The more I hear Newt Gingrich speak on issues of the day, the more I am impressed with him.

There is little doubt that Newt is a leader and a consensus builder (at least among Conservatives).

He has recently produced a white paper on lobbying reform: Newt on the Abramoff Scandal

He has a vision for the future and how to reform our current systems to get us there: Five Key Principles

He teamed with George Mitchell to Issue their Report Card from America on the UN.

Newt has a partisan past and is not viewed highly by many Democrats. His policies seem to have changed (softened) a bit in recent years, however.

Will Newt Gingrich run for President in '08?

What issues would help him? Which issues would doom his chances?

Will Newt Gingrich run for President in '08?

When Gingrich first splashed onto the national scene I wasn’t a huge fan although the conservative part of me liked some of what he stood for.

I don’t know what happened to him, a fall out with the GOP, burn out, but he seemed to disappear from the national scene as quickly as he arrived.

I’ve caught him recently in small bits and interviews and like you Amlord, it appears he’s mellowed a bit and moved more towards a moderate/reform stance. Which is the reason I think he’s going to take a shot at the presidency in ’08.

What issues would help him?

The one quality I absolutely like about him is he appears to be action oriented, he gets things done. The links provided demonstrate another outstanding quality: he’s clearly a thinker and problem solver. Combine the two and he’s an excellent candidate. He has a grasp of the key issues and has laid out a clear plan to address them.

I skimmed through a lot of the 5 Key principles link (will give them a read over the weekend) and it’s reminiscent of the Contract For America and if he can build consensus around his doctrines than I think he’ll have a leg up on opponents. I really liked his “Travelocity” plan for pharmaceuticals.

When is the last time a presidential candidate laid out a comprehensive plan for this country? Huge thumbs up for Newt. I like thinkers and there's a chance he could win my vote.

Which issues would doom his chances?

As mentioned before I’m not sure why he disappeared from the national scene. Was it the cell phone “scandal” in Florida?

It's some what of a delicate issue, but I believe his stance that we need to keep God close to the heart of America won't cost him once it's balanced on the voting scale.

Easy question. Newt joined the pachyderm pack calling for impeachment against Clinton and he was caught boinking a congressional aide. He resigned.

Will Newt Gingrich run for President in '08?
He’s talkin’ the talk. He won’t say yes or no when asked outright. I haven’t heard anything pointing me in either direction from Newt himself. I think he’s just keeping his options open.

What issues would help him?
He resigned in disgrace. He has more integrity than the current GOP leadership in both Houses. He could run as a comeback kid moving Republicans back to the straight and narrow path of his Contract concept and—gasp—dare to break up DeLay’s/Santorum’s K-Street Project. But it would only be necessary if he needs to bring moderate/conservative Democrats on board.

I hope he doesn’t run. I prefer Gingrich The Thinker to Gingrich “going to bat for the team.”

Which issues would doom his chances?
Divisiveness. Staying true to his word and turning off enough conservative supporters by cutting the purse strings the majority enjoys. Yesterday, Trent Lott said Now we’re going to say you can’t have a meal for more than 20 bucks. Where are you going, to McDonald’s? Oh gods, don’t take my right to be wined and dined in style away from me during a war, with New Orleans living in trailers everywhere. Whatever. That’s the self-indulgent attitude Newt needs to squash and inject some humility, dare I say real humility, not lip-service to a higher power, into “conservative” congress critters.

Maybe I'm poor and don't know it, but where are you eating that it costs more than $20 for a meal? Is this for more than one person? My wife and I ate at Chili's last night for $20. Excuse me if I am not exactly saddened if the cut off is $20 a meal.

Newt is not a serious player for President, but I think it’s good that he’s in the mix. Newt is a great at coming up with ideas. We should welcome those kind of people from both sides. In terms of resigning in “disgrace” as it was put above, I do not think that is the case.

He may try, although I don't think he will get the nomination. I like many of his ideas and have enjoyed his books, but he has too much baggage.



There is no doubt he's smart and politically talented. He also seems to be an idea man as opposed to most members of Congress who simply oppose ideas. Also the traditional republican ideas of the contract with America, balanced budget, smaller government, would appeal to conservatives in today's big spending, big government era.



