As Gingrich Announces Presidential Run

Before former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich announced his bid for the White House via Twitter and his campaign website today, political pundits have been ramping up with analysis and speculation about the former East Cobb Congressman, who remains a fascinating figure in spite of the long odds anticipated with his race.

Gingrich, who lived in the Indian Hills community of East Cobb, will conduct his first interview as an official candidate on the Fox News Channel during the Hannity program that begins at 9 p.m.

Gingrich, the mastermind of the Republican takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, remains a lightning rod and a polarizing figure to some, but to others remains a stalwart conservative and Republican Party hero. 

A few assorted links about the Gingrich campaign as it gets underway: 

-- There will be a rally in Atlanta on Friday, with what Jonathan Karl of ABC News calls his first formal campaign speech. Gingrich's campaign headquarters is located in Buckhead.

-- Matt Bai of The New York Times mulls Gingrich's connection to political history, "although it’s not clear exactly what strand of Republicanism he represents." 

-- Gingrich is attracting big-bucks conservative and corporate donors, as The Wall Street Journal examined on Monday. The estimated $32 million raised in 2009 and 2010, the newspaper reports, is more than the other potential Republican candidates combined. 

-- On NPR.org, veteran political journalist Walter Shapiro calls Gingrich "a curiously undervalued stock" in the GOP race. 

-- U.S. News and World Report serves up 11 reasons why Gingrich can earn the GOP nomination. 

-- The Nation, a liberal opinion magazine, has compiled the "11 nuttiest things" Gingrich has ever said. One of them makes a reference to beach volleyball. 

-- Above the border, Canada's National Post calls Gingrich's bid "semi-hilarious."

-- But BBC's North America editor Mark Mardell, who details the list of potential shortcomings for Gingrich, offers up this caveat:

"But in an uninspiring field, he is at least interesting."