The tweet finally landed at 4:19 p.m. Wednesday. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, a fixture in the Republican Party for three decades, became a candidate for president.
Though it was long expected, the announcement was something of a milestone in presidential politics — the first such declaration via Twitter, with the requisite link to his video statement.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has made early moves toward a presidential run in 2012. The Washington Post's Karen Tumulty takes a look at Gingrich's career highlights.
Like others in the Republican field, Gingrich, 67, has been moving steadily toward a candidacy for months. But in formally declaring, he set himself on an uncertain journey that will test whether his assets can overcome his liabilities.
There are many questions he will confront. Gingrich is an idea-spewing machine, unlike anyone else in the Republican Party. But does America want a one-man think tank, particularly one with his history, as its president?
Is he yesterday’s man at a time when Republicans may want a fresh face? A number of GOP strategists think his time has passed, though he obviously does not and looks to history for inspiration.
Is he professionally disciplined enough to be a successful presidential candidate? His record in public life suggests otherwise. He vows this will be different.
Will his personal life — multiple marriages and an admission of adultery — prove disqualifying to social conservatives? Many think it will. His hope is that Americans like stories of confession and redemption.
Gingrich says that he has learned from his mistakes, that he begins this campaign in a different frame of mind. He claims he will listen to those around him, including some of his newest advisers. He says he will take seriously the advice he receives from others. If that turns out to be true, it will mark a distinct change in his modus operandi.
His announcement stressed his work with President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s and his accomplishments when he was speaker during the 1990s (though with no mention of the work he did in cooperation with President Bill Clinton).
“There’s a much better American future ahead, with more jobs, more prosperity, a better health system, longer lives, greater independence, a country decentralized under the 10th amendment, power once again back with the American people,” he said.
Some of those who watched him over the years remain skeptical that Gingrich can overcome his liabilities. “Everybody thinks they know who Newt is, and a significant portion don’t think they like him, and he’s going to have to convince them,” said Rich Galen, a GOP strategist and former Gingrich adviser.
Still, Gingrich brings to the race an unparalleled record in his party as someone who has remained in the forefront of the public policy debate over a span of decades. If he has lacked discipline in other areas, the one consistency in his public career is a devotion to the intersection of ideas and politics. He has made himself a force in whatever role he has played: as a backbencher, as House leader, and for more than a decade as a politician without office or official portfolio.
Through intellect and ambition, Gingrich has kept himself in the middle of public policy debates on health care, education, energy and foreign affairs. “Newt’s been the Republican Party’s main idea man for close to a generation,” said Terry Holt, a Republican strategist who closely observed Gingrich as speaker. “This is a guy who brings unlimited energy and creative thinking to a race that needs new ideas.”
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