I personally didn’t think the question was out of line mainly because it was the pink elephant in the room and it was better for Newt to have the opportunity to address it at the beginning of the debate.
Newt obviously expected the question and he hit it out of the park.
The question itself was not out of line. Making it the very first question, something that might set the tone for the whole debate, was. This was a debate of presidential candidates. The first question should be something that is relevant to everybody inside and outside the debate room, e.g., the economy, national defense, and so on. Not what an ex-wife said about her marriage.
It certainly should not have been the leading question, and King should have noted that the allegation was already discredited when he mentioned it, as a matter of fairness. But neither was the case which made it unacceptable as it was presented.
Of course it had to be asked. King said he personally made the call WHEN it would be asked. Asking it first made the rest of the debate irrelevant though and the rest of the panel had to fall in line after the standing ovation for Newt. You could just see the disappointment wash over Rick, after losing what was going to be one of his big “values” issues.