Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich encouraged conservatives to support John McCain's presidential bid Saturday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich gave his approval to Arizona Sen. John McCain’s White House bid Saturday, telling a conservative crowd that political victory was more important than ideological purity.

“I think it’s a totally honorable thing to say 'I support the candidate but I oppose the policy,'” he told activists gathered for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

Later, he made his view more explicit: “As a citizen, I would rather have a President McCain that we fight with 20 percent of the time than a President Clinton or a President Obama who we fight with 90 percent of the time.”

He said he had traveled to Idaho last weekend, when Illinois Sen. Barack Obama attracted a crowd of at least 16,000 in Boise, and that the ability of a Senate Democrat to attract a crowd of that size in that solidly-red state was “inconceivable.”

“On Super Tuesday, there were 14.6 million Democrats who thought the presidential nomination was worth voting for, and there were 8.3 million Republicans” who felt the same, he said. “That is a warning of a catastrophic election.”

He said there was “something happening” in the country that conservatives did not understand, and “I believe we need to change or expect defeat.” But he said a Republican win this fall was still possible.

It was a timely nod for McCain's candidacy. The likely GOP presidential nominee, who has struggled to win over his party's conservative base, was repeatedly booed during his own CPAC speech on Thursday.

Gingrich – who made a grand entrance Saturday to a recording of “Stars and Stripes Forever” – received a far different welcome from the conservative crowd. “We need you, Newt!” called one member of the audience.

The former Georgia congressman had weighed his own 2008 presidential run before abandoning the idea late last year. In the 2007 CPAC presidential straw poll, only Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani earned more first- and second-place votes.

He did not say Saturday whether he officially endorsed or would actively support McCain.

–CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Newt Gingrich surprised the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday when he said the conservative movement should declare its independence from the GOP.

There’s one other Declaration of Independence we need — and this will startle some of you…. In a fundamental way, the conservative movement has to declare itself independent from the Republican Party,” The former Republican speaker of the House said, bring gasps from the conservative activists gathered in Washington.

But Gingrich did not endorse the idea of conservatives forming a third party.

I think the third party is a dumb idea. It will not get anywhere and in the end will achieve nothing,” he said.

Despite his comments, Gingrich gave full support to the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, and called for conservatives to unite behind the Republican nominee.

–CNN's Melis Woodham

Watch Monday's highlight's from the campaign trail.

(CNN) — Watch Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Mike Huckabee campaign in Michigan on Monday.

Related: Listen to Newt Gingrich on the Republican nomination race.

Gingrich announced Saturday he would not seek the presidency in 2008.

(CNN)–Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said it was legislation co-authored by a current candidate in the GOP presidential race, that prevented him from continuing to run his own political action committee, American Solution, and opening a presidential exploratory committee.

"Yesterday morning we learned from our attorneys that under the McCain-Feingold law, it is a criminal penalty if I had retained any communication with American Solutions. I could go to jail," Gingrich said Sunday in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "And the idea that you're on the turn of the dime kill this program in order to obey the McCain-Feingold Act which I think is an unconstitutional, frankly destructive bill, was crazy. And I just said if we have to choose, then it's irresponsible to not finish building up American Solutions."

Gingrich was referring to the 2002 piece of legislation authored by Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, a current candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, and Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wisconsin, that regulates the financing of political campaigns.

Gingrich said his party does face a tough road in its quest to re-capture the White House. "I think the odds are 80 per cent that Sen. Clinton is the next president; I think she is almost certainly going to win the Democratic nomination," he said of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York. "And I think unless the Republicans can find a way to represent real change for the current situation in Washington, unless they can convince the American people they represent fundamental change, I think they'll have a very hard time."

On the current field of GOP candidates, Mr. Gingrich said he found them all to be "hardworking, smart people." He said he would hold off on endorsing any particular candidate until after the Republican National Convention next summer in Minneapolis.

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

Newt Gingrich

(CNN) — Two days after hinting he would make a run for the White House, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich decided Saturday he would not run for president, his spokesman told CNN.

Rick Tyler said Gingrich realized he couldn't run a political action committee — his American Solutions group — and form an exploratory committee to run for president at the same time.

"He will continue to bring the American people solutions to the challenges America faces through American Solutions, not as a candidate for president," Tyler said in a phone interview.

Thursday, Gingrich told supporters in Marietta, Ga., that if they pledge at least $30 million to his campaign over a three-week period starting Monday and ending Oct. 21, he will compete for the nomination.

Tyler said the assessment of whether or not Gingrich supporters could raise the money never began.

Gingrich chose Thursday, the 13th anniversary of the signing of his "Contract With America," to launch his "Solutions Day" campaign, which he said is a search for bi-partisan answers to the country's major challenges.

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CNN's Abbi Tatton reports on the virtual Newt Gingrich.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Watch CNN Internet reporter Abbi Tatton explain why the former Republican House speaker took questions Thursday from a cat, a scantily-clad woman, and other virtual characters in the 3-D online world Second Life.

