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To: Steely Tom
What baggage? Whenever Newt comes up, every third poster rants about "baggage." What baggage?
21 posted on 11/05/2011 7:27:50 AM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: hinckley buzzard; originalbuckeye
Gingrich has been married three times. In 1962, he married Jackie Battley, his former high school geometry teacher, when he was 19 years old and she was 26. In the spring of 1980, Gingrich left Battley after having an affair with Marianne Ginther. In 1984, Battley told the Washington Post that the divorce was a "complete surprise" to her. According to Battley, in September 1980, Gingrich and their children visited her while she was in the hospital, recovering from surgery, and Gingrich wanted to discuss the terms of their divorce. Gingrich has disputed that account. In 2011, their daughter, Jackie Gingrich Cushman, said that it was her mother who requested the divorce, that it happened prior to the hospital stay (which was for the removal of a benign tumor, not cancer), and that Gingrich's visit was for the purpose of bringing the couple's children to see their mother, not to discuss the divorce. Gingrich has two daughters from his first marriage. Kathy Gingrich Lubbers is president of Gingrich Communications, and Jackie Gingrich Cushman is an author, conservative columnist, and political commentator whose books include 5 Principles for a Successful Life, co-authored with Newt Gingrich.
Six months after the divorce from Battley was final, Gingrich wed Marianne Ginther in 1981. In the mid-1990s, Gingrich began an affair with House of Representatives staffer Callista Bisek, who is 23 years his junior. They continued their affair during the Lewinsky scandal, when Gingrich became a leader of the Republican investigation of President Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with his alleged affairs. In 2000, Gingrich married Bisek shortly after his divorce from second wife Ginther. He and Callista currently live in McLean, Virginia. In a 2011 interview with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network Gingrich addressed his past infidelities by saying, "There's no question at times in my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate."

Nobody's a Saint, and Wikipedia's not the best source for info, but in addition to some political doozy decisions (couch with Nancy, etc), Gingrich has made some horrible personal ones.

He fools around and divorces his first wife, then does the same with his second wife DURING THE LEWINSKY SCANDAL, and blames it on his passion for the country... WTF?? Sounds like Jesse Jackson "counselling" Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal while fathering his own love child, or John Edwards sowing his oats while his wife battles breast cancer.

Add his personal and political missteps = not trustworthy. IMHO

83 posted on 11/05/2011 8:07:06 AM PDT by DTogo (High time to bring back the Sons of Liberty !!)
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To: hinckley buzzard
What baggage?

Well, let see. He divorced wife #1 as she was recovering from uterine cancer (he had been carrying on an affair with the next wife, prior to his divorce.)

Married wife #2 6 months after divorcing, and when she was diagnosed with MS...divorced her, btw was having an affair with wife #3 prior to divorce.

Wife #3 is 23 years his junior, I don't have a problem with that. But I do think what makes him a philandering and "run from trouble" husband (i.e. illness of his wives) would make him a poor leader...he'd cave under pressure.

Talk is cheap, bravado is fun to watch, and he's doing a great job in the debates...but character is what shines through when you're President. I question the man's character.

Will I vote for him if he's nominated, of course, I'd vote for any candidate who runs against Obama.

130 posted on 11/05/2011 9:31:16 AM PDT by dawn53
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