Can Newt Gingrich keep his sputtering campaign alive?
You can almost hear the political world asking, 鈥淣ewt who?鈥�
Newt Gingrich, former House Speaker and a major Washington figure for decades, has been pushed to the fringes of presidential campaign discourse.
Although he鈥檚 still formally a candidate for the GOP鈥檚 2012 nomination, he describes Mitt Romney as "far and away the most likely" GOP nominee 鈥� a fact made all-but-certain by Rick Santorum鈥檚 dropping out this week. Mr. Santorum had been Romney鈥檚 last remaining serious challenger.
With $4.5 million in debt, the Gingrich campaign organization has been operating on a shoestring as his principal financial angel, billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson, began moving toward the Romney campaign.
鈥淚t appears as though he鈥檚 at the end of his line,鈥� Adelson said recently. 鈥淏ecause, I mean, mathematically, he can鈥檛 get anywhere near the numbers, and it鈥檚 unlikely to be a brokered convention.鈥�
IN PICTURES:聽Newt, now and then
Gingrich has put his donor lists on the market, CBS News reports, 鈥渁 sign that the cash-strapped campaign has had to put its bread-and-butter on the line to try to pay its bills.鈥� The going rate: $50 per 1,000 small-donor names, and $135 per 1,000 larger donor names.
Gingrich still has things to do. He spoke to the National Rifle Association convention Friday. As usual, he waxed magniloquently.
鈥淒esperate for attention and trying to get back into a conversation that has passed him by, the still-technically-running candidate said he will submit a treaty to the United Nations that would make the right to bear arms a universal human right,鈥� Politico鈥檚 James Hohmann reported from the convention.
鈥淔ar fewer women would be raped. Far fewer children would be killed鈥nd far fewer dictators would survive if people had the right to bear arms everywhere on the planet,鈥� Gingrich said, earning a standing ovation from a crowd of thousands. 鈥淲e should say the second amendment is an amendment for all mankind.鈥�
Although he鈥檚 been a political survivor, becoming influential and wealthy since he left Congress under a cloud, Gingrich appeared to burn at least one bridge recently when he declared that CNN was 鈥渓ess biased鈥� than Fox News.
鈥淲e are more likely to get neutral coverage out of CNN than we are of FOX, and we鈥檙e more likely to get distortion out of FOX,鈥� he said this week. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just a fact.鈥�
To which Fox News chief Roger Ailes replied that Gingrich was just 鈥渢rying to get a job at CNN because he knows he isn鈥檛 going to get to come back to Fox News.鈥澛�
On his website, Gingrich calls himself 鈥淭he last conservative standing,鈥� and despite the polls and the odds, he vows to fight on to the GOP convention in Tampa, Fla. in August.
This week he campaigned in Delaware, which holds its primary April 24 (along with Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island 鈥� states more disposed to favor a semi-moderate like Romney).
Gingrich picked up the endorsement of a state lawmaker or two. But as Matthew Payne of the Wall Street Journal points out, he鈥檇 need a lot more than that to turn a miracle.
鈥淎ccording to RNC rule No. 40(b), to be considered on the convention's first ballot a candidate needs the plurality of delegates from at least five states. So far the former speaker has won only two,鈥� Mr. Payne explains. 鈥淓ven if Mr. Gingrich were somehow to deny Mitt Romney of the 1,114 delegates required to win the nomination, he still needs to win three more states. If he doesn't, many of his pledged delegates will be released to vote for Mr. Romney on the first ballot 鈥� likely putting the former Massachusetts governor over the 1,114-delegate threshold anyway.鈥�
So at this point, it seems, Gingrich is working mainly to keep his reputation as a political player 鈥� perhaps to be granted a prime-time speaking spot in Tampa.
