Serial A-hole

This could also be subtitled "The Wandering Eye of Newt"

I know I personally suffer from Adult-Onset Attention Deficit (AOAD), but has the Tea Party buried their heads in their rectums these days? I know it was soooooo last century when the Newtster was House Speaker, but seriously, this man got a standing O last night for calling out the moderator for daring to question his despicable, hypocritical adulterous practices.

The reason I bring up the AOAD is that I seem to remember some folks on the other side of the aisle being vilified for the same thing, and having their campaigns implode -- think Gary Hart and John Edwards as they made a run for the White House - and bringing to mind the Newtster's overseeing the impeachment of a former President for the same behavior. Why isn't the same thing happening to him? Hypocrisy is hypocrisy and knows no partisan designation, thank you very much.

Thomas Sowell of the National Review asks, "How much does Newt Gingrich's personal life matter ... when the fate of the nation hangs in the balance?" I would say that it matters as much now as it did before and during Clinton's impeachment by the House.

Jenny Sanford - you remember her, the wife of that SC Republican Governor who 'went missing on his hike of the Appalachian Trail via trysting with his mistress in South America -- told the Tribune, "The bigger question for the voting public today is, What does the candidate stand for and how likely is it he or she will follow through on those convictions?" Hmmm, let's ask Elizabeth Edwards if she agrees with that, except we can't, and let's ask the Newtster's first two wives. And of course, Jenny Sanford ended up divorcing her philandering husband ...

Did you know that the Newtster met his first wife, Jackie, when he was in high school when Jackie was his geometry teacher. She was seven years older than he was - quite scandalous back then. Newt and Jackie secretly dated until their wedding. He was 19. He divorced her when she was recovering from uterine cancer surgery. The First Baptist Church in his hometown apparently had to take up a collection to support the family he deserted. Six months after that divorce, he married the woman he'd been cheating on Jackie with, Marianne - wife #2, whom he called on Mother's Day in 1999 to say he wanted a divorce ... eight months after he found out she had MS. Did she really not see that coming? AND he asked for an annulment from the Catholic Church as well.

The Newtster acknowledged in an interview with a conservative Christian group that he was having an extramarital affair as he led the impeachment charge against President Clinton. How's that for hypocrisy? He said "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards." Dude, that kinda indicates a complete and total LACK of standards, and moral compass.

Let's recap: he leaves ex-wives 1 & 2 because they become ill - one with MS and one with cancer, leads the impeachment of a President for the same thing he was doing at the time, and wait, there's more ...

During his tenure as speaker, he was disciplined by the House of Representatives for ethics accusations, and he resigned from the House under pressure from his Republican colleagues. Yes, they would eat their young if they thought it would further their own careers, and yet Mr. Teflon lives.

Do you remember when Newtster's 'Gang of Seven' railed against what they saw as ethical lapses under Democratic control in the late 90's? Ironically, the Newtster himself got snagged in the House banking scandal when his check kiting was exposed: he had overdrafts on 22 checks, including one to the IRS for $9,463 in 1990. Yeah, let's put HIM in charge of the money.

Maybe you'll remember the government shutdown in 1995-96, when it is said that the perception was out there that Newtster got his undies in a twist when Clinton didn't invite him to sit in the front of the plane to discuss the budget during a trip to Israel for Rabin's funeral. By all means, let put a petulant child into the White House, and hope he doesn't have a temper tantrum in front of some other leader who has control of WMDs.

And then there's the one about the 84 ethics charges filed against Gingrich during his term as speaker. After extensive investigation and negotiation by the House Ethics Committee, Gingrich was sanctioned $300,000 by a 395-28 House vote. It was the first time in history a speaker was disciplined for ethical wrongdoing. The House Ethics Committee concluded that inaccurate information supplied to investigators represented "intentional or ... reckless" disregard of House rules. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? It's a little bit like the pot calling the kettle black, but ...

Some people feel that moral authority demands that elected officials be held to higher standards than ordinary citizens. I think during a campaign and subsequent holding of office, should they get there, it becomes a moral imperative. Besides, you can always make the argument about it being an issue of time management and/or distractions.

I've got the perfect campaing slogan for him, for 2012 and beyond should he have such aspirations -- The Newtster: serial asshole.

I think it's got legs.