The Media Made Me Do It

In the Garden of Eden, when Satan tempted Adam and Eve, remember what Adam said after he ate the fruit? Eve made me do it—and it’s sort of Your fault, too, for giving me that woman. Well, Adam may have been the first to try to blame someone else for his actions, but he certainly wasn’t the last. We saw it again last night.

Newt Gingrich is a master at spinning negative attention from himself and putting it back onto someone else.

So, when CNN asked Gingrich about his open-marriage request and affair with Callista, Newt went into a tirade. Not about the corrupt morals of government officials, not about the devastating pain and anguish such behavior causes to families and society. No, he blew up over how the “Destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the media makes it hard for decent people to run for office.”

Hold on. I assume he is lumping himself into the “decent people” category. But what about the “destructive, vicious, negative nature” of his behavior and its “destructive, vicious, negative” effects on his family?

And he thinks ABC’s actions are “despicable.” Do a kettle and a pot come to mind here?

But he topped all that when he blasted the moderator for choosing to start the debate with such a question and what a horrible a beginning it was. “Don’t try to blame somebody else,” Newt warned.

Wow. Here it goes, stating the obvious, but Newt, YOU are the one who CHOSE to lie. YOU chose to deceive, and cheat with your wife. YOU. Don’t try to blame somebody else.

Here’s the really ironic thing about Gingrich complaining that the media brings all this up again right before a big vote—he did the exact same thing.

Here’s a headline from a Washington Post article dated Oct. 30, 1998: “Gingrich Orchestrated GOP Ads Recalling Clinton-Lewinsky Affair.” This multimillion dollar ad campaign was devised by Newt Gingrich. The ads revived the White House scandal with President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. The ads were about Clinton lying and denying the affair. And—I like this one—one had two mothers discussing “What did you tell your kids?” Guess when these ads aired—that’s right, just a few days before election day.

Do I even need to point out the hypocrisy of Newt leading the charge against Bill Clinton while he himself was having an affair with a Congressional aide?

But, to be fair, in an interview with James Dobson Newt explain he was moving forward with action against Bill Clinton, not because of infidelity, but because, “You cannot accept…perjury in highest officials.” I think what he’s saying here is that it’s ok to cheat and lie, as long as you don’t get caught doing so in front of a sitting federal judge.

Remembering back to Newt’s ads against Clinton has made me do some thinking. Now I ask myself, if Newt and Callista get into the White House, what am I going to tell my kids?