Newt Gingrich says his "not appropriate" behavior tied to his passion for America

Former House speaker and likely GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, who has been married three times and has acknowledged an extramarital affair, said in an interview this week that his past indiscretions were driven in part by "how passionately I felt about this country."

"There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and that things happened in my life that were not appropriate," Gingrich told CBN News Chief Political Correspondent David Brody. "And what I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong, I wasn't trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing it. I found that I felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness."

Gingrich, whose personal history could hamper his efforts to win over social conservatives in a GOP primary, converted to Catholicism in March, 2009. In the interview, he went on to say that he believes "in a forgiving God."

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., speaks as his wife Callista looks on during a meeting with Gov. Nathan Deal in the Governor's office Thursday March 3, 2011 in Atlanta.

/ AP Photo/John Bazemore

"Somebody once said that when we're young, we seek justice, but as we get older, we seek mercy," he said. "There's something to that, I think."

Gingrich has admitted he conducted an extramarital affair at the same time he was one of the GOP's most vocal critics of then-President Clinton for his involvement with Monica Lewinsky. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards," he said in 2007. "There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards." Gingrich said at the time there was a difference between his conduct and Mr. Clinton's because Mr. Clinton had perjured himself.

Gingrich is now married to the woman with whom he had that affair, Callista Gingrich, a former congressional aide 20 years his junior. He divorced his first wife, Jackie Battley, in 1981; according to Battley and others, Gingrich discussed the divorce terms while she was in the hospital recovering following cancer surgery. His second wife, Marianne Gingrich, says Gingrich asked her to marry him before he divorced Battley.

In the CBN interview, when asked what makes a great president, Gingrich said in part: "You want to be able to look into them and understand, do they share my values?" He also said "our Judeo-Christian civilization is under attack" from "secular, atheist elitism."

[johnmarc1]

Those with their cute repuplican bashing; c'mon thats all ya got?
Personaly I agree with neither party,I think both the GOP and the Democratic partys are infested by corprate lackys,prehaps there should be term limits for senators and representives?

[AntiqueButtons]

Please note that is people like Newt whom the Christian community point to as a good, God-fearing, Christian man who upholds "family values"--by which they mean, outdated Bible values in which the man is in charge of the woman and basically owns her the way he would a camel or a car (depending on the society you live in). It is this master-servant, dominant-submissive ideal that they wish to uphold--NOT an equal relationship involving kindness and mutual respect. Newt is against gay marriage, which they see as a threat to those ancient, primitive "values," because in such a marriage you can't have one member being given away, like a piece of property exchanging hands. (We still see this idea enforced in the custom of the father giving away the bride to her husband.)

Now, when a wife cheats on her husband, she is called a ****, and promiscuous, among other unkind names. But when the man does it, that's okay, because he's just doing his duty by spreading his seed around for the good of the country. This is another primitive attitude left over from ancient times, when men could have multiple wives and concubines. The Bible has nothing negative to say about this practice; in fact, it was condoned and encouraged by the God of the Hebrews, who is now the God of the Christians, of which Newt is a proud member. Does America really need these kinds of "family values?" I think not.

[CoasterPro]

So there you have it folks. Lie, cheat, steal and set your inhibitions free. As long as you ask God's forgiveness you're good to go.

Newt says, "our Judeo-Christian civilization is under attack (from) secular, atheist elitism."

No it isn't, Newt. It's under attack from hypocrites like you.

[ksholm]

Palin should be in charge of the Red Cross. She can see Japan from her front yard.

[ksholm]

Lie back and think of America because you know I love to ---- America.
From Wisconsin to DC, the mindset of the GOP rose to the top of the pond.

[trueblueusa]

Newt is a Hypocrite ,RIGHT ?
Newt is a Bigot, RIGHT ?
Newt IS a Typical Republiklan,YES !!!

Newt-Sarah ~~~~~THE Dream Team ! The Party of True Comedy !!!
And in times like this,We can use a Fantastic Laugh,..Or a Gaffe,Anyway you cut it,The Klan is Short on good candidates,...Which brings us to Mitch Daniels,..NO Personality & Complete with " The Short Guy Syndrome ",..But,who else does the Greedy Oil Party have ?

[brian_norwood]

Speaking of Sarah Palin, where has the Wasilla Hillbilly been? Haven't heard an amazingly stupid comment from her in weeks.

[wtexun]

B.S.

[strattonhall]

Infuriating and disgusting is right. The man has such a huge ego, he actually believes the swill he is spewing. Go back under your rock, Newt.

[formrusmcsgt]

Newt's too sharp to belive his own drivel.

But the base isn't, which is what he's banking on.....

[imnho]

It looks a little like Newt is detached from reality. People who are passionate about ther country don't do the things he has done. Instead of looking for common ground and resonable compromise, he has declared war on everyone who disagrees with him. That is not patriotic.It is Socialpathic.

He is also a big hipocritic. He preaches family values while having multipule affairs

[RobAla]

I think the behavior had more to do with another type of "passion". Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton are exactly the same, except that they come in different political flavors. Both are extremely intelligent, are political masters, and cheat on their wives.