Sex, Lies, and CNN - A Chilling Exposé

            Now that I grabbed your attention with the surprisingly apt title, take a look at this video starting at 2:15.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wwf7UFYQnM

            This is from Republican Debate in South Carolina on Wednesday. While I usually enjoy making jokes at Newt Gingrich’s portly expense, I must refrain in the interest of getting an opinion on the exchange that occurred between Newt and the moderator, John King. So if you watch the video, you observe that the first question John asks is a question about Newt Gingrich’s personal affairs involving his ex-wife. Newt then goes on a tirade about the nerve of CNN, the liberal media ruins everything, yadda yadda yadda. All bias aside, however, which party is being more truly “civic?” Consider their angles.

Essentially, John is questioning whether Newt ever asked his (then) wife if they could try spicing things up with other partners while keeping their marriage. This is a pretty saucy question, and quite a stab to take at Newt as the first question of the night. Sure, I guess it could tie to Newt’s personal integrity if you really care about the sex lives of old white men, but as the FIRST QUESTION? At the very least, the timing of the question isn’t exactly gracious, but it is up to the listener to research and decide if the question itself is a legitimate one.

Newt is on the receiving end here, and it is one of those moments where you wish you had a readout on his heart rate as the question was being asked. Immediately, Newt is up in arms, jiggling on and on about anything but the answer to the question. Newt does eventually decide that answering the question is a good idea, but not after a full two minutes of Pathos-saturated speech against the liberal-media that REALLY appealed to the audience. So yes, I understand why Newt would be upset that John didn’t ask him about his new tie first, but notice he waited until his audience was good and fired up before he actually answered the question.

So what’s the deal? Is John King moderating or questioning unfairly? Is Newt being avoidant and slick? Is it both, neither, or am I missing something? Does Ron Paul still exist? I don’t know. What I do know is that Newt Gingrich looks like a dollop of sour cream with eyebrows. Beyond that though, I would like input from someone else before I formulate my own opinions on the matter.