Despite the fact that we have yet to see how his party does in this year’s midterm elections, the race to succeed President Obama has already begun among prospective GOP candidates – albeit quiet and in the shadows of the current races at hand. This was further demonstrated today with the announcement from former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich that he is giving serious thought to challenging Obama in 2012 and will announce his final decision in February.

Every four years, it seems that the race for the White House begins earlier and earlier. Some may argue that the 2012 race began a year ago when Alaska Governor Sarah Palin abruptly resigned from her job to make appearances across the country and even join the very media that consistently takes pleasure in eviscerating her character. Palin’s move, however, was also viewed as somewhat strategic (although, perhaps foolhardy at the same time) in that she would have a difficult time campaigning for the presidency in critical primary states if she was confined to governing up in Alaska.

Gingrich has had the last decade to do what Palin has been trying to accomplish in the last year. He has written several books and made nightly appearances on cable news programs, where he has usually provided his takes on issues of the day throughout the entire Bush and Obama presidencies. Many who know him now might only view his political days as a distant memory, while crediting him with an achievement Republicans hope to accomplish again this year – retaking power in the House of Representatives after 40 years in the minority in 1994.

Gingrich’s “Contract with America,” was largely seen as being instrumental in helping Republicans win more than 50 House seats in 1994, a devastating blow to President Clinton and his party in the first midterm election of his presidency. The “Contract with America” was an unambiguous pledge taken by Republican members of Congress and Republican candidates for Congress a few weeks prior to the election, where they outlined a list of clear-cut goals, largely centering on government reform, that they aimed to accomplish if elected.

While the Republican Congress, under Gingrich, managed to work with the Democratic President on a few issues for a few years, Gingrich and Clinton were constantly engulfed in a bitter partisan struggle for power. Gingrich strongly led efforts to impeach Clinton during the 1998 Monica Lewinsky scandal, but later resigned from the House altogether, when it was revealed that he had had an extramarital affair of his own – with the woman who is now his wife.

Undoubtedly there are other pieces of unflattering political baggage in Gingrich’s near-two-decade career in Washington. However, he has seemingly painted himself in a new light throughout the 21st Century years, thus far. The substance of his message usually rests on conservative principles and he often cites Ronald Reagan has the inspiration for much of his political philosophy.

With his announcement today, he obviously feels that he can overcome some of the obstacles of his past and take his message to the American people, while he aims to oust a president who clearly proves he is the antithesis of Reagan with each passing day.

In his remarks, according to a report by the Associated Press, Gingrich says he’s never been as serious about running for the top office as he is now. Although his name was floated around as a potential GOP candidate back in 2008, Gingrich never formally declared a candidacy.

It is likely no coincidence that Gingrich (and other potential candidates) have been making regular trips to cities in Iowa and New Hampshire over the past couple years – as they are the first two states to vote in the primary election. Building a firm base of support in those areas of the country has proven beneficial to candidates of both parties, as the early news of their electoral victories (should they be successful in these states) can spawn momentum and catapult them into winning their party’s nomination.

Gingrich may be more inspired to run this time around as the challenger to the incumbent party, as President Obama’s approval ratings continue to slide further and further below 50 percent. The former Speaker predicted that Obama will only be a one-term president, largely because of his hesitance to move to the ideological center on many key issues (unlike Gingrich’s former political foe Clinton), even when the will of the people calls for it.

Like anyone who seeks the highest office in the land, Gingrich will certainly have his work cut out for him if he ultimately takes up this challenge. Like Obama, he has a past to defend. Unlike Obama, the media will probably hound him about such a past too. He also has to convince the people that, as a result of spending the last decade in the private sector, he is somehow different from today’s Washington politician (he previously spent nearly 20 years in Congress).

A run for the presidency is a serious challenge to mount and, because of such constraints, it can be seen why so many otherwise qualified (and preferable) people do not take it up. We’ll see how serious Gingrich actually is come February.

(Source: Examiner)