Given the current state of affairs in Washington, ie the lobbying and ethics scandals, Newt's ethics problems will definitely hurt him. Also, his recent collaboration with Hillary Clinton won't help him with conservative voters who decide the Republican nomination.

When trying to predict who will run, I like to look at what they are doing, if anything, in New Hampshire and Iowa. I also like to look at the web and see if anything is peculiar that would give a good clue if a given person is running. Newt's website is pretty good and I guess that I fail to see why he would have one if he didn't intend upon being in the public eye. More importantly than that, The Hill has been tracking his presence in Iowa and New Hanpshire in recent days, as well as his hob-nobbing with activists and donors. It's definitely looking like he has an interest in the race.





In the primary, he definitely can gain tread on the fact that corruption has taken a toll and that the party in the senate and house appears moribound by ethics violations and bucking the president when it came to a supreme court nominee, as well as a few programs that should've sailed through. In regards to issues, I believe he could be seriously hit in regards to the record of when he was speaker. He was a very polarizing figure, the federal government shut down and even republicans will argue that Newt did it out of being left off of Clinton's plane, he also has an interesting personal life in regards to divorce, and he would definitely be called a hypocrite, as CATO has lamented. Not to mention the fact that the CATO institute published a document finding that the size of the federal government actually grew under Gingrich's tenure as speaker.


CATO Institute

I doubt he would be able to overcome these criticisms. Keep in mind that these sources are not from the Center for American Progress or Think Progress blog, but rather, from the very pro-republican *libertarian* CATO Institute. With friends like that, who needs enemies to publish and bash your record?

He most certainly did resign in disgrace. Not only did his personal life portray him as a hypocrite, he also presided over the government shutting down when Clinton called his bluff about the Federal budget. He was damaged goods right after that. And then there was the advance he got from his book deal, lying to the House Ethics Committee, running a thinly disguised political lecture series as a university course, and various other charges that didn't legally stick but caused him great PR damage. But what really did him in was the 1998 Congressional elections, when Republicans lost seats in the House. He sensed he was a liability, and resigned not only from the speakership, but also from the House, in disgrace.

He is probably best suited to being an idea man rather than as a public figure, because all of this would get dredged up again should he decide to run for any public office. It's all relative, of course, depending on who he's running against.

That's quite a list there. Maybe he is damaged goods. I wonder if his wife wants to run for Senate or President? Newt still holds a place in the heart of the right for being the leader during a major change in American politics. Even if he didn't like riding in the back of the Air Force One.

That is quite a list of goods, but as the Clinton fiasco proved, the public is willing to forgive or to accept "damaged goods" if it comes along with some good ideas and sounds convincingin public. Having read his book and a few online columns, it's clear that he is a man of ideas, I thought that was perhaps why he left public office in the first place. He's like Gary Hart in a way, he has a lot of big ideas and politics can be very frustrating.

Will Newt Gingrich run for President in '08?

He's definitely testing the waters in Iowa and New Hampshire. I can only make a conditional prediction: if polling and conversations convince him he has a shot at it, he'll do it, but not otherwise.

What issues would help him? Which issues would doom his chances?

No particular issue would do that. He's on the right side of all of them so far as the constituencies he'd need to win the GOP nomination. His biggest liability is that he's -- like Hillary Clinton -- a very polarizing figure. People tend to either love him or hate him, which isn't a good thing in the general election. But I don't think he'll run unless he has a good plan to win over independents and centrists who may think he's too extreme.

His greatest strength is that -- like Bill Clinton (and like Gary Hart, as nebraska noted ) -- he's a policy wonk and very articulate, the opposite of Dubya. And he's a most excellent idea man. But if he actually were President that might not be an unmixed blessing. Constantly having new projects to push can lead to a very unfocused style of governing.

Right now, I think Rice/Gingrich is about the best we can do for a Republican ticket. ("Best" defined as one that can beat Hillary and also govern well.) It may be well be that Gingrich is actually running for Veep. I'd say Giuliani for the top of the ticket but I doubt he could win the nomination with his track record of social liberalism. But if Rudy did get it, then I'd suggest Condi for Veep.

Not McCain either - the base doesn't trust him becaue he's too much of a maverick, too unpredictable. Aside from that, I don't quite trust him for other reasons, just a personal hunch that he has a screw loose somewhere, kind of like how I felt about Perot, and it turned out I was right about Perot. I get Manchurian Candidate vibes from McCain.

