Newt Gingrich: Jackass

Is there a bigger jackass in politics today than Newt Gingrich? I mean, apart from every other politician.
He rose to fame as the brains behind the Republican take-over of the US congress in 1994. He was subsequently elected Speaker of the House and made Time Magazine's Man of the Year. It's all downhill from there. After a government shutdown, ethics charges and leading the charge to impeach Clinton, all the while having an affair himself, he resigned from the house altogether in 1998.

Okay, this is all well and good (and lord knows I left out some of the nastier stuff about his personal life, which can be found elsewhere), although it's nothing new. However, these recent comments (via Political Wire) about the conflicts in the Middle East are new:

Gingrich said in the coming days he plans to speak out publicly, and to the administration, about the need to recognize that America is in World War III.
...
"This is World War III," Gingrich said. And once that's accepted, he said calls for restraint would fall away...
...
There is a public relations value, too. Gingrich said that public opinion can change "the minute you use the language" of World War III. The message then, he said, is "'OK, if we're in the third world war, which side do you think should win?"

My God. People are dying left and right, and this guy's worrying about the PR value? How brazenly cynical a human being must one be to think of death and destruction in those terms? Can such a person even qualify as a human being? I'm by no means a naïve person and I'm well aware that politics is a dirty business, but this really takes the cake.
So, thought of the day: Newt Gingrich is a jackass.

I Do Solemnly Swear that I Will Unfaithfully Execute the Office of President...

Over at Washington Monthly, Steve Brennan writes this interesting article: High Infidelity - What if three admitted adulterers run for president and no one cares?. The three adulterers referred to in the title are Newt Gingrich, John McCain and Rudy Guiliani (the later two being considered the frontrunners for the Republican nomination). The article is well worth a read, particularly if you recall all the hoopla surrounding Bill Clinton's penis. I love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning.
Personally I'm of the opinion that a person's sexual escapades are quite irrelevant with regards to a person's ability to serve in higher office (assuming said sexual escapades are within the boundaries of the law, of course). Don't get me wrong; if you cheat on your wife, you're a douche bag. Yeah, that means you too, Bill.
But while it may cost you your marriage, it shouldn't cost you your job.