So, what really happened with Newt 2008? Many pundits, here and elsewhere, divined his Newteness' most recent statements as an indication that he would run after all. Then, with an obscure legal explanation, he puts the stops on. What's really going on here?

The intrepid Byron York recites the more lengthy legal explanations behind Newt's exit and notes:

The problem is that all that can be perfectly true and one can still ask why Gingrich did not know until Saturday morning that his going forward could involve possible violations of the campaign finance laws. Why go so far – creating a campaign website, securing pledges, taking a leave from Fox – without knowing the basic rules?

As the old maxim goes: "it is the first obligation of a statesman to get elected." It appears that Newt & Co. just couldn't figure out a legal way to get their message across and raise money at the same time. So instead... they folded.

Compare this to Mitt Romney, who set up the Commonwealth PAC, reaching into local state entities, raising money for local leaders, and taking the money leftover to pursue a run for the President -- all of it through a legal, political vehicle. This took years of research, planning and preparation. And it worked.

Newt, for all his incredible ideas, is apparently handicapped when it comes to execution. Perhaps... his exit is all for the best.

Labels: commonwealth pac, newt, Newt Gingrich, pac