Will Newt Gingrich run for President in '08?
I don't think Newt is likely to run. As the other posters have pointed out, he's very good at coming up with ideas but he hasn't been in the spotlight for a while.
As far as any scandals on him go, he doesn't have as much skeletons in his closet as Bill Clinton or George Bush. I think his decision to drop out of politics had more to do with his commitment to term limits rather than public humiliation.

What issues would help him? Which issues would doom his chances?
The issues that he took a stand on helped him in 1994. And he seems to have a pretty pragmatic view on the issues today. I think the thing that hurts him is that he's a political thinker but not a political fighter. The Republican party allowed the Government to grow after 1995 and I think the Public at this point sees Newt as someone who's not quite ready to fight the tough battles necessary to make the Government smaller.

Will Newt Gingrich run for President in '08?

Well he's already running. He doesn't say it but he is, so that answers that/


What issues would help him? Which issues would doom his chances?

He doesn't have the chance of a snowball in hell of winning. For good or ill, true or not, Gingrich already has a reputation set in stone, and there isn't really any chance that he could ever over-come the negative ideas many voters have about him.

Personally I think Gingrich, like Dick Morris, is a brilliant political strategist and idea man. As such he can have a long career ahead of him, but like lots of other people before him {Pat Robertson, Joe Biden, Teddy Kennedy, Jerry Falwell, Sandy Berger, Algore} , he'll never be able to over come his past failures and successes.

On the other hand --- Richard Nixon.

I think this is correct. Newt's load of baggage is too great to overcome. To me that's a good thing.




I've seen Al Gore's name run together and slurred as algore before by some on the right. Sounds more like a disease than a name for a person. Who started this--Ann Coulter?

Since you did all the other names correctly, don't you think you could show Gore enough respect to get his name correct? After all, many of us think he really won the 2000 presidential race.

Will Newt Gingrich run for President in '08?
Probably, he's clearly considering it now.

What issues would help him? Which issues would doom his chances?
Smaller government rhetoric will help him, his clear image on foreign relations will help him, his eloquence will help him. He'll be hurt by the Main stream media's pathological distaste for him, by his turbulent personal history.

Whether or not he can win depends in large part on the opposition. I believe he can clean McCain's clock in the primaries. McCain-Feingold is a huge albatross around the Senator's neck with grassroots voters, as is the MSM's swooning over him. He'd have a tougher time with Guiliani.

One wild card is the effects the two party's primary races will have on the other race. If Hillary is the Dem frontrunner, will the electorate want to see a rehash of the Clinton Era by two major players from that era? I think, at least from 2 years out, that the Republican's will be far more concerned about who the Democrat nominee is than visa versa. Regardless of who the Dem nominee is, that nominee will be running against Bush's adminstration, i.e. "this is what the Republican's did wrong, elect me for change."

It was Rush Limbaugh. He had some radio skits comparing Gore to Frankenstein's lab assistant, Igor. I thought they were funny.


Gore has my respect. I don't think he won that election, but he's a smart guy who has some good ideas, in addition to having been VP, and the office deserves respect. But I don't think that should give him immunity from teasing. The Left doesn't grant any such immunity to the Right, now does it? Fair is fair.


As for the Newtster, I think he really would be a pretty strong candidate. He's personable, energetic, articulate and chock full of ideas, most of them (IMHO) good. But the perception that he might not be the most electable candidate works against him. Above all, both parties these days want a winner.

I think the nomination is Condi's almost for the asking; the trick there is to get her to ask. That may take a nudge from Bush, or maybe a draft movement, but I think it's likely that'll happen, especially if it appears Hillary is the probable Dem nominee. If so, Newt would be a strong Veep choice. He would, like Cheney did for Bush, add gravitas to the ticket, helping to make up for Rice's lack of domestic policy experience.

Sorry, but I fail to see the humor.




No, two wrongs don't make a right. I don't call Bush "Shrub" or Cheney "Darth Vader." Their records of misguided policy say all that needs to be said.

