Gingrich Announces He May Run for President
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A former speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, said yesterday that he will consider entering the race for the Republican presidential nomination only if no other potential candidate looks to be a prohibitive favorite by September 2007.
In an interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Mr. Gingrich also praised several Republican politicians who are expected to make announcements soon about their presidential plans, Governor Romney of Massachusetts, Mayor Giuliani, and Senator McCain of Arizona.
“Romney’s had a good year. He’s emerging as a serious player. Giuliani is wildly popular for national security reasons. John McCain has built a base for years of hard work. If one them seals it off by Labor Day, my announcing now wouldn’t make any difference anyway,” Mr. Gingrich said. “If none of the three having from now to Labor Day can seal it off, the first real vote is in 2008. And there’s plenty of time in the age of television and e-mail between Labor Day and 2008.”
Mr. Gingrich said those who discount Senator Clinton’s chances of winning the White House for the Democrats are seriously mistaken. “No one has made any money betting against the Clintons since 1980,” he said. “Of course, she could win. And anybody who thinks she can’t win must have been living on a different planet. I mean this — I watch Bill and Hillary with deep professional admiration.” Mr. Gingrich stood by his previous claims that the Iraq war has been a “failure,” but he also warned of grave consequences if America beats a hasty retreat instead of retooling the war effort.
“In 1979 under Jimmy Carter, America was seen as weak. There were hostages held in Iran against all international law. There was an American Embassy under siege in Pakistan. There was an American ambassador killed in Afghanistan. If we summarily get beaten in Iraq, and what’s what we’re talking about, if we are defeated in Iraq, there are not enough Marine elements in the world to evacuate the embassies that’ll come under siege,” Mr. Gingrich said.
The former speaker said he agreed with Mrs. Clinton on one promising strategy for Iraq, a plan to start a New Deal-style conservation corps that could employ millions of young Iraqis who are without work.
In the interview, Mr. Gingrich also gave more details about his proposals to restrict speech that could encourage terrorism. He said that all “Jihadist” Web sites should be shut down.
“You can appoint three federal judges if you want to and say, ‘Review this stuff and tell us which ones to close down.’ I would just like to have them be federal judges who’ve served in combat,” Mr. Gingrich said.
He did not say how America could prevent Islamic militants from running or accessing Internet sites hosted on computers overseas.