The Prince of peccadilloes

Until Herman Cain’s train hit the buffers weighed down by accusations of sexual misconduct, Newt Gingrich was widely considered the GOP’s Prince of Peccadilloes. There was a good reason why Newt, not exactly shy with words and opinions, had always been decidedly bashful about conservative family values.

He has had more wives than children, a ratio that looks particularly un-conservative in the company of such titans of reproduction and monogamy as Michele Bachmann (five children of her own, 23 foster kids, one husband) or Rick Santorum (one wife, seven kids).

Newt had famously dumped his first wife, his former geometry teacher who was seven years older than him, while she was recovering from cancer surgery and he was having an affair.  A decade or so later wife number two was supplanted by a congressional staffer who, in a wild gyration of the age gap differential, was 23 years younger than Newt and went on to become wife number three.

While Newt was going off piste he, as the Speaker of the House, was busy hounding Bill Clinton for his own liaison dangereuse with Monica Lewinsky.

Newt Gingrich, who prides himself on being a historian, has generously admitted that his conduct has “not always been perfect”. He was specifically comparing himself to Jesus Christ, who, Newt granted, was indeed perfect.

Gingrich converted to the Catholic faith in 2009 after he saw Pope Benedict on a state visit to Washington DC and was wowed by the German Pontiff’s beatific smile, which is surely a first. But thanks to Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich no longer needs to compare himself to the Son of God. Comparison with the former CEO of Godfather’s pizza will do the trick.