Congressional Republicans recently held a wingding to raise money. Controversy preceded the festivities. Would Sarah Palin attend, or wouldn’t she? We confess to confusion regarding the circumstances and the timeline, but things appear to have gone something like this: Palin wanted to attend, was invited, said yes, but upon learning she would not have a formal speaking role, said no, whereupon sponors said pretty please, and she decided to go after all.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said yesterday that drilling for oil and gas off the coast of Virginia could bring huge returns for education and transportation in the state. Virginia has the potential to be a major energy supplier on the East Coast, Gingrich said at a news conference. He was in Richmond to promote the candidacy of Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican who is seeking re-election to that post.

Newt for president? Newt Gingrich, the Republican former Speaker of the House, didn’t rule it out last night in Ashland, before he was to address a packed house of 650-plus at Randolph-Macon College. Gingrich and his wife, Callista, “will look seriously and we’ll probably get our family totally engaged, including our two grandchildren, probably in January 2011, and we’ll look seriously at whether or not we think it’s necessary to do it,“ he told reporters during a sit-down interview before last night’s speech.

Newt for president? Newt Gingrich, the Republican former Speaker of the House, didn’t rule it out last night in Ashland, before he was to address a packed house of 650-plus at Randolph-Macon College. Gingrich and his wife, Callista, “will look seriously and we’ll probably get our family totally engaged, including our two grandchildren, probably in January, 2011, and we’ll look seriously at whether or not we think it’s necessary to do it,“ he told reporters during a sit-down interview before last night’s speech.