Newt Gingrich is letting it be known that he will probably get into the Republican presidential race:

Count Gingrich as one potential beneficiary of the Fred Thompson boomlet. Many commentators argued that the GOP field was missing a strong, traditional conservative. Mr. Thompson’s flirtation with a bid has shown that there are plenty of primary voters who will back an alternative to the ‘Top 3.’ Perhaps Bob Novak’s recent warning that a Thompson run is no sure thing has led Gingrich to think that he can be ‘the guy.’ Polls show him tied with Mitt Romney–not too bad for a candidate who isn’t even running. Nevertheless, we will apparently have to wait until Fall to get a straight answer from Gingrich. And by then there may well be fewer GOP presidential aspirants. There’s also good chance that we’ll know whether Rudy Giuliani has been able to get past concerns over his views on social issues, and we will certainly know whether Fred Thompson intends to run. And if you still don’t have enough Republican options for president, Chuck Hagel might give you one more. Based on his comments yesterday, it seems like he’s still looking for a critique of his party that tests well, since those critiques still show no consistency: