Colorado Springs- Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999, appeared Wednesday on Dr. James Dobson’s radio show, Focus on the Family, to discuss his new book, called Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation’s History and Future. The radio show will air the details of Newt’s book discussion, along with his interview with Dobson, both this Thursday and Friday.
While the main reason for Newt’s appearance on Focus on the Family was to discuss his newest book, pundits claim that there is a second, and bigger, reason: the 2008 presidential race. In a possible effort to win the conservative Christian vote, Newt will be publicly confessing to some “moral failings”, telling Dobson that he has “gotten on his knees and sought God’s forgiveness”. The “moral failings” are more than likely a reference to Newt’s personal life, which includes two divorces and two affairs, along with his current, and third, marriage to a former Congressional House aide who is 23 years his junior (and also one of the women with whom he was having an extramarital affair).
Newt’s decision to do a public confession of past moral failings may be due to the recent moral failing fallout of another presidential hopeful: former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. Married three times now, Giuliani has engendered the doubts of evangelical Christians, not only because of his numerous marriages, but also because of the circumstances surrounding his most recent divorce from second wife Donna Hanover. Richard Land, head of public policy for the Southern Baptist Convention, called Giuliani’s split from Hanover “a divorce on steroids.” Citing that Giuliani showed a lack of character during his second marriage and divorce, openly dating the woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair, Land stated that the former mayor “is going to be an awfully hard sell, even if he weren’t pro-choice and pro-gun control.”
On the other hand, Land notes that, while Republican presidential candidate John McCain has been married twice, the Arizona senator has at least acknowledged his part in the failure of his first marriage.
Perhaps Newt Gingrich has taken notice of this fact, and is attempting to make amends for past mistakes with the Dobson interview. If he can get past his “moral failings”, Newt may even rise to presidential candidacy, having already distinguished himself as the architect of the “Contract with America” manifesto, which played a critical role in the 1994 Congressional elections, helping to overturn 40 years of Democratic power in the House. Polls show that Newt is a popular choice for the Republican nomination, trailing behind only Giuliani and McCain.
However, Newt has stated that “I’m not going to think about the presidential campaign until the 30th of September.”
Sources:
Conservatives Laud Gingrich At Meeting http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/04/ap/politics/main2534217.shtml
And I’m Also Really Sorry For Not Letting You Know Sooner How Sorry I Am
http://www.talk.newsweek.com/politics/default.asp?item=518414
Rediscovering Our Nation’s Spiritual Heritage http://listen.family.org/daily/A000000396.cfm
Giuliani’s Divorce Worries Evangelicals http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2932471
