Newt Gingrich made it official Thursday: he's "exploring whether there is sufficient support for my potential candidacy for president."

That's the message from his new website, cranked up once he gave the news to reporters under the Gold Dome after meeting with old friend Gov. Nathan Deal whom Gingrich backed in the governor's race last year.

Gingrich stopped short of announcing the formation of a presidential exploratory committee which would make him a candidate under the law. But that's the next step. Fox News announced Wednesday the suspension of its contributor arrangement with Gingrich, a move the network Thursday called "a sign that the former House speaker will soon announce the formation of a presidential exploratory committee."

This way Gingrich gets to string out the news coverage a little longer. As the Christian Science Monitor observed: "He may have just invented a new stage in the long announcement process."

Assuming Gingrich enters the race, he could "instantly become a formidable candidate," as Fox News said. Consider that a Feb. 23 Gallup poll showed no clear favorites among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. The results: Mike Huckabee, 18 percent, followed by Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin tied at 16 percent.

Next was Gingrich with 9 percent. For the record, the next four in order were Ron Paul, 5 percent; Michele Bachmann, 4 percent; former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi tied at 3 percent.

Of course, polls at this stage of the game are of little value. The key is how the candidates perform on the trail, and here's some insight from a tuned-in source in Iowa which holds one of the early presidential caucus votes: Craig Robinson, founder and editor-in-chief of theiowarepublican.com, recently posted this item headed, "Number One: Newt Gingrich." A big plus is Gingrich's support for ethanol subsidies, dear to the heart of Iowa farmers.

"While Gingrich seems to be built for the Iowa caucuses, he does have some major obstacles that he will have to overcome," Robinson wrote. "It is no secret that Gingrich probably has the most personal baggage of any candidate on this list." The baggage includes "married numerous times" and sometimes partnering with liberal Democrats on issues such as health care reform and global warming, backing TARP and defending Romney's healthcare plan, according to Robinson.

These will "haunt Gingrich, but the one thing that will probably help him deal with those issues the most is his appreciation and knowledge of our country's history and its founders," Robinson said. "He, more than any other candidate in the race, will be able to talk about our nation's religious heritage and the painful sacrifices that it took to secure our independence. The fascinating thing is that, in doing so, he could help people overlook his own flaws."

Conclusion: "Newt Gingrich is as formidable of a caucus candidate as Iowans have ever seen. The combination of being a storyteller, historian, political operative, and excellent speaker make him the clear frontrunner in Iowa."

dmckee9613@aol.com