Gingrich -- "A Great Possibility" He'll Run For President

Thomas is often fond of saying, especially at this time in the campaign, "Do not give me the 'what if's,' give me the 'what is now.'" That means that suppositions are nice, and fun to imagine, but if they are not in the race now, they are insignificant. Newt Gingrich told Diane Sawyer on GMA that it is a "great possibility" he would run for president:

In an interview with Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America," the former Republican speaker of the House said there was a "great possibility" that he would run for president.

He will make that decision sometime in the fall. Sawyer noted that previously Gingrich had only said he was "thinking about" a run for president.

"You said you'll make a decision at the end of the September,{is it} more likely, less likely this morning? Sawyer asked Gingrich. "I think right now, it is a great possibility," Gingrich said.

"A great possibility you'll run? Sawyer asked. But Gingrich declined to elaborate. "I don't want to get into all this stuff," Gingrich said. "I want to focus on what we have to do to make America successsful."

Gingrich was visiting "GMA" to talk about his new book, "Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December the 8th," which he co-wrote with William Forstchen.

But Gingrich took time to assess the field of declared candidates and said he wasn't happy with the current contenders, comparing them to contestants on "American Idol."

"We're in this virtually irrational process," he said. "It's exactly wrong as a way of choosing a national leader."

Gingrich said Republican candidates needed to champion large-scale reforms.
"I think unless a Republican who is nominated is committed to fundamental change in Washington they will certainly lose the election," he said.

According to Gingrich, Republicans need to realize that Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has a good chance of winning the White House if she gets her party's nomination.

First off, and I do not want to take anything away from Mr. Gingrich, but I believe the base activists are well abreast of Hillary, however, I am not sure he is. She still has a very high unfavorable rating in the straw polls being conducted. Additionally, Obama and Edwards are closing in on her. Her attempts to make herself over into a moderate, centrist Democrat is not working.

Secondly, while large reform may be on the menu for Washington, DC -- no one really knows because the pre-primary debates have just begun, and no serious reform has been mentioned -- the biggest issue on the minds of voters in 2008 will be national security. And if we look further into the interview he has with Ms. Sawyer, we find this little gem:

Gingrich said as far back as 2003 that Bush had "gone off a cliff" with the Iraq War. Gingrich believes the United States should get out of Iraq as soon as possible.

"I think we have to turn over policing responsibility for the Iraqis as rapidly as possible," he said. "Pull our troops out as rapidly as possible."

Gingrich is with the cut-and-run crowd. At one time I had a good deal of respect for the man who stood up to the Democrats, and who brought the 1994 revolution to fruition. I am not, however, impressed with this train of thought. Experts have warned that a departure from Iraq will give us three very bad results. A retreat will have us in the crosshairs for years to come; the wholesale slaughter of innocents after our retreat will make what is going on in Sudan and Zimbabwe pale by comparison; and Iran will have themselves a brand new proxy with which to launch terrorist attacks from, just like Syria and Lebanon.

Furthermore, if Mr. Gingrich thinks he has a chance, I suggest he think again. His fafvorability amongst conservatives right now is not good. His recent attendance of a global warming debate in DC does not play well with conservatives, especially after this, as reported by Dana Milbank of the WaPo:

"Welcome to our environmental version of the Lincoln-Douglas debates," the former Democratic presidential nominee told the crowd in the Russell Caucus Room. "We flipped a coin, and I picked Lincoln."

But something funny happened on the way to 1858. Gingrich, a former Republican House speaker, refused to play Douglas to Kerry's Lincoln, instead positioning himself as a tree-hugging green.

Before Kerry got a word in, Gingrich conceded that global warming is real, that humans have contributed to it and that "we should address it very actively." Gingrich held up Kerry's new book, "This Moment on Earth," and called it "a very interesting read." He then added a personal note about saving vulnerable species from climate change. "My name, Newt, actually comes from the Danish Knut, and there's been a major crisis in Germany over a polar bear named Knut," he confided.

FOX News had a similar read of the debate:

Gingrich began first with a concession to his opponent. Holding the new book by Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Gingrich said, "This is a very good book. As a clearly right-wing reader, I would commend the book" as one that shows examples of local leadership on environmental issues.

"I would agree with about 60 percent of this book," he added.

I do like Mr. Gingrich, and I admire him for much of the tenacity he utilized on the Democrats when he was in office. But he is no longer there, and he does not know the game or its stakes any longer. Could I consider him to be a candidate thjat could win the presidency? No. Not just for the above, but for the baggage he carries and how soon after the Clintons left the White House. With Hillary in the race, the Democrats would only point to him, and garner sympathy for Senator Clinton.

No, Mr. Gingrich's entry into the field, if he so chooses, does not help our cause at all. His entry, indeed, would be the third ring in a three-ring circus.

Marcie