I like the rest of your post, but I find nothing amusing about Rush Limbaugh . I guessed wrong about the algore thing, but after Coulter, Liumbaugh would have been my second guess. Garbage is garbage and both Coulter and Limbaugh reek to high heaven. There is, however, a major difference. Limbaugh dropped out of college and Coulter is a well educated woman who should know better than to say certain things, for example, "joking" about feeding rat poison to a sitting Supreme Court justice.

Back to Newt, I don't think he has a chance. I'm from Fort Worth, home of Jim Wright, for years my congressman and the speaker Newt helped depose. I see Wright occasionally at local restaurants. I still think of him as my congressman and still call him "Mr. Speaker." I can never think of Newt as more than a flake and a fluke. Many Fort Worthians will never forgive Newt! Never!

Will Newt Gingrich run for President in '08?

What issues would help him? Which issues would doom his chances?

I'm not sure if he's going to run. What issues would help him? Well, what issues helped Bush? Ban on gay marriage? The fear of a terrorist attack? Attack your opponent as a weakling and "not steady" in his views?

When did the election start being about issues? It seems like the last election was purely image and perception.

Newt will lose not because of his stand on issues, but because of his image. The guy is kind of wimpy. He's going to have problems recreating the same reckless-cowboy image that Bush has.

It's two years from now, so who knows what the important issues will be. If the economy is in the dumpster and people are clamoring for universal health care, etc. Then Newt doesn't have a chance anyway.

1.) I wish he would. I think right now it's kind of up in the air, especially for three or four people.

2.) I think that if he really plays on the environment and racial equality and brings up to the front lines education more so than it has in the past, he will stand a reasonable chance at winning a majority vote during the popular election. I would imagine the real issues that could ruin his chances are same-sex marriage and abortion, I would have to do some external research to find out how strongly he feels about the latter two but I imagine he is strongly inclined to be against same-sex marriage and is pro-life. I do not know the answers for the most part but I would love to see theories tested in 2,008.

Whoa VDemonsthenes! Newt has got get the Republican nomination first. While he might still appeal to some on the right, I don't think he would produce much excitement with moderate and swing voters and certainly not with Democrats, who still despise him and what he did to Jim Wright.

In short, Newt is going to be like a race horse that stumbles at the gate.

BoF, I think you should re-examine Newt's positions on the current issues before making such a bold assertion.

Perhaps his recent bi-partisanship (with, among others, Hillary Clinton) would doom him with primary voters. But I highly doubt an incident with Jim Wright (which occurred 18 years ago and will be 20 years by election 2008) is going to be remembered by many voters.

Newt, to me, is much more desirable as a candidate than George W. Bush ever was and ever will be. His personal issues are the most likely cause for him stumbling out of the starting gate. But we know how personal issues like this tend to be glossed over by both parties (Bush and Clinton, for example).

Ok, Amlord that's fair enough. So, I'll rephrase it.

I personally would not support Newt, even if he promised to crawl through glass for my vote.

I know Jim Wright personally and he was my Congressman long before he became Speaker of the House. There are still those in Fort Worth who see it this way. I must still disagree, though. Newt will never be able to woo substantial numbers Democratic voters.

My prediction to VD remains. Newt will not get the Republican nomination.

No, the "eye" of Newt won't be on the Presidency. The fact is he is seen as dishonest by the average US citizen. He fell from grace while purporting to bring about a compact with US citizens. His opportunity passed him by.

A new story resurrects this topic:

Gingrich May Run in 2008 If No Front-Runner Emerges

'

Personally, I think that Gingrich would make a good candidate for the Republicans in'08. The mess he created with the Clinton Impeachment may harm his image, but I don't think it is enough to hinder this strong contender for the Republican nod.

Newt doesn't stand a snowball's chance in Miami of getting elected, and not much more of one in getting the nomination. Why? All anyone has to do is make the campaign about character. Let's take a look at Newt's shall we?

Newt files for divorce from his first wife, and wants to talk about the terms of the divorce while she is in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery. He has reportedly been sleeping with his future second wife for months.

Newt tells his second wife he is divorcing her in 1999, on the phone. His wife is at her mother's 84th birthday party when he gives her the news. A congressional aide (23 years his junior) he has been having an affair with since 1995 moves in with him. All of this takes place while Bill Clinton is in the process of being impeached for lying about an affair.

