Edwards vs Gingrich: Does Adultery End Political Ambition?

Newt Gingrich was once the leader of the Republican right in Congresss. He was voted to lead the conservatives, despite his adulterous past. John Edwards indiscretions are reported the same. Does adultery end political ambition?

The former leader of the conservative movement in Congress as Speaker of the House created the motto not "the change you can believe in" but one that declared a contract with America. Gingrich espoused a values-oriented theme, emphasizing marriage, family and good, clean American values. He helped lead the charge against Bill Clinton, pushing for the former President's impeachment. Yet he admitted to affairs no less than John Edwards. Both had affairs while their wives had cancer and both have had political ambitions. Gingrich' however, remains a public figure, reportedly declaring he might run for President, perhaps in 2012, as CNN reported last year. But what was the Gingrich story and how might it compare with John Edwards, who is vilified everywhere for committing adultery with a member of his staff while advertising himself and his family as the model for good family values? Edwards has been married once to Elizabeth with one reported affair. Gingrich, on the other hand, has been married three times with documented affairs during the first two marriages, both ending in divorce. A free-lance writer, Steve Benen, examined what he wrote was Gingrich's adulterous past in an article entitled "High Infidelity." In it he points out how the discretion given to sexual follies isn't present today when adultery is front page news. The political atmosphere for Gingrich was not the same as it is for Edwards, now when sexual issues are high profile news in the values-based political atmosphere that Gingrich himself helped create. What Benen writes, which is supported by facts from other sources, is that Gingrich , who ran for a Congressional seat in 1978 on the slogan, "Let Our Family Represent Your Family" at the time was reportedly having an affair with a woman by the name of Anne Manning while he was married to Jackie Battley as Salon.com relates. . Manning later told Vanity Fair's Gail Sheehy, "We had oral sex. He prefers that modus operandi because then he can say, 'I never slept with her.'" Subsequently Gingrich was divorced from his first wife in 1981, after reportedly getting his wife to agree to the terms while she was recovering from cancer surgery. In 1999, he was involved with a congressional aide even as he led the impeachment proceedings against then President Clinton. He later divorced his second wife and married the Congressional aide, Callista Bistek. His skeleton closet is here, written by someone who has gathered some facts.. Gingrich' political detractors wrote about his infidelities which were said to be part of a behavior that focused all attention on himself. As quoted from Frontline on About.com, "Looking back on everything, Newt was always focused on his agenda," recalls Dot Crews, Newt's campaign scheduler through the 70s. "It was not about political philosophy with Newt --never. If the country today were to move to the left, Newt would sense it before it started happening and lead the way." But Gingrich has been able to continue his political activities, invited by the press to speak on political issues regarding the Democrats, in spite of his admitted adulterous past. As an example, his opinions were reported on MSNBC about national security as this. The United States is "living on the edge of catastrophe" as it relates to national security. In a tone that appeared to belie the urgency of his message, Gingrich named a laundry list of threats to worry about: electromagnetic pulse attacks, biological weapons, cyber attacks (what he calls weapons of mass disruption), unprotected assets in outer space, and dangers unknown. Gingrich mostly blamed budget issues for the security risks Will Edwards stay active in politics like Gingrich? Edwards has now gone to Haiti to help the earthquake victims and is quoted by CBS News as saying that he had arrived with a group of 25 to 30 people, including doctors, medicine and other supplies, to "help in whatever way we can." Could this be his road to redemption?