Gingrich had affair during Clinton probe

AP on Yahoo ^ | 3/8/07 | Ben Evans - ap

[JCEccles]

Carter was an abominaiton for different reasons.

[petitfour]

I gotta wonder about when Newt's first romance/marriage began. He married his high school geometry teacher.

[MHGinTN]

In fidelity is hypocrisy if the man is a Christian.

[July 4th]

This has been public knowledge for quite some time; I guess this is just the first time it's been confirmed.

[upsdriver]

"It seems to me that most folks who are against Rudy are motivated largely by his political positions. His private life is just fuel to the fire. "

"Everyone knows that Newt was a cad as well in his private life, but politically? he was a conservative rock."


Agree with your first statement. But of his marriages, I don't know that he was as bad as everyone says. Just maybe his ex-wives were real bitches. It does happen.

[KoRn]

I'm well aware that Clinton committed perjury regarding his extramarital affair and that was the reason for his impeachment. Having said that, Newt was doing the same thing while going after Clinton. The only difference between them is Newt didn't lie under oath. It just doesn't look good.

"your degenerate ex-president"

"You've already forgotten your demigod"

As for those two delusional statements.....

[ellery]

Since Newt's mistriss was a Republican House staffer some 20 years younger than he was...

Was the woman that he had an affair with someone who worked for him...

Yes.

...and was he sexually harassing her...

Unlikely.

...or giving preference to her as a subordinate employee and excluding other employees from the same special treatment and favors?

Very likely.

And you might also ask did he carry on the affair while at work, in his office?

Likely.

So, was Gingrich affair with a subordinate, a much younger subordinate at that.

Yes.

Let me make it clear that my biggest concern with this is that Newt's extremely reckless and self-indulgent behavior gave powerful ammunition to the "everyone does it" crowd, and helped the 'toon slide. And that was very damaging for our country.

[Little Ray]

One more time: It was not about sex or infidelity, it was about perjury.

That said, Newt needs to forget about presidential ambitions.

[Little Ray]

Yes. We will.

[upsdriver]

Why?

[incredulous joe]

"Scratch that campaign."

I dunno.

If Hilary is the Democratic nominee, I ain't exactly sure that the issue would come up,...in polite conversation anyways.

I'd guess the former president's behavior offers Newt a great deal of "prophylactic" cover on the issue.

[LowOiL]

I'm sure those who castigate Rudy for his marital issues will come down just as hard on Newt.

Yep, this one will... As much as I love Gingrich in his conservative books on conservative subjects... I will not call a lump of coal a diamond.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"Did he lie about it?"

Isn't that the technical definition of an extramarital affair?

[johnthebaptistmoore]

I'm shocked! Shocked that the mainstream media chooses to attack Newt's negative personal baggage this early on in the '08 Presidential race!!! They are afraid of Newt's present poll numbers.

[ZULU]

Clinton screwed eveything in sight - including women who didn't want any part of it. I don't think a female dog or horse was safe around him.

The Dems and the usual RINO suspects didn't think anything of it. As a matter of fact, people like Orrin Hatch wouldn't even TOUCH the Juanita Broderick incident.

What Gingrich did was foolish and wrong, but at least he hasn't been married three times.

[RunningWolf]

The latent horn dog in me agrees. And there are plenty of gorgeous women who throw themselves at them.

I guess that was one thing puzzling about BJ, there had to be any number of hot tv journalist's who would have jumped out of their clothes for him, and he went for Monica.

[oosamon]

Not so sure about that. Although his behavior was indefensibly wrong, he's taken responsibility for it. More than that: he's admitted that his was a moral/spiritual failure. Sounds like a penitent heart to me. Most Americans, even many of us who call ourselves conservative Christians, are quick to forgive under such circumstances.

I'm not sure yet whether I'd vote for him, but I know I want Newt running. For him to disclose this embarrassing info on Dobson's show suggests that he's getting serious about campaigning. Doing it before he jumps in shows some savvy, too.

[RockinRight]

This isn't news. I knew this for years and thought most Freepers did too.

[Dick Holmes]

While I would prefer for politicians to be faithful, bear in mind, the worst President in our lifetime, Jimmy Carter, is a paragon of virtue in that area.

Nixon likewise, and he was the disaster that led to Carter.

[Rembrandt_fan]

The article read, "Gingrich remains wildly popular among many conservatives."

Not this conservative, and not because he has had moral lapses or demonstrated bad judgment in his personal life. Who hasn't?

It was the Air Force One incident when Clinton was President that made me dismissive of Newt Gingrich as presidential material. It seems Bill didn't invite Gingrich to the front of the aircraft, where the bigwigs were gathered. It was an intentional slight, of course, and Clinton was petty for doing it. Clinton was simply being Clinton. Gingrich's petulant, childish reaction, on the other hand, now that was disquieting. Grownups with character know to take that kind of thing in stride. You get treated badly by someone? Show nothing in your face or manner, keep your peace and move on. You tend your own garden, so to speak, and let the other guy deal with the weeds and the bramble.

Gingrich hasn't got the stuff. The guy's thin-skinned and emotionally fragile, even more so than McCain. He might pull off a darkhorse win in the primaries, but he'll crack wide open under the pressure of the campaign and be beaten like the child he is by about anyone the Dems run against him in the general election.