Dr. Keith Ablow

I was incensed when I read this, which some of you may already have seen on my Facebook page. This blog doesn't aim to take down easy targets and everybody knows Jon Stewart does a better job than we ever could of making Fox News look ridiculous but I couldn't let this one pass.

Republican Presidential hopeful, Newt Gingrich is married to his third wife. He cheated on his first two wives and he admits to that. He has also been accused of lobbying his second wife for an open relationship - a claim which he denies. UUJM takes no position on open relationships between consenting adults. UUJM is also open to the idea that a leader could still be very good at their job whilst having a sordid private life. We do not condone cheating but this blog isn't really about that. That would be too easy. This blog is about the rubbish logic Dr Keith Ablow uses to suggest Gingrich's weak moral fabric reveals personality traits that are desirable in a president. Hmmm....

Ablow starts by positioning him self as the unfairly battered defence lawyer, laying out a case for a client who deserves a fair trial in the face of the media who, "can’t seem to help itself from trying to castrate candidates for the prurient pleasure of the public." Well, well, well. Thank goodness you're here, Ablow. We need someone who is concerned about the economy, employment, promoting freedom and protecting the world from the threat of Iran. Game on.

Ablow makes a point of being "coldly analytical" rather than moralising. He'd have to really, wouldn't he? He's defending a cheat who hurt innocent people. He's also defending a hypocrite: Gingrich lead the charge against Bill Clinton's infidelity in the 1990s and has spent much of his career reciting tired tory cliches about "defending the institution of the traditional marriage."

The first point made by our Republican quack hack is this:

"Three women have met Mr. Gingrich and been so moved by his emotional energy and intellect that they decided they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with him."

Whoop-dee-doo. Steve Earle has been married seven times. He's had six wives including one he moved with his "emotional energy and intellect" so much that she agreed to marry him twice. Steve Earle has "moved" more women than Newt Gingrich so he must be a better candidate for president, right? What's that Ablow? You don't think someone who is a vocal opponent of the death penalty and the Iraq War should be president? Didn't think so, dick.

On to A-blowhard's second point then. He notes that "two of these women felt this way even though Mr. Gingrich was already married." Wow. Convincing women to be the other partner in a homewrecking affair. What a guy.

Ablow suggests that the former freaker of the house must be so attractive that voters might try and give him a third term. I suggest that Gingrich is a dispicable human being.

The doctor's fourth point is this:

"Two women—Mr. Gingrich’s first two wives—have sat down with him while he delivered to them incredibly painful truths: that he no longer loved them as he did before, that he had fallen in love with other women and that he needed to follow his heart, despite the great price he would pay financially and the risk he would be taking with his reputation."

To Ablow, this suggests Gingrich is unsparing, direct and follows his heart. What this actually shows is that he follows his cock. He lacks the mental fortitude to do basic things like remain faithful and, here's some jargon from that free market you folks love, keep the contract he agrees to that says "to death do us part." It also says "in sickness and in health" but Gingrich wasn't the least bit disturbed about cheating on his first wife when she had cancer or his second when she had multiple sclerosis. What a prick.

Gingrich is probably charming. He'd have to be given his looks have earned him comparisons to the Marshmellow Man and Dwight Schrute. The problem is, he doesn't have a single moral fibre to sew with. How anyone can argue that that is desirable in a leader is beyond me. Machiavelli argued that leaders might have to be cruel to be kind. He never argued they should cheat on their extremely sick wives while preaching the opposite.

So how is Ablow a doctor? Does he have a PhD in shitheadery or a medical qualification in Republican hackery from the school of Fox News? I've heard more logical arguments on the intersection of politics and morality from Doctor Dre, Doctor J and Doctor Pepper.

We welcome your comments.