Old News, But At What Cost?

Carol Platt Liebau | January 19, 2012 10:18 AM

So some of the "big news" about Newt Gingrich may be that he wanted an "open marriage," at least according to his ex-wife. It's probably going to take more than that to shock Americans in the post-Clinton age -- the existence of all Newt Gingrich's personal baggage has already likely been considered by his supporters and detractors alike.

The problem, of course, is that this "old news" is going to be dominating too many headlines on a day when we should be focusing on how many jobs the "passive aggressive" presidency (as James Taranto's aptly puts it) of Barack Obama is sacrificing through the refusal to approve the Keystone Pipeline.

And it does seem to reinforce a critique of Gingrich: Even when the issues should be the issue, when Gingrich is in the race, Gingrich (and his behavior, past or present) becomes the issue.