Opinion: The Newt watch

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With Fred Thompson now seen as a sure bet to enter the Republican presidential fray, Newt Gingrich looms as the last remaining Hamlet on the GOP side. On the one hand, the former House speaker doesn’t seem to be taking direct steps toward a candidacy; there is no evidence, for instance, that he spends his spare time lining up big-money backers.

But guess who’s in Iowa today? Yes, Gingrich will be in Des Moines and Sioux City, helping shepherd local meetings for a nationwide group called ‘American Solutions for Winning the Future.’ In case that doesn’t ring a bell, Gingrich formed it earlier this year. Its raison d’etre: nothing less than developing ‘big, real, breakthrough’ ideas for grappling with ‘the most important issues facing the country.’

And then there’s this: as reported in Iowa earlier this week, the ‘American Solutions’ folks ponied up $17,000 to the state Republican Party to reserve space for a ‘large presence’ at its August presidential straw poll in Ames.

That would be the same straw poll Rudy Giuliani and John McCain opted out of, presumably robbing the event of much of its drama while clearing the way for an easy Mitt Romney win.Now, of course, there’s the prospect of a Gingrich ‘surprise;’ a strong showing by the non-candidate. (Thompson, the other non-candidate --- at least at the moment --- hasn’t tipped his hand on whether he’ll be playing in Ames).

Gingrich is making an art out of sending mixed messages. Periodically, he stokes the hopes of those wanting him to run; in mid-May, on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America,’ he said there was ‘a great possibility’ he would get in the race.

But just as the speculation heightens, he’ll tamp it down. On ‘Fox News Sunday’ earlier this month, he tried to split the difference. He insisted he was focused on the ‘American Solutions’ project and the series of Internet workshops it plans to conduct on Sept. 27 and 29.

But pressed by interviewer Chris Wallace, Gingrich allowed that those workshops could serve as the springboard to a White House campaign. ‘I’ll start looking at it, you know, on Sept. 30th,’ he said.

Were he to make the leap at that point, he would benefit from having no name recognition problem within his party; a Republican who doesn’t know who Gingrich is probably is one who doesn’t vote.

Still, not everyone is thrilled with his unorthodox approach to a possible candidacy. Following his interview with Wallace, an editorial in the Greenville News in deeply Republican South Carolina opined --- in a reference archaic enough to send younger readers to Google --- that Gingrich ‘is emerging as e biggest tease since Sally Rand and her fan dance.’

The piece then outlined the daunting challenges he would face in seeking the GOP nomination, not the least of which, in the paper’s view, would be explaining his personal ‘baggage’ (such as, his three marriages).

There also are many, including within the conservative movement, who view him as better-suited to the role of political theorist and agent provocateur than practical politician.

Gingrich was featured in a brief segment Wednesday night on Fox News’ ‘Hannity & Colmes’ show, but his presidential ambitions --- or lack thereof --- were only jokingly alluded to. Just as well; at the same time, the Paris Hilton interview was airing on CNN’s ‘Larry King Live.’

-- Don Frederick