Gingrich’s strategy – when all else fails, attack the media

It’s a rule of thumb in politics. When you’re cornered, when you’ve been exposed, you lash out at the one enemy you have in common with the voters – the media.

Newt Gingrich did that Thursday night and he actually got cheered for it by an audience one would presume to be conservative. This, despite a much-publicized interview with his ex-wife on ABC telling the world Newt had urged her to agree to an “open marriage,” in which he would be free to have other sexual partners.

This puts Gingrich’s attacks on President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky affair in perspective, just as it calls into question personality traits that may lead people to second-guess his sincerity. Never mind that. People cheered.

Richard Nixon used to attack the press. So did his discredited vice president, Spiro Agnew, who once referred to reporters with legitimate questions as “Nattering nabobs of negativism.”

Supporters cheered then, too, for a while. But if a legitimate question has legs, it won’t stop following a candidate around. Newt, remember, was the co-author of the Contract With America, which included a strong family values component. “The American family is at the very heart of our society,” it said. “It is through the family that we learn values like responsibility, morality, commitment and faith.”

Is evidence he wanted an “open marriage” relevant to Gingrich’s campaign and character. Can anyone really argue it isn’t?

Here’s video of CNN’s John King explaining why he asked Gingrich the question, and how he assumed before he asked it that Gingrich would attack him.