Back when he was still in the presidential race, Herman Cain had a catchphrase he would use when asked by the news media about the oddities of his weird campaign: “Let Herman be Herman.” Heading into CNN’s Republican debate tonight, Newt Gingrich‘s campaign is adopting that trite same phrase.

Bob Walker, a top adviser to Gingrich, told the New York Times, “We didn’t let Newt be Newt” in the Florida debates. Many credit Gingrich‘s less than stellar performance in those debates with his big loss in the state’s primary.

Kellyann Conway, another adviser, said the same thing. “Newt’s got to be Newt,” she said. “He doesn’t have to act presidential.”

Let Newt be Newt, okay? It worked out for Cain.