Seriously?

In one post you are telling me I have to swallow the Starr Pill because "guilty is guilty" and no mitigating considerations can be made... and in the next, I'm told that such subtle details as the dress-size of the woman in question IS a mitigating factor in determining the suitability of a candidate that cheats on his marriage and lies about it to the public.

You can't be serious... right?

I'm forced to assume you are serious... and I can't express how disappointing that is to me. So, let's look at each factor in turn...

The Weasel Factor.

By definition (yours, I might add), the level of honesty that the man in question chooses to maintain in his dealings with the public "outing" of his affair. You seem to think that Clinton failed this factor's test, but Gingrich passed. I maintain that, since only ONE of them was ever forced to "testify" publicly as to the honesty of their position, it is a mute and inapplicable factor. No one confronted Gingrich till he was out of office for more than a year. Period.

So, when you can give me an example of ANYONE (regardless of party affiliation) that has undergone equal scrutiny and still maintained an acceptable level of honesty, I'll take your "Weasel Factor" seriously.

The Nympho Nuptial Rule.

Am I wrong here? How many times has Clinton been married and/or divorced? One marriage, no divorce. Gingrich? Three marriages, two divorces. Yet you defend the man who DOESN'T stay married as the morally and ethically superior example of a statesman?

How does that work?


The Repeat Offender Rule.

Almost surreal in its twisted logic, this is a real gem. Not a serial adulterer? Do you know who you are talking about?

1961: Newt has an affair with his married high school teacher, who leaves her husband and marries Newt.

1980: Newt has an affair with another woman, and in asking his first wife for a divorce chooses to do so while she is in the hospital recovering from surgery.

1995: Newt begins an affair with Callista Bisek, a junior intern that is 23 years younger than he is. He divorces his second wife and marries Bisek in 2000. The entire scope of the Lewinsky investigation is conducted (with Gingrich at the leadership position) while this affair is going on. A clear and undeniable case of an investigation chairman desperately needing to recuse himself from the job due to a conflict of interest, if you ask me. Rumors of the affair are first leaked out in 1997 (possibly by his second wife)... but Gingrich adamantly denies any extramarital affair.

Color me crazy... but that sounds like a "series or pattern of behavior" that might just qualify as "serial" in nature. Every major relationship and/or marriage the man has had has begun AND ended in adultery... barring the current one (which hasn't ended... yet).

When it comes to finding someone that understands the meaning and weight of words like "solemn", or "vows" or "oaths"... who am I going to think has the better grasp of the concept? The man married once, or the man married three times?

And finally...

The Ugly Betty Rule.

Dude... if you run for office someday, pray this gem never gets into the light of day.

So, without repeating the awful sentiments wrapped up in this miracle of modern day chauvinism, I can assume with all clear confidence that the same logic applies to the sort of women men marry in the first place, right?

I mean, if the looks or mental states of the "adulteress" factor in, surely the same applies to the wife? That means Reagan was less-then-perfect in his choice... since Nancy was both unattractive and obsessed with pseudo-science and the occult. Gerald Ford was a bad choice... he married a drunk. We can't BLAME FDR for having an affair... Eleanor was as homely as they come, right? Let's not forget Barbara Bush... she looked like the Skipper in a bad dress.

Honestly... I asked for a rational defense of Gingrich's suitability as a Presidential hopeful, and I get this?

Read the papers... watch the news. Gingrich and his campaign are heading exactly where I expected them to head: right down the proverbial toilet. Less than 30 days into his campaign, 1/3 of his senior staff and advisers quit; he's broke; and he is already being referred to as a "distraction" by other GOP candidates. I'm confident that the GOP "base" is as aware of Gingrich's unsuitability for the candidacy as I am.