Posted on 07/25/2007 6:23:31 PM PDT by Josh Painter
Newt Gingrich's long, slow striptease over whether he will seek the presidency in 2008 looks like it might come to an unexpected conclusion: a date with Fred Thompson.
Publicly, Gingrich has been sending signals making clear that a presidential candidacy for him is becoming less likely. Privately, he and some of his closest advisers have been meeting with -- and, in at least one prominent case, going to work for -- the lobbyist-actor and former Tennessee senator.
"I've always said it was unlikely I would run," Gingrich said in an interview last Friday with The Associated Press. And, he added, if Thompson "runs and does well, then I think that makes it easier for me not to run."
The same day that Gingrich made his comments, his former communications director, Rich Galen, disclosed that he had signed on as an adviser to Thompson's campaign in waiting. In an interview, Galen termed the coincidence "an unfortunate confluence of events," denying... any link.
But that was not the only evidence of a possible Thompson-Gingrich alliance in 2008. Gingrich and his wife, Calista, had dinner with Thompson and his wife, Jeri, at the former senator's home in McLean, Va., on July 16, according to two Republican sources close to both men. A Thompson aide would say only that "a good policy discussion" was had over the meal.
If a Gingrich endorsement of Thompson happens, it probably won't be until at least October... Thompson isn't likely to formally announce his candidacy until after Labor Day. But Gingrich has also said repeatedly that he would hold off any decision until after he marks the 13th anniversary of the Contract With America -- the manifesto that spurred the GOP takeover of the House in 1994 -- by holding an online policy seminar in late September.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Newt is a spoiler.
He is very smart, but very dangerous.
Wolves in sheep’s clothing have him as a mascot.
He is not to be trusted. His record shows it.
Newt and Fred are gay? Damn, just damn.
Don’t think Fred’s elect able. Lobbyist is a dirtier word than liberal or neocon. His past along with his “good ole boy” red truck rental farce would be too much ammo for the opposition to ignore. I do believe he makes it too easy for integrity attacks.
I read it..didn’t like it!
What a whiney blog. Oh well, it takes all kinds.
Hmmm...the latent homosexuality sentence of the day.
Newt’s not gonna get elected to anything, he blew his electoral capital a long time ago...but there’s nothing stopping him from being appointed.
IF Gingrich takes on a policy advisory role, minus his fondness for Hillary care and Gore global warning that should be ignored at all costs, I’m okay with that.
He’s not an acceptable candidate himself. He has a weak character not unlike Clinton’s in that he falls too easily to temptation, and somehow it always ends up being about him. A reality he works to make happen even at the cost of bashing the GOP or pandering occasionally to liberal idiocy like Gore’s. Sure, usually the critisism of the GOP comes from the right, but not always. And always it’s what NEWT would do, not what conservatives (plural) should do.
Newt’s a fascinating political philosopher, but I don’t want him anywhere near a Republican ticket.
I agree and if I'm not mistaken they're the ones who started the July 4th rumor as the date that Fred would announce.
“The Dems squeaked into a few key districts with candidates spouting the conservative message. They barely won but they claim it as a mandate. Their margin is too slim to actually control anything. The “06 election was a surprise but not a dissater.”
I wasn’t suprised...more or less knew it sent a message. Conservative are giving a message to politicians: be conservative and don’t be favoring special interests over principle.
The next will likely be a swing back to the conservatives or to the right. We’ll likely combine forces in 08, just because of the consequence of doing otherwise.
“Gingrich will cause most non-partisans to run in the other direction.
IMHO”
Gingrich will cause non-partisans to run to Hillary???
Gingrich will cause non-partisans to run to Hillary???
perhaps..........
That was a sad day for Gingrich. Although I don't think Gingrich was electable even before that sorry debate I think it ended his chances forever with a lot of Republicans. Newt may know history but he doesn't know science.
OTOH, I think he would make an excellent adviser to Thompson who, IMHO, is looking like our best hope to capture the hearts and minds of the MSM junkies who call themselves Independent and who are now leaning so far to the left they are about to topple over. A TV personality would get their attention and I think that is why the Dems are afraid of Fred.
How about a truckload of salt when it comes to Politico...
Sounds like a plan to me.
Newt would make an excellent SecState.
Oh wait, he's a member of CFR too, WE'RE DOOMED!!/s
The ‘06 tactic by some conservatives of staying home on election day sent no message except that the liberals are smarter than they are. It is an example of perfect being the enemy of good.
Do you truly think that any candidate or political consultant will take any lesson from ‘06? I don’t! A candidate is either a person with core conservative values and will stand on them or he isn’t.
Now, political consultants are a different animal altogether. They are constantly polling and putting their fingers in the wind. There is a mushy middle out there, some call them moderates but I call them uninformed and stupid, to whom the consultants are always attempting to appeal. They tell the candidate that he must soften or modify his core conservative values to appeal to these idiots in order to get elected and the candidate usually complies.
Not since Reagan have we had a clear cut choice between conservative values and liberal values. To the surprise of all the opinion makers and pollsters, Reagan creamed the left. He told his political consultants who he was, they didn’t tell him who he was. They did their job and he did his.
Staying home to teach a lesson only furthers the cause of the left.
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