As we noted today, the majority even of conservative National Review web readers seem to think Gingrich is just toying with a presidential run to sell books. Will his latest announcement change their minds? Unlikely.

The New York Times points out that Gingrich's afternoon announcement didn't actually declare his candidacy. It just said that he and his wife "had decided, after months of jointly studying whether to enter the race, to see if he could draw enough support from Republican primary voters to seriously compete for the party’s nomination." That apparently means that the FCC allows him to start fundraising. Except, as The Times also reports, Gingrich apparently won't really get in the game and formally declare candidacy "until he finishes delivering paid speeches later this month and distances himself from a web of business ventures that would interfere with a campaign."

That could mean Gingrich wants to be really careful about ethics. Or it could mean he just wants to optimize earnings. We don't know. Taking our cue from Gingrich, we decline to commit to a position on this.

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Heather Horn