October 01, 2007

Newt Gingrich's Non-Campaign: Things That Make You Go Hmm

Newt Gingrich spent the better part of a year toying with a possible White House bid, but after months of tantalizing interviews, op-eds and public appearances (both in real life and in Second Life), he announced on Saturday that he would not seek the Republican Party's nomination in 2008.

The move left campaign watchers and Gingrich followers scratching their heads, not because it was unexpected, but because the timing seemed suspect. Just a few days prior to his decision, Gingrich had announced that he was dispatching campaign advisers to embark on a three-week tour to gauge interest in his potential bid. He took a leave of absence from FOX News and said if he could raise about $30 million or more in pledges, he'd be in by November.

Less than a week later, Gingrich spokesman Rick Tyler was telling the press that a legal review of Gingrich's involvement in his nonprofit group, American Solutions for Winning the Future, suggested that he could not continue to work on that project and run for the nation's highest office.

"He had to make a choice between being a citizen-activist, raising the challenges America faces and finding solution to America’s problems, or exploring a potential candidacy," Tyler told the Politico. "It's legally impermissible to do both."

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Posted at 2:16 PM
Posted to: Campaigns, Newt Gingrich, Republicans, WH 2008
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September 28, 2007

Nude Gingrich: A Second Life Story

UPDATED.

Looks like Newt Gingrich is the latest potential '08 politician to get swept up, up and away by the Second Life craze.

Tech Daily Dose reports that Gingrich's town hall appearance in the "online fantasy world" yesterday was besmirched by the appearance of a virtual streaker. Or, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution so delicately put it, "a lovely young digital lady, who arrived moments before her clothes did."

Hmm, not sure how that's going to play with the conservative base Gingrich is trying to court as he weighs a potential White House bid. (Twig Tomorrow, an official with the Metaverse Mod Squad, which moderated the virtual event on Thursday, disputes media reports that the avatar appeared nude).

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Posted at 3:03 PM
Posted to: Campaigns, Newt Gingrich, Republicans, WH 2008
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Race & The GOP: Six Out Of 10 Ain't Bad

The highly anticipated season premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" opened
with --

Oops, wrong post.

In case you missed it, and you probably did, there was a Republican presidential debate last night at Morgan State University in Baltimore. As with the Democrats' turn in June, radio and talk-show host Tavis Smiley was on hand to host the All-American Presidential Forum on PBS before a mostly black audience on the historically black campus.

What was different this time around? The four empty podiums on stage.

Out of the belief that the gains made by the GOP under President Bush's leadership have been hopelessly eroded (by President Bush's leadership), or the belief that with independents out of reach, their socially conservative, mostly white base is more crucial than ever, front-runners Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson skipped the event.

The six candidates chasing them were smart enough to take advantage.

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Posted at 9:00 AM
Posted to: Alan Keyes, Bush Administration, Campaigns, Democrats, Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, President Bush, Race, Republicans, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Sam Brownback, Tom Tancredo, WH 2008
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September 27, 2007

Who's Afraid Of Tavis Smiley?

Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson are, apparently.

The leading Republican presidential candidates cited "scheduling conflicts" as their reason for skipping tonight's All-American Presidential Forum on PBS.

"I'm puzzled by their decision. I can't speak for them. I think it's a mistake," said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich earlier this week.

President Bush also weighed in on the matter last week: "My advice to whoever will be our nominee is to reach out to the African-American community as well as other communities, because I believe we've got a very strong record when it comes to" issues affecting them.

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Posted at 5:14 PM
Posted to: Alan Keyes, Bush Administration, Campaigns, Democrats, Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, President Bush, Race, Republicans, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Sam Brownback, Tom Tancredo, WH 2008
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September 14, 2007

Gingrich Still Weighing '08 Bid

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich still refuses to rule out a run for the White House in 2008. In the meantime, he seems content to size up the existing candidates.

In an interview with National Journal's Linda Douglass, Gingrich says none of the Republican contenders have "begun to define a fundamentally different future." That's a problem: The odds of a Democratic victory are 80-20, he says, though he's careful to point out that circumstances could change dramatically between now and the first primaries.

For more of Gingrich's thoughts on the 2008 candidates and what his political future holds, see Douglass' interview, free to non-subscribers.

Posted at 2:35 PM
Posted to: Newt Gingrich, WH 2008
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July 23, 2007

Liveblogging The Democratic Debate: Clinton, Biden Come Out On Top

End note. Overall, a pretty fun evening, insofar as debates this early in the cycle can be fun. We already know that the front-runners are not happy with the debate lineups, but a certain senator from New York would be wise not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She has come out looking surefooted at every meet-up so far, and that has to help answer all those woman-Bill-Iraq-vote clouds that hang over her head. Obama, meanwhile, was shakier this evening.

