Newt Gingrich Announces He Won’t Run For President

After flirting for months without ever committing to anything, former Speaker Newt Gingrich has announced that he won’t be running for President:

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — Two days after hinting he wanted to try for the White House, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich decided he would not run for president, his spokesman said Saturday.

Rick Tyler said Gingrich realized he couldn’t run a political action committee — his American Solutions group — and form an exploratory committee to run for president as well.

“He will continue to bring the American people solutions to the challenges America faces through American Solutions, not as a candidate for president,” Tyler said in a telephone interview.

Gingrich told supporters in Marietta, Georgia, on Thursday that if they pledged at least $30 million to his campaign over a three-week period starting Monday, he would compete for the Republican nomination.

Gingrich, 64, has hinted for months that he would join the GOP presidential race if he determined no other candidate appeared able to take on the Democrats in 2008.

His hinting has become louder in recent weeks, with his suggestion that Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York is destined to be the Democratic nominee and that he would be the best Republican to debate her.

Gingrich said, however, that he has no desire to personally raise campaign funds.

This is not entirely surprising. Gingrich would’ve made an interesting addition to the race, but never a serious contender for the nomination. He simply had too much baggage.