Newt and Bill

It is old papers that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has not lived privately in concert with his public espousal of conservatism.

While leading the charge to impeach President Bill Clinton for lying under oath about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, Gingrich was engaged in a long-standing affair with another staffer in Congress.

If the American People are willing to consider electing a man who has fallen far short of the glorious ideal, then perhaps there is a future for other candidates who have declined to run for public office because of past failings.

The broken marriage of Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels discouraged him from launching a presidential campaign, as he had no desire to see his family's personal trials dragged through the tabloid mud. Many commentators, including this writer and George Will, had enthusiastically supported his candidacy, as were dismayed that Daniels decided not to run.

It is a well-understood legacy that moral men in private do not necessarily make them mighty men in the public sector. Former Georgia Governor and 39th President Jimmy Carter expressed regret about having lust in his heart. An open evangelical, he did not possess the capacity to deal and negotiate forcefully or effectively with a Democratic Congress throughout his woeful term in office. The Iranian hostage crisis of 1979 capped his abortive presidency, marked with indecision and derision, as the chief executive even pandered to his young daughter for an opinion on nuclear disarmament.

Warren G. Harding cut taxes and limited government, all while cheating on his wife in embarrassing letters and flagrant misconduct.l Ronald Reagan was the first divorced president to enter the office. Bill Clinton signed into law balanced budgets and welfare reform, despite his personal perversions. Other masterful statesmen, like Winston Churchill, were overweight overwrought individuals lacking in self control, yet possessed masterful control over party and country during trying times. Good leadership does not demand exceptional private conduct

Democratic governments do not need heroes; they need committed leadership willing to compromise with corrupting principles, powers, or people. If former House Speaker Newt Gingrich can persuade a sizable majority to elect him GOP nominee, then perhaps he can best Obama, seize the White House, and save this country from the outrageous encroachment of Leviathan Government in the several states and the individual taxpayer.