– CNN Internet Producer Eric Weisbrod

Gingrich is gauging whether he has enough support to make a run for the presidency.

MARIETTA, Ga. (CNN) — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich edged closer Thursday to launching a possible run for the GOP presidential candidacy in 2008, telling supporters that if they pledge at least $30 million to his campaign over a three-week period starting Monday and ending Oct. 21, he will compete for the nomination.

Gingrich chose Thursday, the 13th anniversary of the signing of his "Contract With America," to launch his "Solutions Day" campaign, which he said is a search for bi-partisan answers to the country's major challenges. (Related video: Gingrich makes foray into virtual world)

While never mentioning the 2008 race in his speech Thursday night, Gingrich outlined what sounded like a campaign message when he called for "real change, not the same old stuff."

He said "very bold" proposals are needed to bring theUnited States government into the 21st century.

"I think, as a general rule, that levees should not break, that bridges should not fall, that students should actually learn," Gingrich said.

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Gingrich will gauge his support for a possible run ovre the coming weeks.

(CNN)–Will he or won't he run for president? Many people watching the GOP race for president have been asking that question of Newt Gingrich for months. Gingrich says wait a little longer.

Appearing on 'Fox News Sunday,' Gingrich said his advisor, Randy Evans, would spend the next few weeks talking to people across the country to determine whether they can raise the financial resources necessary to mount a presidential run.

"Governor Romney has been very successful legitimately as a businessman," Gingrich said of former the Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney who is currently seeking the GOP nomination. "He can write a $100 million check. I mean, there's no point in getting into a fight with a guy who can drown you unless you at least have enough resources for a vote. And so if we have enough resources, then close to that we'll face a very big decision in late October. If there aren't enough resources, I'm not for doing unrealistic things," Gingrich said.

Gingrich has said he wants to see if he can get pledges of $30 million before deciding to jump into the race. "I don't want to go out on personal ambition," he told Fox's Chris Wallace. "If there is, in fact, enough people in the country who think we need this kind of approach and this kind of change-oriented policies, then I think I'd feel a responsibility to run."

But would that be too short of time to mount a serious campaign with the first votes of the front loaded primary calendar happening earlier than years past? "I think in the age of television, we are reaching more people today than Abraham Lincoln reached personally his entire career," he said. "You know, we have many friends across the country. If we have enough friends, I think we could mount a campaign in a matter of weeks."

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) – Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told CNN he thinks former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will take home a first place finish Saturday at the Ames, Iowa straw poll.

"He's outspent everybody else by about 35 to 1," said Gingrich. "He's got the organization, and I'll be very shocked if he doesn't come in first."

Gingrich made the comments while signing copies of his book at the Iowa State Fair.

When asked what could happen if Romney, the frontrunner in Iowa polls, doesn't come through with a big finish in Ames, Gingrich said, "I think if he doesn't, I think he's got a problem. You can't have 35 times as much money as your next competitor and not do well."

The Ames straw poll is an unofficial testing of the waters for Republican presidential candidates. However, national frontrunners such as former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, have said they will not officially participate in this poll.

– CNN Iowa Producer Chris Welch

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats will nominate Hillary Rodham 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, said Gingrich, who is considering whether to get into the race.

Gingrich is ruling out John McCain's chances among the Republican contenders.

The Arizona senator "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 Sunday in a broadcast interview.

Gingrich said he had dinner recently with Thompson, the former Tennessee senator and actor who has set up a political committee that allows him to raise money for a presidential bid. An official launch is likely in September, after the Labor Day holiday.

Gingrich said he expects Thompson will enter what is shaping up as a competitive race for the GOP nomination against Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, and Giuliani, a former New York City mayor.

"I think that either Mayor Giuliani or Governor Romney or Senator Thompson would be a very formidable opponent for what I expect will be a Clinton-Obama ticket, and I think that there's a possibility that will work," Gingrich said.

In the fall, Gingrich might decide to jump in, depending on how the Republican candidates are faring against Clinton, the New York senator.

"If there is a vacuum and if there's a real need for somebody to be prepared to debate Senator Clinton, then I would consider running. I think we'll know that in October," Gingrich said.

"But these three are serious people," Gingrich said, referring to Romney, Giuliani and Thompson. "They're working very hard. And if they can fill the vacuum, I don't feel any great need to run."

Gingrich spoke on "Fox News Sunday."

McCain brushed aside Tuesday Newt Gingrich’s recent criticisms of the GOP presidential field.

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (AP) — John McCain on Tuesday brushed aside derogatory comments made by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who called the Republican presidential field a "pathetic" bunch of "pygmies."

"I see the former member of the House of Representatives as a person who has many, many comments to make and he's made many, many comments critical of me in the past," McCain told reporters Tuesday after attending a fundraiser in Grand Rapids. "We had a fundamental disagreement about the role of money in politics."

