Gingrich weighs in on campaign calls

Former House speaker New Gingrich predicted that Senator Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination, and that Senator Barack Obama will be her running mate.

Democrats will nominate Hillary Clinton for president in 2008 and Barack Obama will be her running mate, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicts.

The GOP will have three "formidable" choices in Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and Fred Thompson, Gingrich said yesterday on "Fox News Sunday." But he said John McCain "has taken positions so deeply at odds with his party's base that I don't see how he can get the nomination."

Gingrich said he had dinner recently with Thompson, and expects him to officially launch his campaign after Labor Day. Gingrich said he might decide to enter the race in the fall, depending on how the Republican candidates are faring against Clinton. "If they can fill the vacuum, I don't feel any great need to run."

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The vice presidential speculation has already begun. Among Democrats, Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio is starting to generate some buzz.

This is hardly a surprise because Ohio will be an important swing state in 2008. But Strickland's record also helps explain the interest. He's the son of a steelworker. He's a former Methodist minister. He has cut taxes. As a House member, he earned an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association. But he supports abortion rights and universal health care.

Strickland hasn't met with any of the Democratic candidates and has not decided whether to endorse one. But several Democratic campaigns are privately courting him, according to Ohio political insiders. His spokeswoman said the governor maintains "an open-door policy" but isn't yearning for the number two job.

Strickland has said he plans to end his political career as Ohio governor, and he notes that he's 65 years old -- old enough to be Senator Barack Obama's father. "Strickland's playing his part in the speculation game perfectly," wrote Brent Larkin, editorial page director of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

WASHINGTON POST

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says negotiating with insurers and pharmaceutical companies is not the best way to overhaul the health care system.

Those groups will not give up their power voluntarily, the former North Carolina senator said yesterday in Canterbury, N.H. "I've been fighting these people my whole life and have beaten them my whole life," said Edwards, a former trial lawyer. "I think the time to talk to them is after you've beaten them."

Edwards has proposed requiring employers to provide insurance or contribute to the coverage of every worker. The government would pay for insurance for lower income people and subsidize what other families pay. He also would cap the amount insurers can charge for profit or overhead at 15 percent.

"How long are we going to let insurance companies and drug companies run this country?" he asked.

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