Newt Gingrich dropped a broad hint over the weekend that he wouldn’t mount a serious race for the presidency in 2008. By saying that he won’t decide whether to run until September, 2007 – a mere four months before the Iowa Caucuses –he indicates that he won’t be able to put together a credible campaign. He wants to keep the door open just a little bit for a potential run – in part, because it’s always possible (though most unlikely) that a vast groundswell of public support would force his hand and, more importantly, because he can participate more prominently in the national political conversation as long he hasn’t ruled out a Presidential race. That appears to be Gingrich’s real aim in this upcoming battle for the nomination – to play a strong role in the conflict of ideas and principles as various factions contend for control of the GOP. We need Newt Gingrich to take part in this essential conversation with his customary zest and brilliance. We don’t necessarily need a highly personal focus on his past and present as a potential presidential candidate.
Newt’s kind words about Mitt Romney also suggested that the former Speaker is taking a step back from the campaign. His mention of Romney as the conservative alternative to McCain and Giuliani demonstrates a canny analysis of the state of the struggle at the moment. With the two “moderate†or “maverick†candidates as the two front runners, and dividing the votes of those who may want to move away from the party’s conservative core principles, there’s an obvious opening for a strong campaign on the right to rally the GOP base. With Allen, Santorum and Frist out of the picture, and Duncan Hunter and Sam Brownback both too obscure and too quixotic to take seriously at the moment, Romney is the obvious guy. Of course, his Mormon faith raises questions in some quarters, but the more openly he speaks about it in the months ahead the more likely that even doubters will get used to the idea of backing him anyway.
McCain, Giuliani and Romney all have the ability to raise huge sums of money and to conduct serious campaigns in every corner of the country. Unless either McCain or Rudy gets out of the race, leaving the other guy a clear field among moderates and independent-minded Republicans, the most credible conservative candidate will enjoy a clear edge. And that edge, it’s becoming increasingly obvious, will go to Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. -From the Michael Medved Blog