Gingrich had affair during Clinton probe

[SLCPUNK]

By BEN EVANS, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 11 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich acknowledged he was having an extramarital affair even as he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair, he acknowledged in an interview with a conservative Christian group.

"The honest answer is yes," Gingrich, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said in an interview with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson to be aired Friday, according to a transcript provided to The Associated Press. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards."

Gingrich argued in the interview, however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity.

"The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge," the former Georgia congressman said of Clinton's 1998 House impeachment on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. "I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being, as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials."

Widely considered a mastermind of the Republican revolution that swept Congress in the 1994 elections, Gingrich remains wildly popular among many conservatives. He has repeatedly placed near the top of Republican presidential polls recently, even though he has not formed a campaign.

Gingrich has said he is waiting to see how the Republican field shapes up before deciding in the fall whether to run.

Reports of extramarital affairs have dogged him for years as a result of two messy divorces, but he has refused to discuss them publicly.

Gingrich, who frequently campaigned on family values issues, divorced his second wife, Marianne, in 2000 after his attorneys acknowledged Gingrich's relationship with his current wife, Callista Bisek, a former congressional aide more than 20 years younger than he is.

His first marriage, to his former high school geometry teacher, Jackie Battley, ended in divorce in 1981. Although Gingrich has said he doesn't remember it, Battley has said Gingrich discussed divorce terms with her while she was recuperating in the hospital from cancer surgery.

Gingrich married Marianne months after the divorce.

"There were times when I was praying and when I felt I was doing things that were wrong. But I was still doing them," he said in the interview. "I look back on those as periods of weakness and periods that I'm ... not proud of."

Gingrich's congressional career ended in 1998 when he abruptly resigned from Congress after poor showings from Republicans in elections and after being reprimanded by the House ethics panel over charges that he used tax-exempt funding to advance his political goals.

[Bodhi]

so did half of Washington...whats the point? Clintons affair didnt make him a bad leader his policies did.....

[SLCPUNK]

so did half of Washington...whats the point? Clintons affair didnt make him a bad leader his policies did.....

He's a fawkin' hypocrite, that's the point.

[Bodhi]

so did half of Washington...whats the point? Clintons affair didnt make him a bad leader his policies did.....

He's a fawkin' hypocrite, that's the point.

I agree...ever find a politician that wasn't?  haha that is pretty bad though....

[freedom78]

I just hope it makes him utterly unelectable to his base.  That might just make my day.

[Bodhi]

I just hope it makes him utterly unelectable to his base.? That might just make my day.

you dont have to worry about that...he has no shot in hell anyway...

[freedom78]

I just hope it makes him utterly unelectable to his base.  That might just make my day.

you dont have to worry about that...he has no shot in hell anyway...

He still polls pretty well among conservatives (apparently he was polling pretty well during the Clinton admin too!     sorry, couldn't resist) ...if no big name conservative fills the void, he'd be a natural to wreck havoc on the Republican primary. 

[The Dog]

I just hope it makes him utterly unelectable to his base.? That might just make my day.

you dont have to worry about that...he has no shot in hell anyway...

He still polls pretty well among conservatives (apparently he was polling pretty well during the Clinton admin too!? ?? sorry, couldn't resist) ...if no big name conservative fills the void, he'd be a natural to wreck havoc on the Republican primary.?

Agreed - what Bill Clinton is to democrats, Gingrich is to conservatives.

Didn't Ali G interview Gingrich?? I'll have to look on youtube, pretty sure it was him.

edit - yup, here it is.  hehe
http://youtube.com/watch?v=skv-wWCvGyw

[Chief]

what a tool!!!!

[Gordon Gekko]

If anyone needs a human definition of the word "hypocrite" they need look no further than at Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and world class sleaze ball. This man, while leading the GOP fascist wing's moral crusade against Bill Clinton's blow job, was fucking his secretary, twenty years younger than him, while his wife waited at home for his saintly arrival.

His extra-curricula penile activity earned him divorce, and during the divorce trial he admitted in court that he, like Clinton, had a hard time keeping his dick in his pants. One would think that his subsequent loss of office would have been the end of his political career, but like many right wing slimeballs, Newt simply continued his career as a "commentator" on Fux News. Now, following the path of the tearful Jimmy Swaggart and the contrite closet queen Reverend Haggard, Newt is confessing all to top religious fascist James Dobson, in the hopes of capturing the presidential mantle of the GOP fascist wing.

Can you believe this guy's nerve, or what?

[Danny]

Wait wait wait.  Why is this being brought up now?  I can remember the affair when it was going on.  He got a ton of crap for it back then. Seriously.  Why now?

[eddie_dean]

Whatever happened to the principles behind moveon.org's founding?  This is old news to create controversy.  Gingrich doesn't stand a chance and probably won't even run.  It's either Giuliani or McCain for the Repubs and Clinton for the Dems.

Gordon, why is it wrong for Gingrich to have resigned after his affair and remain in politics, but Clinton lied and did not resign.  It just seems when Republicans fuck up they resign while Democrats make excuses and stay in office.

[freedom78]

Whatever happened to the principles behind moveon.org's founding?  This is old news to create controversy.  Gingrich doesn't stand a chance and probably won't even run.  It's either Giuliani or McCain for the Repubs and Clinton for the Dems.

Gordon, why is it wrong for Gingrich to have resigned after his affair and remain in politics, but Clinton lied and did not resign.  It just seems when Republicans fuck up they resign while Democrats make excuses and stay in office.

Not sure what this has to do with moveon.org.  I saw this story in regular news sites a few days ago.

[eddie_dean]

Whatever happened to the principles behind moveon.org's founding? This is old news to create controversy. Gingrich doesn't stand a chance and probably won't even run. It's either Giuliani or McCain for the Repubs and Clinton for the Dems.

Gordon, why is it wrong for Gingrich to have resigned after his affair and remain in politics, but Clinton lied and did not resign. It just seems when Republicans fuck up they resign while Democrats make excuses and stay in office.

Not sure what this has to do with moveon.org. I saw this story in regular news sites a few days ago.

Moveon.org was created to "move on" past the personal and private sexual acts of Clinton and to focus on real issues.

[Danny]

Still looking for an answer as to why this is news now.

[freedom78]

Still looking for an answer as to why this is news now.

Because he's confessing to religious conservatives, in the hopes of getting all the skeletons out of his closet...so they'll vote for him.

[sisterofyu]

hes hoping to take the focus off his "real story" about how him n a donkey in mexico .....keekee

[Danny]

Quote from: Danny on Today at 11:08:04 PM
Still looking for an answer as to why this is news now.


Because he's confessing to religious conservatives, in the hopes of getting all the skeletons out of his closet...so they'll vote for him.

This is just weird.  Weird that it's a "story" and weird that he's "confessing".  Wasn't it really well known at the time.  It's just really strange to me.

[SLCPUNK]

 It just seems when Republicans fuck up they resign while Democrats make excuses and stay in office.

Riiiiiiiight.

[Krispy Kreme]

Gingrich is scum and should have been shot years  ago.
I respect  the  thread, but he  is such an ass my only feeling is that I hope his  wife  fucked him in divorce proceedings as much as he fucked the American people  with his holier  than thou  shit  for years.
I wish he dies  a slow and painful life.
Suffer, you $%#^&*%$#.