Though he relentlessly pushes military spending and talks like a bigtime hawk, Gingrich avoided the Vietnam War through a combination of student and family deferments.

Newt was caught bouncing more than 20 checks during the House Banking scandal. So much for fiscal responsibility, I guess.

The 1995 book deal scandal, wherein a $4.5 million book deal, looks like quid-pro-quo for some legislation favorable to Rupert Murdoch, who "coincidentally" was the publisher of Gingrich's book. He ended having to give up the advance in the face of an ethics investigation.

Then there was the "GOPAC" scandal, the "Abraham Lincoln Opportunity Foundation" scandal, and the "Renewing American Civilization" scandal, which earned Newt another round of ethics committee investigations.

A few well-placed ads during the primary season would be more than enough to derail any plans Gingrich has for the Oval Office.

Yeah, but with Karl Rove the focus would be on Newt's opponent. Who'd think Bush Jr. was a man of character?

The guy at times can be very forward thinking. Whenever he talks about the Tofflers or DeTocqueville, I think of him as someone who gets it. And you know what?, he has me on board at that point. I'm ready to order the "Newt '08" placards and then what do I see? To my shock and surprise, I then see him espousing the same old stale culture war arguments, redundant, "get the Bubba vote" xenophobia and soft racism, not to mention the Robert Taft republican isolationist tendencies that are products of a different time and of those way out on the right wing.



Perception is important, no doubt about it. People perceived that Kerry wasn't quite the war hero that he claimed he was, and that hurt him. But even more than that, people do care about the war, they do care about the economy, they do care about education and they do care about social issues that concern them. If it was all image, you wouldn't see the constant returning of the GOP's legislative members to the gay marriage playbook every time they possibly can.



How has the "reckless cowboy" image in any way a major factor for Bush winning in '00 and '04.?

I personally would like to see Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney in 2008. Those I think are the two best Conservative choices.

An interesting article about Newt in National Review Online:

Run, Newt, Run!



Of course there are challenges to his candidacy (tell me someone who doesn't have some drawbacks...).



The key:


Maybe I should call Newt and offer to be his campaign advisor...

Can't resist the Monty Python implications....

Peasant 3: Well, she turned me into a newt!
Sir Bedevere: A newt?
Peasant 3: [meekly after a long pause] ... I got better.
Crowd: [shouts] Burn her anyway!

and, perhaps appropriate in this thread...

Large Man with Dead Body: Who's that then?
The Dead Collector: I dunno, must be a king.
Large Man with Dead Body: Why?
The Dead Collector: He hasn't got <excrement> all over him.

It's easier to stay out of the mud when you're not campaigning yet, and therefore appear to be the king.

Monty Python greatness aside, I'd like to see him run. I'm with the grass roots group, I guess, in that I couldn't care less about his past problems inside the Beltway. I would agree with the quote:



Alan Keyes also has that ability, but he's not a serious candidate (because everyone says so?).




...and wouldn't that be a refreshing change?!

Probably. I don't know what issues would help him frankly. Perhaps a focus on "future shock" or whatever new book Alvin Toffler has written lately.

Newt has 2 chances to become president; slim and none.

He's too divisive a figure. He's the republican's Hillary. I don't care how smart he is, he'd have democrats come out of the woodwork to vote against him just like Hillary would fire up the GOP like no tomorrow.

Will Newt Gingrich run for President in '08?

I’m all for Newt. There’s no better way for the Republican Party to nuke itself than nominating Newt.

What issues would help him? Which issues would doom his chances?

Newt has a lot of baggage, but Newt himself is the problem.

John W. Dean has a new book entitled Conservatives Without Conscience His words on Newt are not flattering. Here are some examples of Dean’s writing.

In a paraphrased of an article David Osborn wrote for Mother Jones Dean writes:



Dean quotes reporter Mary Kahn as writing:



Dean describes this incident:



This prompted Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill to rebuke Newt.



Here is a link to Osborne’s Article:

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/19...ml?welcome=true

As Bush would, or used to say, “bring it on.” Set this duck (maybe I should say quail ) up for Democrats to shoot at. The attack ads against Newt would make the Swift Boat effort look like child’s play.

Turn-about is fair play.

For those of you who demand electronic links, here's one to Dean's new book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067003774...TF8&s=books