Gingrich: I'm Ready to Serve as GOP Chairman

Newt Gingrich says he's ready, willing and able to serve as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

“If a majority of the RNC thought he was needed, he would accept that appointment,” Randy Evans, Gingrich’s close friend, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He fully appreciates the urgency of the moment. The RNC has to do some soul-searching and decide what level of change is necessary. If that answer is bold, energetic change led by someone who has done it before, then Newt would be a good choice.”

But Evans warned the Journal-Constitution that if the GOP is eying a shift toward the middle, “that isn’t Newt.”

The newspaper pointed out that a Gingrich candidacy could get a big boost from talk-radio hosts. The former House speaker has close ties to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Neal Boortz.

The RNC will choose a chairman after Barack Obama is inaugurated in January. Usually, the RNC chief is a member of the organization -- and Gingrich is not.