The Nation: "The Question" Had To Be Asked

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John Nichols is a writer for The Nation.

Fifteen years ago, then House Speaker Newt Gingrich was arguing that President Clinton's personal foibles were fair game for political debate, and ultimately justification for impeachment.

Now, as he seeks the Republican presidential nomination as a "moral values" candidate, Gingrich is suddenly facing charges — raised by his ex-wife — about his personal foibles. Those questions arose on the eve of the final debate before the critical South Carolina primary, in which Gingrich has surged to a top-tier position.

CNN's John King faced a basic journalistic challenge: Ask the question that's on everyone's mind, and face Gingrich's fury, or avoid it, and give Gingrich the sort of break that reporters used to provide "player" politicians. Of course, there are more important issues than Newt Gingrich's adultery. And there would have been little justification for asking "the question" if Gingrich's ex-wife had not just given an interview to ABC News in which she painted the "moral values" candidate as a heartless sleazeball who dumped a first wife with cancer and a second wife with MS.

Don't get me wrong: I would much rather wrangle over the issue of corporate personhood with Mitt Romney, or sort through the vagaries of the Austrian School of economics with Ron Paul, than learn anything more than I already know about Newt Gingrich's personal life.

And don't think that I am suggesting that King's questioning necessarily hurt Gingrich. In fact, the former speaker's media-bashing response to the indelicate inquiry probably helped Gingrich with a substantial segment of the South Carolina Republican electorate.

But Marianne Gingrich's decision to talk about how Newt dumped her, and why, forced the issue.

There was no way to avoid King correctly referred to as a "damned if do you, damned if you don't" circumstance.

"I understood that if I asked the question he was not going to be happy with it, and he was going to turn on me," King said with regard to criticism he took for asking the toughest question for Gingrich right at the start of the debate. "It was my judgment, my decision, and mine alone," said King. "If we're going to deal with it, let's deal with it up front."

So King asked the question. And then things got ugly.

JOHN KING: And just as speaker Gingrich surged into contention here in South Carolina, a direct fresh character attack... Mr. Speaker, I want to start with that this evening.

As you know, your ex-wife gave an interview to ABC News and another interview with The Washington Post. And this story has now gone viral on the internet.

In it, she says that you came to her in 1999, at a time when you were having an affair. She says you asked her, sir, to enter into an open marriage.

Would you like to take some time to respond to that?

GINGRICH: No, but I will.

(APPLAUSE)

GINGRICH: I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office. And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that.

(APPLAUSE)

KING: Is that all you want to say, sir?

GINGRICH: Let me finish.

KING: Please.

GINGRICH: Every person in here knows personal pain. Every person in here has had someone close to them go through painful things. To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary a significant question for a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine.

(APPLAUSE)

My — my two daughters — my two daughters wrote the head of ABC and made the point that it was wrong, that they should pull it, and I am frankly astounded that CNN would take trash like that and use it to open a presidential debate.

(APPLAUSE)

KING: As you noted, Mr. Speaker, this story did not come from our network. As you also know, it is a subject of conversation on the campaign. I'm not — I get your point. I take your point.

GINGRICH: John, John, it was repeated by your network. You chose to start the debate with it. Don't try to blame somebody else. You and your staff chose to start this debate with it.

(APPLAUSE)

Let me be quite clear. Let me be quite clear. The story is false. Every personal friend I have who knew us in that period said the story was false. We offered several of them to ABC to prove it was false. They weren't interested because they would like to attack any Republican. They're attacking the governor. They're attacking me. I'm sure they'll presently get around to Senator Santorum and Congressman Paul.

I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans.

(APPLAUSE)

Gingrich drew cheers from the partisan crowd at the GOP debate in North Charleston. But it's not as if the audiences at GOP debates have distinguished themselves as sound judges of character — or right and wrong.

So did King do the right thing? For the most part, yes.

Aside from a bumbling attempt to employ the old journalistic dodge of suggesting he was just asking a question about another media outlet's story — for which he took an appropriate hit from Gingrich — the CNN host handled things well.

He acted as a journalist not a softball pitcher.

King asked an unpleasant question. He got booed.

But, even if the crowd was on Gingrich's side, King's questioning revealed the extent of Gingrich's delusion.

The man who raised tough questions about Bill Clinton's shaky claim to moral authority" blamed a media personality for asking tough questions about his shaky claim to moral authority. Then Gingrich announced that he was "tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans."

Reasonable people can debate whether Obama has been "protected" by the media.

On Thursday night, however, that wasn't what Newt Gingrich was really complaining about.

What he was really complaining about was John King's refusal to protect Newt Gingrich.

There are, to be sure, more important issues on which to press these candidates: questions about corporate personhood, poverty programs and racial stereotyping. But an important part of moderating a debate, any debate, is to ask the candidates questions they do not want to answer. And, though he had to know that Newt Gingrich would go nuclear, King went ahead and asked the question.

Good. Debates are not supposed to provide candidates with forums for reciting talking points. They are supposed to make candidates squirm and, for all his bombast and bravado, Newt was squirming Thursday night.