In an Associated Press article 3/9/07 entitled "Gingrich had an affair at the time of Clinton's impeachment," Gingrich argued in an interview, with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity. "He was being impeached on perjury and obstruction of justice." He then said, "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.'"
The article then went on to say that reports of extramarital affairs have dogged Gingrich for years as a result of two messy divorces, but he has refused to discuss them publicly. This is the part I really enjoyed. "Gingrich, who frequently campaigned on family value 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."
Then, the clincher:"His first marriage to his (my caps) 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 for cancer surgery!!!(my exclamation points) Gingrich married Marianne months after the divorce."
What gets me is that despite these revelations, as someone pointed out, he'll just wait till the stink dies down and then become the poster boy for the religious and Republican right. Now, that's just wrong.