Newt Gingrich wanted to add a second woman to his marriage and asked then-wife Marianne to allow it. They divorced and Gingrich went on to marry the "other woman," current wife Callista.
Marianne Gingrich was interviewed by ABC News and it will be aired later today on "Nightline", a mere two days prior to the GOP faithful go to the polls in the South Carolina primary.
Newt Gingrich got good news as well as that piece of bad news today. Gov. Rick Perry dropped out of the presidential race, throwing his support to Gingrich. Perry had been encouraged to do so, reportedly to aid Newt's chances of overtaking Mitt Romney.
Gingrich remains in the contest along with Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Romney and will no doubt be on the offensive about his ex-wife's tale and the timing of it all.
Yesterday, Mitt Romney surrogates from the GOP questioned Newt's stability and his penchant for creating chaos in the party, a charge that will be added to the description of the candidate given by ex-wife Marianne.
Voters already know about Newt Gingrich's proclivity to stray in his marriages and ultimately marry his mistress. They also are aware of one of his ex-wives being sick with cancer during one of his messy retreats from marriage vows.
What Marianne Gingrich adds to the body of knowledge is more detail to the situation. He was no longer sneaking around with Callista, now his third wife. He was offering Marianne a way to remain married to him.
From the ABC interview: "I said to him, Newt we've been married a long time. He said, 'Yes but you want me all to yourself. Callista doesn't care what I do.'" Marianne Gingrich says she refused the offer.
The concept of falling in love with another while married is no longer shocking to the conscience of a majority of voters. Voters support candidates who are divorced and remarried.
To vote for Newt Gingrich one has to be at peace with him having repeated the pattern and from his position in the polls, a fair conclusion is that many are able to do that.
The Marianne Gingrich bombshell news adds context by portraying a husband who was willing to make an arrangement that may not be as easy to digest --- a marriage in which two parties share one in private while in public, the legally married duo keep up appearances after making a calculated decision.
When the one asking for the arrangement is a self-styled conservative politician who led his party in Congress it may result in voters pausing for a moment to digest the news.
Only the GOP primary voters will know for certain how they feel about the latest dirt kicked up in a nasty campaign. It's possible that Gingrich's reaction to Marianne's interview will be a factor ---- until then there is only speculation.
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