Gingrich to explore 'many avenues'

Gingrich isn't saying whether he will run for president in 2000. His closest advisers say he won't decide for weeks or months. But as he ponders his future, picking up the pieces from disappointing midterm elections, Republicans are debating whether Gingrich could be a serious contender.

Supporters argue that Gingrich is still a top party fund-raiser and a leader with "big ideas" who energizes audiences like no other Republican, including poll-topping Gov. George W. Bush of Texas.

"I'm a big fan of George W. Bush, but it's a long way to go between now and ... 2000," said longtime Gingrich adviser Rich Galen.

Gingrich "has such incredible energy and intellect that he would have the ability to drive the race by his very presence," said Tom Rath, a New Hampshire party leader who is helping former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander position for the 2000 race.

Others say Gingrich is too scarred by the wars of Washington to make a serious run.

"It would defeat everything he's achieved with his graceful exit from the House," said Republican media consultant Alex Castellanos of Alexandria, Va. He said Gingrich has been the GOP "point man" for too long.

"The good news is the point man gets to blaze the trail. The bad news is you get shot full of bullet holes doing it," Castellanos said.

Exit polls on Nov. 3 showed that nearly six of every 10 voters nationwide viewed Gingrich unfavorably. Even in his home state of Georgia, he could muster only a 47 percent favorable rating.

"His negatives are just too high," said Tom Slade, chair of the Florida GOP, though he called Gingrich the party's most articulate spokesperson and fund raiser.

Gingrich's chances also might be hurt by perceptions among conservatives that he capitulated too often in negotiations with President Clinton.

"I think Newt did a lot of good things early on but as a leader he got away from our message and that resulted in what happened in the elections," said Tim Lambert of Texas, a leading conservative voice among Republican National Committee members.

As for the midterm elections, Steve Grubbs, chair of the Iowa Republican Party, said, "I think the loss of five House seats was a very serious setback for a Gingrich presidential run. ...There is a lot of disappointment among the rank and file."

Critics and supporters alike say Gingrich's chances might be helped by his decision to leave the House. He could soon begin retooling his political image, free of the bickering that helped cement his reputation as a Washington firebrand.

"The run is easier, if he decides to make it, by not being burdened with the responsibility of speaker," said Slade, the Florida GOP chair. "But the fact that he had to resign as speaker in order to prevent a very divisive situation in the House kind of speaks for itself ... He's a polarizing figure."

Said Gingrich ally Galen: "He's got more time to think about what he wants to say and how he wants to say it because he's not spending 18 hours a day in meetings ... in the Capitol."

Advisers say that while being House speaker was his lifelong goal, Gingrich may be looking for a new place in history.

In a Monday night speech to GOPAC, a political action committee he helped form, Gingrich sprinkled his remarks with comments that raised questions about his presidential ambitions. "There are many avenues for a public life beyond the speakership," he said. "As I leave public office and rejoin the ranks of active citizenship the venue changes and the cause lives on."

Will a new venue be the campaign trail? Not now, anyway.

Advisers expect Gingrich to spend the next several weeks thinking about the future while earning $50,000 or more making speeches. He still believes he can wait until next summer to get in the race.

Or, said Galen, noting that Gingrich's interests include studying dinosaur bones, the speaker may simply say, "I want to go dig rocks."

11-12-98