Democrats are learning to their frustration that control of Congress isn't enough. Not only do they need a more substantial majority in the Senate, but they need to not have a veto-wielding president standing in their way. In short, Democrats are out to win next year, and a made-for-TV bio and bucketloads of charm may just not cut it in '08.

The surprise of the evening was Biden, who has the resume but lacks the name recognition (and cash) to make headway in this contest. He delivered some of the more memorable lines of the night and, as his camp frequently and loudly points out, has the only detailed exit plan from Iraq. The Kuciniches and Cindy Sheehans of the nation will never accede to this, but the reality of the situation in Iraq is there is no good way to leave, just less bad ones. Both Clinton and Biden took pains to explain that tonight; we'll see if it starts sinking in with the MoveOn segment of the base.

No gaffes, no Ron Paul moments. The best thing the Democrats have going for them is unity on Iraq (more or less), President Bush, and being on the right side of voters on domestic issues. The worst thing they have going for them is probably history. We'll see how the Republicans fare in this format on Sept. 17 -- by which time everyone's political fortunes could be reversed depending on the highly anticipated U.S. report on progress in Iraq, due Sept. 15.

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Posted at 10:16 PM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Campaigns, Christopher Dodd, Democrats, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Joseph Biden, Mike Gravel, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republicans
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July 18, 2007

WH '08: How To Pick A Candidate You Know Will Lose

Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama each has more cash on hand than the entire Republican field combined, according to the latest campaign finance reports. It's only the second quarter, way too early for handicapping. But with check-writing closely mirroring the national polls, it might be time for Republican party leaders to embark on an awkward conversation.

Which candidate do you put forward for the White House when you know he's going to lose?

Republicans in particular do not enjoy political martyrdom. But at some point, party leaders may have to start mapping out a worst-case scenario that has them losing in the most advantageous way possible.

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Posted at 4:32 PM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Campaigns, Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, President Bush, Republicans, Rudy Giuliani, WH 2008
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May 21, 2007

Commencement Roundup: Two Heads Are Better Than One

While Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush were busy butting heads over the weekend, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were making nice (again). The two appeared together at the University of New Hampshire's class of 2007 commencement, talking about their "common humanity" and the benefits of "transcending politics." Now if only Jimmy and Dubya could get along so well...

The former presidents at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H.: "All you have to do is care, roll up your sleeves and claim one of society's problems as your own." -- Bush. "Thank you Madam President Newman. I like the sound of that. I've decided that women should run everything, and George and I can play more golf." -- Clinton.

ABC News' Bob Woodruff with his wife, Lee, at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y.: "I wish I could protect all of you from the ups and downs of life, from the bends in the road to come. At your age I think I believed that life traveled pretty much in a straight line. If I was a decent person, and worked hard, I would be rewarded. But life wouldn't be life if it didn't have some curve balls in store."

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Posted at 1:00 PM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Media, Newt Gingrich, Robert Gates
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May 15, 2007

Liveblogging The 2nd GOP Debate

UPDATED.

End note. Tonight's debate felt more substantive than the last meeting of the Republican 10. Candidates got the same 30 seconds or so to answer questions, but there were fewer questions this time, which made the pacing seem more orderly. The questions themselves were also all serious, more or less -- no one got lobbed with an out-of-left-field query (unlike last time around).

Quite a few of the candidates seem to have learned something from McCain. There were more follow-them-to-the-gates-of-hell type responses on terrorism tonight. But no one capped it with a weird, triumphant smile. In fact, we didn't detect any gaffes at all. (If you think Ron Paul's performance qualifies as a gaffe -- you just don't know Ron Paul.)

Overall, the field feels more set in stone than it did before. Of the lower-tier contenders, Gilmore, Huckabee and Tancredo asserted themselves the most, but probably not in a way that will set their campaigns on fire. Thompson was oddly quiet tonight, as was Brownback.

Mercifully, the next debate, this time among the Democrats, is nearly three weeks away. And, most everyone in Washington hopes, a wartime appropriations bill will make it out of Congress and past the president's desk by then. In the time since the debate began tonight, the Pentagon announced the deaths of two more soldiers, one in Iraq and one in Pakistan. Clocks are ticking all around. And no one on that stage knows this more than the guys not named Giuliani or McCain.

FOXNews.com is streaming its debate analysis. See Captain's Quarters, The Caucus, The Corner and The Fix for their takes on the debate.

10:34. And it's over. Hunter had just gotten a chance to sound the alarm on China, his other pet issue after immigration. The center of gravity in the 2008 election will likely remain the Iraq war, and there's little he and other candidates can do about that. But how much longer can the front-runners campaign on Iraq and fiscal policy alone? Shouldn't they have to give serious thought to, say, China's growing economic influence and military growth as well?

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Posted at 8:37 PM
Posted to: Campaigns, Chuck Hagel, Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republicans, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Sam Brownback, Tom Tancredo, Tommy Thompson, WH 2008
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