You just did the same thing. You claim that by stating a positive fact about yourself (I have been married to the same woman for X years), you are attacking everybody who hasn’t, and are calling them “less” than you.
Well, I guess in one sense that is true — every time anybody says anything positive about themselves, I guess it’s an attack on everybody who doesn’t share that positive trait. But to claim it is out-of-bounds to say something good about yourself because it doesn’t apply to the whole world sounds a lot like the liberal mindset that you can’t have competition and grades and “judgment” because if someone wins, someone else must be a “loser”.
And with Gingrich, we aren’t talking about something that was beyond his control. It’s not like his wife just up and left him. He made a choice to break the solemn vow of marriage he previously decided on his own free will to accept. He betrayed her trust, and broke his covenant, and so she left him. That was his choice.
Does that mean he can’t be President? Of course not. It is just a measure of his character like so many other measures of character. If you found out that some guy had gotten a girl pregnant and hadn’t married her and didn’t try to be a part of that kid’s life, would that mean he couldn’t be president? Again no, it’s not a measure of presidential ability, but it might make you question his character.
Gingrich’s actual problems in this regard are from long long ago, and I wouldn’t personally be taking them into much account in making my decisions — I’m much more worried about what Gingrich has done in the past 5 years, not what happened decades ago. But each voter has his own “statute of limitations” — Certainly we judge Romney on things he said in 1994, and some here judged Perry on what he did in 1988, so why wouldn’t some people judge Gingrich on what he did long ago?
If Gingrich had married in 2008, and divorced his wife in 2010, I think it would be pretty clear that this was a problem — he made a promise, and broke it; how can we trust him to keep promises on the campaign trail which are much less personal?
At some point as you move that into the past, it becomes less of a concern — but where that happens is for each voter to decide.
I never claimed I’d been married for X years, I simply said I commend folks who do manage to have a life long marriage. I however don’t condemn someone who marriage didn’t last.
I also learned long ago not to meddle or judge based on who did the actual filings for Divorce, marriages are complicated private things that exist between 2 people and God. Whatever works for a couple so be it, but I’m not going to meddle in, or judge, their affairs.
I can personally know plenty of couples who’s marriage arrangements are far from traditional, and the pious would condemn them for their actions, yet they have been married for decades, and it seems to work for them. I know others who are some of the most pious people I know who have married only to be divorced inside of 5 years.
My critique is not that Romney has what appears to be a happy marriage, I commend him for that, my critique is, that he is trying to use that fact as though its something that has a huge significance. Obviously some will say, you’ve married 3 times your character sucks, and perhaps it does.. but if it does, I think you’d be able to find better example than someone is lousy at being married. Or, perhaps, just continues to marry the wrong people.
Romney really needs to make a compelling argument for himself, and he hasn’t, and can’t. Romney has to own RomneyCare, he did it, he fought for it, he wanted it, and someone who thinks government has the right to punish an individual for merely breathing under penalty of law is not a man who’s world view I want in the White House.