Newt Gingrich leaning toward 2008 presidential run

Former speaker of the house and right wing hypocrite Newt Gingrich revealed today that he is seriously considering entering the 2008 Republican presidential field. This would make him the 11th major candidate and would also give Giuliani a run for his money in the race for who has the messiest personal life.

What will Gingrich's entrance mean for the GOP race or the race at large? As a progressive I'm inclined to think it will ultimately be a good thing. While popular with true blue conservatives, Gingrich has never played well nationally and since he won't be able to win the nomination he'll only serve to draw so-called centrist candidates like McCain and Giuliani into the muck in a "who's more conservative" contest.

The further to the right the GOP candidates go, the more they will resemble Bush (which is something they all either want to or should want to avoid and it will only make the Democrats look like more of a mainstream values party. Gingrich may not have much of a chance of winning the nomination but with so many of the GOP rank and file openly complaining that there's no "true blue" conservative running in the top tier, he could do some damage in the primaries.

Plus it's been far too long since we've heard about some of Gingrich's most infamous exploits. Remember the time when he left his wife while she was in the hospital recuperating from cancer surgery? Gingrich reportedly said, "She's not young enough or pretty enough to be the wife of the President. And besides, she has cancer." I have a feeling about this Gingrich kid, I think he's going to go far.