I don't have a dog in this fight, but...

[Lamplighter]

Regardless of the pundits' expectations about Gingrich getting the GOP nomination,
why does his personal life have such a bad reputation ?

from Wikipedia:

Gingrich has been married three times.
In 1962 he married Jackie Battley, his former high school geometry teacher, he was 19 and she was 26,
In the spring of 1980, Gingrich left Battley after having an affair with Marianne Ginther.

Six months after the divorce from Battley was final, Gingrich wed Marianne Ginther in 1981

In the mid-1990s, Gingrich began an affair with congressional staffer Callista Bisek, who is 23 years his junior.
In 2000, Gingrich married Bisek shortly after his divorce from second wife Ginther.

In 1984 his first wife, told the Washington Post that the divorce was a "complete surprise" to her.
According to Battley, in September 1980 Gingrich and their children visited her
while she was in the hospital, recovering from surgery, and Gingrich
wanted to discuss the terms of their divorce.
Gingrich has disputed that account.<snip>

Gingrich became a leader of the Republican investigation of President Clinton
for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with his [Clinton's] affairs.
Gingrich regularly attacked President Bill Clinton for his immorality,
pointing to "a level of disrespect and decadence that should appall every American."

It was later revealed that, during this period, Gingrich himself was having sex with a congressional aide in her 20s.
Gingrich and Bisek had continued their affair thoughout the Lewinsky scandal,
This is one hypocrisy that has followed him since.

And besides all that:

Gingrich has an exquisite talent for speaking with words his audience needs/wants to hear,
even when he presents one of the most outrageous excuses for adultery in American politics.
It was his patriotism that made him do it.


CNN.com
In a 2011 interview with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network
Gingrich addressed his past infidelities by saying:

There’s no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country,
that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate.
And what I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong,
I wasn’t trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing them.

I found that I felt compelled to seek God’s forgiveness.
Not God’s understanding, but God’s forgiveness. I do believe in a forgiving God.
And I think most people, deep down in their hearts hope there’s a forgiving God.

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