I watched with interest the GOP debate in North Charleston on Thursday to see if the candidates would give South Carolina voters anything new before we go to the poles on Saturday. No one should have been surprised, least of all Newt Gingrich, that CNN moderator John King opened the debate with a question about Gingrich’s ex-wife and her claims of his request for an “open marriage” when she discovered his extramarital affair.
Gingrich’s response, which gained substantial approval from the live audience, was to deny the allegations and attack King for opening a presidential debate with such an appalling question. Gingrich continued to censure CNN and the “elite” media, calling their behavior despicable and alleging they are protecting President Barack Obama.
I watched the debate with my parents and friends and we all agree the question had nothing to do with the real issues South Carolinas are facing. Voters in South Carolina who are begging for jobs, who are homeless or cannot afford to pay for their medicine could care less if Gingrich is man enough to handle two women at one time.
What voters in South Carolina wanted to hear is how Gingrich and the other GOP candidates is going to stimulate the economy, provide more jobs, fix the health care system, educate our children better, protect our boarders and deal with the future of Social Security. We disagreed with Gingrich’s diatribe against the “elite” media for one simple reason — the GOP promotes family values.
The GOP cannot have it both ways when coming into the “Bible Belt” — you cannot hold yourself up as an example of family values and expect questions about your personal life to be off limits. Personally, I thought the question did not belong in a presidential debate but I do think the question was one that had to be asked and responded to because of the GOP’s religious platform.
Railing against the Democrats on issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion and prayer in schools while slamming the “elite” media for asking a question about personal values is hypocritical.
Gingrich may have received a standing ovation for his comments; however, it would be nice to see the GOP candidates become that passionate about the deficit, healthcare and education.