Heckler Confronts Newt Gingrich Over Affair

Newt Gingrich’s bed-hopping past got thrust into the limelight at a speech at the University of Pennsylvania last night, thanks to a combative question from a student, Politico reports. “You adamantly oppose gay rights,” the student, the president of Penn Democrats, began. “But you’ve also been married three times and admitted to having an affair with your current wife while you were still married to your second. … How do you reconcile this hypocritical interpretation of the religious views that you so vigorously defend?”

Gingrich tried to cut the student off. “I'll bet almost everybody here can gather the thrust of your question,” he said. “I hope you feel better about yourself. ... I believe in a forgiving God, and the American people will have to decide whether that [is] their primary concern. If the primary concern of the American people is my past, my candidacy would be irrelevant. If the primary concern of the American people is the future ... that's a debate I'll be happy to have with your candidate or any other candidate if I decide to run.” For more on Gingrich's extramarital escapades, click here and here. (More Newt Gingrich stories.)