Posted Mar 9th 2007 10:33AM by AOL Kathleen
Filed under: President 2008, Republicans, Newt Gingrich
After years of staying quiet on the subject, Newt Gingrich now admits that he was carrying on with another woman at the same time he was leading impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton -- proceedings based on the president's actions during an investigation born out of his carrying on with another woman.
But Gingrich insists he's no hypocrite. From the AP story:
"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."
It's not news that Newt's personal life is, well, messy. He's got two divorces under his belt. The first reportedly took place while his then-wife was fighting cancer. And in the second case, Gingrich -- via his lawyers -- acknowledged an extramarital relationship (one with the woman who is his current wife).
The question is, for someone who has long run on "family values," does this admission hurt Newt's potential White House aspirations? Or is it old news at this point? And looking at the bigger picture, is there even room for Gingrich in the 2008 Republican field?
Filed under: President 2008, Republicans, Newt Gingrich
After years of staying quiet on the subject, Newt Gingrich now admits that he was carrying on with another woman at the same time he was leading impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton -- proceedings based on the president's actions during an investigation born out of his carrying on with another woman.
But Gingrich insists he's no hypocrite. From the AP story:
"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."
It's not news that Newt's personal life is, well, messy. He's got two divorces under his belt. The first reportedly took place while his then-wife was fighting cancer. And in the second case, Gingrich -- via his lawyers -- acknowledged an extramarital relationship (one with the woman who is his current wife).
The question is, for someone who has long run on "family values," does this admission hurt Newt's potential White House aspirations? Or is it old news at this point? And looking at the bigger picture, is there even room for Gingrich in the 2008 Republican field?
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