Responding to his campaign's inability to secure a spot for its candidate on the GOP presidential primary ballot in Virginia - the state where the candidate resides - Newt Gingrich's national campaign director Michael Krull took to Facebook   to say he and Gingrich agreed that the analogy for the setback was the attack on Pearl Harbor.

"Newt and I agreed that the analogy is December 1941: We have experienced an unexpected set-back, but we will re-group and re-focus with increased determination, commitment and positive action," Krull wrote.

A Gingrich aide confirmed that Krull was referring to the attack on Pearl Harbor, and added "not necessarily just the attack, but the idea we faced a setback and we must regroup, we must move ahead."

Just as a refresher: On December 7, 1941, two waves of Japanese fighter planes attacked U.S. forces in Hawaii, killing 2,403 Americans (including 68 civilians) and wounding 1,178 civilians and military; sinking or damaging 21 ships in the U.S. Pacific fleet; and destroying 188 U.S. aircraft and damaging 159. (You can see the casualty list HERE. http://www.usswestvirginia.org/ph/phlist.php )

_Jake Tapper