Is he is, or is he not is?

And what’s the big deal?

Scott Walker is clearly running for President of the United States of America. For those of us who know him, we kind of catch our breath when we think about all of this.

And part of the reason is that Walker, like everyone ranging from Hillary Clinton to Rand Paul to Ted Cruz, is playing coy. I don’t know why they keep dragging this announcement thing out, but for those of us who have been around the block a time or two, we can see the signs.

I’m not talking about a red, white and blue "Walker for Prez" sign. I’m talking about the subtle signs are the hallmark of every campaign ever run.

I’ve been through this before. Never for a presidential candidate but there are a couple of gubernatorial campaigns where I’ve been in on the ground floor. And the path toward announcement is the same, no matter where you are.

It’s almost like there’s a handbook or a checklist of stuff you have to do, and each item you check off moves you one step closer to being a real candidate without the "speculation" or "exploration" tag hanging around your neck.

And make no mistake about it. Our governor wants to be president. And he’s doing all the stuff he needs to do to, well, to be a real presidential candidate.

Here are the top six signs that Walker is, indeed, running for president, unofficially:

1. Somebody the Walker campaign hired decided that the governor needed a clothing makeover. So now we only see Walker in black slacks, a blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a red tie. Every time you see him dashing around a stage in Iowa he’s wearing the same thing. Obviously the advice he’s getting is that by looking like an active, informal young man he will look differently than say, Chris Christie. Only problem left is that Walker should undo his tie. Rolled up sleeves looks informal but when you can’t figure out to untie your tie, you look conflicted.

2. He's written a book! It hardly matters what the book is about because nobody is going to read it anyhow. I sat in on early discussions of a friend who was running for governor in a northeast state. Item on on the bucket list was "write a book." Walker has a book called "Unintimidated: A Governor’s Story and a Nation’s Challenge." It was written with (by?) Marc Thiessen, a veteran conservative political operator. He will probably be well behind on the best-seller’s list with Mike Huckabee’s "God, Guns, Grits and Gravy." But it’s a book.

3. He got himself a PAC and gave it a catchy name. For Walker it’s "Our American Revival," but the field is pretty crowded. Ted Cruz has "Jobs, Growth and Freedom," Marco Rubio has "Reclaim America" while Rand Paul has "Reinventing a New Direction." Huckabee has "Huck Pac" while Rick Perry has "Rick Pac" while Rick Santorum has "America’s Foundation."  

4. Hired guys nobody in Wisconsin has ever heard of. Last week the news media in New Hampshire was beside itself with the news that Walker had hired someone named Andy Leach who is the major Republican operative in New Hampshire. His PAC has already signed up a bunch of people from Iowa. None of them are moving to Wisconsin.

5. Leased space. Walker’s PAC has leased space in a suburban Des Moines strip mall. The space served at one time as the war room for Michelle Bachman’s presidential campaign. Enough said.

6. Won't get pinned down too early. Does Walker believe in evolution? Should it be taught in schools? Who cares? The question didn’t even come up until Walker was in England (Walker in England?) but proving that he is one very smart politician, Walker won’t even get into the debate. He’s pretending that there isn’t really any debate, and he may just be right.

That’s the pathway. But, we are not there yet. We have a bunch of other steps to take.

Just wait until Walker has his picture taken eating dripping ears of Iowa corn at the state fair this summer. Then it’s a lock.