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This week, the two formidable Republican "non-candidates" of the ’08 Prez race were both in the news– together in the same story. That, of course, IS the story. Jonathan Martin, writing at the Politico, provides the details:
Newt Gingrich’s long, slow striptease over whether he will seek the presidency in 2008 looks like it might come to an unexpected conclusion: a date with Fred Thompson.
This is a rather interesting turn of events, although not altogether surprising. Back in May, I had the opportunity to hear Newt speak at an event in Manchester where he made it quite clear that if the right person touting the right issues were to join the race, he might not feel as pressured to make a run for the White House himself. He mentioned Fred Thompson as one possible example of who might be such a candidate. He also said several positive things about Rudy Giuliani and some of his ideas for building efficiency in government. In fact, I have been thinking for quite some time that a Giuliani-Gingrich ticket might have some merit. In the past 3 or 4 months, I have noticed that Newt almost always mentions Rudy in a positive way during TV appearances.
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If this story turns out to be correct, and Newt casts his lot with a Thompson campaign, it will be a big score for them. Newt remains very popular with many conservatives (including me) and will certainly help Fred gain credibilty within that group of Republicans. Having Newt on the campaign trail speaking on his behalf is something that could very well be priceless in terms of helping to sell a program of positive change and obtainable solutions to the issues of the day.
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Click here to read the entire article. I still think, despite the case Martin lays out, there’s still a chance for a Rudy/Newt team. "But Doug, Newt wouldn’t settle for VP, would he? He just doesn’t seem like he could be the second banana." You mean like Dick Cheney?