Gingrich says window to get in ’08 race is ‘flexible’

As former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) was walking out of the lobby of the Hay-Adams hotel Friday morning, a well-wisher asked him what almost everyone else in Washington is wondering.

{mosads} “Are you gonna do it?”

Gingrich replied with an abbreviated version of the answer he had given a small group of Washington reporters repeatedly throughout the morning.

“No. I don’t know. We’ll decide later on,” he said.

Earlier in the day, over breakfast, Gingrich offered a scenario that made it seem unlikely he will jump into the 2008 presidential race, but as he has done all year, he left the door open.

“I think the odds are very high that I won’t run,” he said before adding, “There are circumstances where it could happen.”

Gingrich ticked off his list of three circumstances in which he would make a bid. The former Speaker said he would run if there were a large enough “vacuum” on the Republican side that warranted his entrance, if there did not appear to be any significant challenge to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and if he were able to raise the necessary amount of money in a very short amount of time.

On that last note, Gingrich said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would set the financial pace for Republicans because he can “write $50 to $60 million checks.”

“Gov. Romney will set the tone for the scale of resources” necessary for Republicans to compete, Gingrich said.

Gingrich downplayed the Oct. 15 deadline offered by one reporter present.

“The window is flexible,” he said, pointing to the percentage of undecided Republican voters and “substantial movement in the polls.”

The former Speaker also repeated his belief that Clinton will be the Democratic nominee, if not the next president. He spoke glowingly of the former first couple’s recent publicity event, specifically mentioning Sen. Clinton’s appearance on “Ellen” followed later in the day by former President Clinton’s appearance on “Oprah.”

“As a professional, I was very, very impressed,” Gingrich said.

Republicans, Gingrich said, face a much more challenging road that will require a “clean break” from both the current White House and the current political structure.

Of the current field, the former Speaker said ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has come close to doing the latter by challenging former Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.) to a one-on-one debate last week.

The challenges facing the party will lead to “chaos” following the biggest round of primaries on Feb. 5, when Gingrich is “betting even money you won’t have a nominee,” leading to the “first open convention since 1924.”

Gingrich seemed to be enjoying himself as he talked to reporters about a number of initiatives his 527 group is embarking on in coming weeks, including his end-of-the-month workshops.