Seven presidential hopefuls, including Newt Gingrich, debated in New Hampshire in June 2011. (AP/Jim Cole)
WASHINGTON -- We are 11 weeks away from the first Republican presidential debate, Aug. 6 in Cleveland, at which point there could be 16 candidates for the nomination.
With discussions under way on whether and how to trim that field, Newt Gingrich, the former presidential contender and U.S. House Speaker from Georgia, had a simple message: Don't.
Gingrich told us today that he's not sure how you fit 16 people on stage -- perhaps you have them draw lots and conduct two debates -- but he does not want to see an artificial cap:
"You wouldn't have picked Bill Clinton in the fall of 1991 necessarily to be the Democratic nominee. You certainly, when John McCain ran out of money you would not have expected McCain to come back and sweep as rapidly and decisively as he did.
"I'd like them to see some way to accommodate everyone early on. You're certainly not going to block Carly Fiorina or Ben Carson from having a chance to debate. And if you don't exclude them, you really can't exclude anybody."
Update 4:55 p.m.: It appears Fox News is playing bouncer. From the Washington Post:
The standard will winnow what is expected to be a field of 16 or more GOP presidential candidates by the Aug. 6 event in Cleveland.
The interview was to discuss Gingrich's latest venture: Joining the global lawfirm Dentons, as it finishes its merger with McKenna, Long and Aldridge. Gingrich will be a globe-trotting "thought leader," in the words of Dentons CEO Elliott Portnoy, advising business clients on how to navigate regulation and bureaucracy. Gingrich spoke of his long ties to McKenna Long, via Randy Evans, Eric Tanenblatt and others.
Gingrich said he is definitely not jumping into the 2016 race but will continue "cheerfully commenting" on it. He praised the job RNC chairman Reince Priebus has done, but pushed back on his strategy of limiting the number of debates:
"I always though the analysis was strange because [Hillary] Clinton and [Barack] Obama had 22 debates in 2008, so I'm not sure there's any relationship between the number of debates and what the outcome was."
The debates, of course, propelled Gingrich in the last cycle. After his staff quit and he ran out of money, Gingrich revived his candidacy in the endless series of debates. His sparring with moderator John King in South Carolina after King asked Gingrich about his ex-wife helped spur Gingrich to a victory there.
"It takes you outside the money and the power structure and all that stuff, and the American people get to see you without editing. Look them in the eye and let the American people decide what they want."
Gingrich also tossed in a few shots at Clinton:
"The more the stuff keeps coming out about Hillary and emails and the cost of speeches -- and it goes on and on and on. If I were a Democrat, I'd be very, very worried. I remember my first race was in 1974 [Gingrich lost a west Georgia U.S. House race] and every morning I'd get up there'd be a new Watergate story, and you just couldn't get out from under it. I think if I were Democrat, I'd be looking for pretty aggressive competition."
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