Gingrich turns ex-wife's interview into attack on media

Republican presidential candidate and former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich has dismissed an explosive interview given by his ex-wife and accused mainstream media of shielding President Barack Obama.u00a0CNN moderator John King opened the forum by asking Gingrich about an interview that his ex-wife Marianne Gingrich gave to ABC News, in which she said the former House speaker wanted an "open marriage" with her in 1999.

Gingrich turned the question around on King, blaming the mainstream media for detracting from the issues and earning a standing ovation from the audience.u00a0"I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office, and I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate with a topic like that," Gingrich said to cheers.

ABC News further quoted him, as saying: "Every person in here knows personal pain. Every person in here has had someone close to them go through painful things. To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary, a significant question in a presidential campaign, is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine."

Gingrich was replying to a question of a debate at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday.u00a0As King tried to point out that CNN wasn''t responsible for the interview, Gingrich jumped in and said that "it was repeated by your network."

"You chose to start the debate with it. Don''t try to blame it on somebody else," he said.u00a0Gingrich, 68, has won support from Republican audiences by being openly skeptical of the media.u00a0In tonight''s debate, he triumphed as he said, "I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking the public."

The other candidates -- only three others, now -- were asked if the matter was a valid campaign issue. Mitt Romney, the front-runner in the race, said simply, "let''s get on to the real issues."u00a0Rick Santorum, though, said that "these are issues of our lives" and that "those are things for everyone in this audience to look at."u00a0

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