Gingrich will not run for president

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has decided to forgo a run for president in 2008 after determining that he could not legally launch an exploratory committee while remaining head of his tax-exempt political organization.

{mosads}“Newt is not running,” spokesman Rick Tyler told the Associated Press Saturday. “It is legally impermissible for him to continue on as chairman of American Solutions [for Winning the Future] and to explore a campaign for president.”

Gingrich has spent the last year flirting with the idea of a White House run, saying recently he would be compelled to do so if he could raise $30 million dollars by quickly.  

He dropped the idea Saturday, apparently after learning that he would be forced to give up the chairmanship of American Solutions, a group he started last October. The group pays for his travel and employs a pollster and a fundraiser. 

“For the moment, I’m just going to watch the race,” Gingrich told Fox News. “We would be totally irresponsible to leave this new organization.”