what he
described as a bold program that would send Americans back to
the moon and beyond.  In a crowded hotel ballroom in Cocoa, not
far from the Kennedy Space Center, Gingrich talked of coming of
age at the time of Sputnik, which was the first satellite
launched in 1957 by the Soviet Union. He recalled reading
science fiction, author Isaac Asimov and Missiles and Rockets
magazine.   The space shuttle mission ended last year and with
it, the end of any imminent manned space flight. It also has
meant the loss of jobs on the Space Coast and a lack of well
defined mission for NASA.  "By the end of my second term,"
Gingrich promised if elected, "we will have the first permanent
base on the moon and it will be American."  Gingrich said he
would encourage commercial activities in spa