Speaking at a Monday breakfast sponsored by The American Spectator, a conservative magazine, Gingrich labeled the nine-man GOP presidential field as a "pathetic" bunch of "pygmies," the San Francisco Examiner reported.

In an interview with the newspaper, Gingrich said he had "no interest in trying to figure out how I can go out and raise money under John McCain's insane censorship rules so I can show up to do seven minutes and twenty seconds at some debate."

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which McCain, a senator from Arizona, co-sponsored with Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, places limits on how much money can be raised by candidates and campaigns, and on how much can be used. Christian broadcasters have said it restricts what they can tell voters before elections.

"If Mr. Gingrich decides he wants to get into the presidential campaign for the nomination of our party, then I would take some of his comments more seriously," McCain said.

DULUTH, Georgia (CNN ) – It's not often you see a politician share a stage with a potential primary rival and less than 24 hours later do the same with a possible general election opponent.

But that's the double-header former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is playing this week. The Georgia Republican appeared Tuesday night at a "Freedom Concert" in this Atlanta suburb, speaking after fellow potential Republican presidential candidate, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson. Gingrich then headed to Washington for a Wednesday morning news conference on efforts to battle Alzheimer's Disease with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

"Fred's an old friend," Gingrich told CNN. "We've done many things together before." As for the appearances on opposite ends of the political spectrum, Gingrich said, "I think we ought to actually focus on trying to solve some problems. We don't need a year and a half campaign. It is insane to think we need a year and a half of this kind of politics."

Thompson is further along in his presidential deliberations than Gingrich and the Tennessee Republican is expected to officially announce his candidacy soon.

But Gingrich is sticking to his fall timetable to decide whether to seek the GOP presidential nomination.

"Until then, I don't pay attention to what's going on," Gingrich said. "You know, McCain used to be the front runner. Apparently today he's not the front runner. Fred Thompson is having a good run. (Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt) Romney is having a good run. (Former New York City Mayor Rudy) Giuliani is having a good run. We'll see how people look in October."

- CNN Political Desk Managing Editor Steve Brusk

Giuliani campaigned in Texas Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said at a press conference Tuesday in Houston that he would welcome former Sen. Fred Thompson and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to the GOP presidential race.

"I think they should all join, be part of it," Giuliani said. "From my point of view, I'm not running against anybody in particular. I'm running to convince the Republican Party and the American people that I should be the next president."

Giuliani, while acknowledging certain differences with social conservatives, said that he thinks he has "a very good chance of winning the Republican nomination." He called himself the "strongest fiscal conservative" in the race and said his views on the war on terror and the economy will help him appeal to most Republicans.

– CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich

Senator John McCain, R-Arizona

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN)– Senator John McCain says it was an organized and vocal opposition in his party that kept the immigration bill from going forward last week.

"I think that the Senate works in a way that relatively small numbers can block legislation," the Republican presidential candidate told ABC's George Stephanopoulos in an interview aired Sunday. "But I also think that the — particularly the more conservative anti-immigrant, anti-legislation group were very well backed up by a very vocal group of people that were supporting them."

McCain also responded to criticism from former House speaker Newt Gingrich. Gingrich suggested last week that McCain's support for the immigration bill, and earlier support for campaign finance reform, would be an even higher hurdle to clear in primary battles than for Rudy Giuliani and his support for abortion rights. "But on the issue of immigration reform, he may be right, for all I know," he said in response to Gingrich. "But I went there to do the hard things. I went there to do something. The easiest thing for me to do is go there and say no to things," referencing his time in Washington. "And from time to time, it may not be agreeable, but it's what the people of Arizona sent me there to do , and I'm proud and happy to do it."

When asked by Stephanopoulos how he would like history to judge him, McCain said as, "A person who served his country."

McCain was scheduled to be in California on Sunday to attend fundraisers.

– CNN Political Desk Editor Jamie Crawford

Gingrich described the Bush administration as dysfunctional Sunday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Newt Gingrich described the Bush administration as dysfunctional and its unpopularity as hazardous to those in the Republican Party.

"The government is not functioning. It's not getting the job done," said the former House speaker, who is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination. "Republicans need to confront this reality."

Gingrich said in a broadcast interview he believes Bush "means very, very well" but falls short when it comes to putting his goals in place and running the government.

"All you have to do is look at the examples I've given you today where the government simply fails," said Gingrich, citing the administration's handling of the war in Iraq, its immigration policies and response to Hurricane Katrina.

"We have to have very relentless, dramatic change in American government," he said.

Gingrich added, "The key question is: Is somebody prepared to stand up and say that the American people deserve fundamental change in Washington?"

Gingrich said two Republicans in the 2008 field, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, and one prospective GOP contender, Fred Thompson, are capable of "offering a very bold, dramatic vision" that could appeal to the party's conservative voters. "These are solid people," said Gingrich.

He was interviewed on "Fox News Sunday."