DERRY - At a larger-than-expected town hall event at Pinkerton Academy on Sunday evening, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich laid out his claim as the best Republican alternative to defeat President Obama.

Telling the audience that the country needs a conservative Reagan Republican to make an articulate case against Obama's failed liberal policies, Gingrich touted his work helping Reagan achieve victories in the early 1980s and his role as Speaker of the House passing legislation under President Clinton in the ‘90s.

Although he spent most of his 90 minutes focused on Obama, Gingrich did make the case for why he would be a more effective nominee than perceived frontrunner Mitt Romney.

“Winning is not enough,” he said. “We need to have a leader who is decisive and can move forward with change. What we don't need is an isolated candidate.”

Gingrich said the country needs a president who can transcend partisanship, something he said he has achieved on numerous occasions.

He pointed to his championing of supply-side economics under Reagan in the early ‘80s, a program Gingrich said could once again pay great economic dividends for the country.

Under the supply-side economics, the government cuts taxes, eases regulations, develops American energy sources, and favors people who create jobs.

Under Reagan, Gingrich said supply-side economics worked because he helped garner Democratic support.

“If we wanted to get the Reagan plan through, we needed to get one out of three Democratic legislators to vote for it, and we did that,” he said.

In a single month in 1983, Gingrich said, the Reagan program led to the creation of 1.3 million new jobs.

“Last month, there were 200,000 new jobs, and everyone in the White House was dancing in the streets,” Gingrich said.

As the Speaker of the House, Gingrich said his leadership led to four years of balanced budgets and the successful passage of welfare reform under Clinton.

Gingrich criticized Obama for being the “food stamp president,” with more people on food stamps under his presidency than under any previous one.

“If I am elected, I will be the best paycheck president,” Gingrich promised the approximately 600 people who attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Gingrich also criticized Obama's recent plan to cut military spending, saying it would lead to the most dangerous security situation in the nation since Pearl Harbor.

On energy, Gingrich blasted the president for not supporting the development of American energy resources while negotiating deals for Brazilian oil.

“President Obama wants to be the chief salesman for Brazilian Oil, while I would be the chief salesmen for American goods and services,” he said.

Closer to home, Gingrich also hit upon several New Hampshire issues, including his support for reopening the Veterans Administration Hospital in Manchester as well as other proposals that would make healthcare for veterans in the state more convenient.