David Corn has some good stuff on this "family values" candidate-to-be.
Gingrich has tried to fuel speculation that he may run for president in 2008. It's good for book sales. But can a fellow who left his first wife when she had cancer and who then engaged in an adulterous affair while he was Speaker of the House really compete in the GOP primaries? What about those so-called values voters?
But it's even worse than that. In my routine, I got an easy laugh by poking fun at Gingrich for wanting to post the Ten Commandments in government buildings while forgetting about Ol' Number 7 in his own life. I then decided not to do a follow-up joke on Gingrich I had written, which was sharper. In the post below, I reveal that particular gag. It was based on a not widely-known piece of Newt trivia: not only did he leave wife number-one when she was ill; he did the same with wife number-two. Few people seem to realize that when Gingrich dumped Marianne, his second wife, on Mother's Day in 1999 (half a year after he was forced to resign as Speaker), she was in medical trouble. Eight months earlier, Marianne had been diagnosed with a neurological disorder that could lead to multiple sclerosis. The New York Post's Brian Blomquist reported this in July 2000.But the tidbit seems not to have become part of the Gingrich legend. Imagine the question, though, that could be put to Gingrich as a presidential candidate: You ended your first marriage when your wife had cancer, you divorced your second wife after she was diagnosed with a neurological disorder, can you please tell us what this says about your character and your respect for family values? Do you believe there is a need for an Eleventh Commandment: Thou shall not leave your wife when she is really sick?
