Gingrich to sit out 2008 presidential race

[Neil D]

Gerald Herbert / Associated Press

In the last few months, Newt Gingrich had stoked speculation that he might enter the crowded GOP field.

The Georgia Republican, poised to announce an exploratory bid, instead will continue to head up a political action organization.

By Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

September 30, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and conservative leader, said Saturday that he had decided not to seek the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

"Sometimes you have to decide what the right role is," he said in a telephone interview. "This is right for me."

The Georgia Republican said his legal advisors told him Saturday morning that federal law would prohibit his fundraising for a presidential race unless he quit a fledgling political action organization that separately raises money to seek solutions to national problems.

"Anything that could be construed as helping my campaign in any way is potentially a criminal offense" under the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms, Gingrich said.

Gingrich, 64, who placed third in some early national polls of Republican voters, said he had planned to announce an exploratory campaign operation Monday.

He had taken a leave of absence from his role as a political commentator on Fox News, had prepared a campaign website and was committed to trying to raise $30 million as the necessary ante for a national race, he said.

"We were ready to explore," he said. "But I was not prepared to walk away from something we had spent a year building just to explore."

Gingrich said he decided to abandon his presidential ambitions rather than step down as chairman of American Solutions. The organization, which claims 19,000 members, has sponsored 2,000 workshops nationwide, organized online seminars and conducted other programs. It aims to find comprehensive solutions to immigration, national defense, education and other national issues, according to its website.

"If I walked away on Monday, it probably would not survive without me," Gingrich said. "In a few years, once it gets going, it can survive."

Gingrich's absence from the presidential race could benefit the candidacy of Fred Thompson, a former senator and fellow Southerner who has sought to appeal to the party's core conservative voters. Gingrich remains popular among many conservatives, who remember him as the articulate, hard-charging architect of the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress, which ended 40 years of Democratic control.

But given his relatively modest poll numbers, his exit may have little of a ripple effect.

"Since very few people really thought he would get in, his decision not to run really doesn't change things," said Charles Cook of the Cook Political Report, an independent political newsletter that reported that Gingrich was polling about 6% over the last five months.

Gingrich, a former college professor who represented Atlanta for 20 years in the House, stepped down after four years as speaker and left Congress amid ethics allegations, income tax questions and heavy Republican losses in the 1998 midterm election.

He sounded wistful Saturday about quitting the presidential race before he had even begun.

"We had a surprising number of people contacting us," Gingrich said. "The first response was pretty encouraging. Whether we would have gotten to $30 million, I can't say. Whether we could win, I can't say."

But he kept the door open when asked if he would consider a race in 2012.

"Make a note now," he said. "Call me the day after the 2008 election."

[Dr. Shane]

Well, I guess I was right on that one. I had serious doubts Newt would jump into the race. He has his place in history as one of the most powerful Speakers of the House. His control of the House virtually changed the entire agenda of the Clinton Administration. A lot of things Clinton got credit for were actually initiated by Newt's leadership in the House. Many liberals hate him because he impeached Clinton and thus they are unable to appreciate the historic role he played as Speaker. Undoubtably he was more powerful than Nancy Peloci or Dennis Hastard before her.

[Neil D]

Quote:

A lot of things Clinton got credit for were actually initiated by Newt's leadership in the House.

Let's see...stonewalling health care comes to mind...the impeachment process...the pettiness of the legislature and the antagonism between the republican and the democrates....

Yeah, a lot of things that Clinton got credit for were actually initiated by Newt's Leadership....

[Dr. Shane]

Health care reform was dead before Newt became Speaker of the House. Democrats have only themselves to blame for that. There has control of the Senate, House and White House. Hard to argue the Republicans were the problem. Clinton obviously doesn't get credit for impeaching himself - that shouldn't even be part of the discussion. "Pettiness of legislature" needs to be defined.

Newt cut the federal budget as revenues were increasing. Democrats screamed and hollered while he was doing it. It even led to the government being shut down. And yet when there was a surplus as a result, Democrats were taking credit for it! The House of Representatives holds the purse strings. Only the House of Representatives has the power to authorize spending, raise or lower taxes. Obviously if the nation goes into debt or runs a surplus it is because of what is going on in the House of Representatives.

Most everything in the Contract with America that was a success was credited to the Clinton Administration. However, one has to hand it to Clinton. He did a better job of working with Congress, controlled by the opposition party, than Bush has done working with Congress, even when controlled by his own party.