Big deal. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has a girlfriend.
Suddenly, we’re supposed to believe, the nation cares about such
things. Now the press has an obligation to expose the intimate details
of public officials’ “private lives.”
Personally, I couldn’t give a darn.
After all, Gingrich is the ex-speaker, not the current
speaker. There are no allegations he raped anyone. I guess about the
worst thing you could say is that he was a no-good louse of a husband.
I sympathize with the two Mrs. Gingriches. But is this really a
matter of national interest, at this point?
And just so there is no mistake, I quickly point out that I was one
of the first pundits (boy, do I hate that word) in the nation to call
for Gingrich’s resignation as speaker. I did this not because he was an
unfaithful, no-good loser of a husband, but because he was unfaithful to
the principles upon which he was elected and was a no-good loser of a
speaker (and even though he graciously endorsed my last book).
In other words, I’m not the one with the double-standards here.
Gingrich has a long way to go in the moral turpitude area before he can
ever be compared with the current occupant of the White House. And that,
I suspect, is why there is so much fascination with this story on cable
TV news shows and in the media centers of Washington, New York and Los
Angeles.
This is not a Gennifer Flowers’ story. This is not a Juanita
Broaddrick story. This is not even a Monica Lewinsky story.
Everyone in Washington knew that Gingrich was compromised by a
relationship before he resigned. This is not news, folks. This is not
investigative reporting. This is spin. This is yet another effort to
show you that Clinton is not as bad as you think.
I’ve got news for you. He’s worse than you think. And the fact that
Gingrich is now being hounded in his “private life” long after resigning
from public office because he has sinned is just further evidence of how
bad — how evil — the Clinton political-media spin machine is.
Let me make this even clearer: I don’t like Gingrich. I never did. I
thought he was a lousy speaker of the House. I considered him a
self-serving opportunist with a moistened finger in the wind. I knew he
was easily susceptible to corruption and temptation. But, as far as I
can tell, he is not a criminal. He is not a master deceiver. He is not
the embodiment of evil. And, most of all, he is no longer a government
official.
So, what’s the point of reporting that he has been romantically
linked with a young congressional aide? Who cares?
Gingrich may have made some poor personal choices. It appears he did
— even while serving in office. But, by resigning, he did the right
thing. He didn’t drag the rest of the rest of the nation into the gutter
and through the mud with him. He quit.
Now he is in the process of divorce proceedings. He has separated
from his wife, Marianne. And he is courting a woman 23 years his junior.
It’s not good news, but it certainly isn’t front-page news, either.
True, it shows Gingrich was compromised during the beginning stages
of the impeachment hearings. So was his successor. I suspect many other
members of the House and Senate were, too. There’s no doubt in my mind
that many were blackmailed. That’s how Clinton plays politics. He plays
hardball.
But let’s not compare apples and oranges. Gingrich didn’t lie about
his affair to the American people. He didn’t perjure himself over it to
save his butt in a civil sexual harassment case. He didn’t victimize
dozens of other women. He didn’t rape anyone. He didn’t expose himself
to women and prey upon them in the most degrading, offensive and abusive
ways. He didn’t leave a wake of harassment and intimidation to cover his
tracks. He didn’t systematically abuse his power and use the government
to target his political enemies. And, most of all, he didn’t sell out
his country to a hostile foreign power.
Clinton did all of those things and a lot more. And the same people
who are reporting Gingrich’s offense didn’t care and told us we
shouldn’t care.
Go figure.
