Of course, this is about ten times worse than Cain, because it’s an ex-wife, among other things.
And there are no mitigation strategies at all for Newt (or anyone speaking on behalf of Newt.)
He can’t ignore it. He can’t dismiss it. He can’t say she’s lying. He can’t say her memory is faulty. He can’t say the DNC is paying her. He can’t say Karl Rove is paying her. He can’t say she’s trying to get a book deal. All of those steps would actually make it worse.
Also apologizing for it isn’t going to work, either.