can Newt kick Mccain butt in 2008 ? Gingrich considers presidential run in 2008

can Newt kick Mccain butt in 2008 ? Gingrich considers presidential run in 2008

Gingrich considers presidential run in 2008

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., expects to run for president in 2008 if the contest for the Republican nomination still seems wide open late next year, he said Friday.

In remarks that were critical of both parties' recent performance, Gingrich told a luncheon group of scholars and reporters at the Brookings Institution that he will make a decision in the fall of 2007 about running.

"If at that point there's still a vacuum ... then we'll probably do something," Gingrich said, adding that his policy pronouncements have more weight if he is seen as a potential presidential candidate. "If you're interested in defining the idea context and the political context for the next generation of Americans, which I am, the most effective way to do that is to be seen as potentially available."

Gingrich's entry would shake up a Republican presidential field that now includes Sens. George Allen, Va.; Bill Frist, Tenn.; and John McCain, Ariz.. Many Republicans still revere Gingrich for engineering the GOP's takeover of Congress in 1994, though members of his own party pushed him to resign in 1998 after his drive to impeach President Bill Clinton cost them seats in that year's election.

Though he came to power as a fiery conservative, Gingrich has softened some of his partisanship since leaving office. He has criticized the current House leadership for cracking down on dissent, he appeared last year with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., to back changes in how medical data are shared, and he supports federal funding for alternative energy sources.

When Americans look at the current roster of Republican and Democratic leaders, Gingrich said, they face a dilemma.


Former House speaker waiting to see if GOP front-runner emerges


"We have a choice between those who are failing to deliver and those who are unthinkable," he said, adding that he would put "even money" on the Democrats taking back the House this fall. "Neither party currently is where the country is."

Gingrich also took a parting shot at Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who retired from Congress this week after two of his top aides and a close associate, former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, pleaded guilty to corruption charges. Although DeLay embraced the nickname "The Hammer" while serving as both majority whip and majority leader, Gingrich said he favors a more tolerant form of leadership


WASHINGTON POST
By Juliet Eilperin
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