Not Much Of A Revelation

And then there are his personal peccadilloes. Just this week, Gingrich revealed that while Clinton was being hounded by congressional Republicans because of his dalliances with a zaftig valley girl, Gingrich himself was engaging in an extra-marital affair. When this information gets added to the shabbiness that surrounds his first divorce, an unflattering portrait emerges. ~Dean Barnett

How does someone “reveal” something that has almost certainly been common knowledge among politicos for a decade?  How do we “add” this information to what we already knew about Gingrich, when it has been part of what we’ve known about Gingrichfor a long time?  In short, how little attention has Barnett been paying over the years if he finds this information either new or remarkable?  There’s an even a Marvin Olasky column from 2002 that talks about Gingrich’s affair. 

Besides, it’s Gingrich–how could this surprise anyone?  After all, this is the guy who has classy divorce down to an art form:

Marianne and Newt divorced in December, 1999 after Marianne found out about Newt’s long-running affair with Callista Bisek, his one-time congressional aide. Gingrich asked Marianne for the divorce by phoning her on Mother’s Day, 1999.