Will ABC 'Hit Piece' on Newt Backfire?

The ABC hit piece on Newt that features his scorned ex-wife is clearly an attempt by the MSM outlet to give Romney a boost. The timing of the piece couldn't make the intent more obvious. The AP is reporting that ABC will be airing the interview with Marianne Gingrich after the debate, sandwiched between the debate and Saturday's primary. Newt's indiscretions are not new, which is another indicator that this is nothing more than an attempt to end his surge in South Carolina in order to help Romney.

The Hill has Newt's reaction:

GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich said a decision by ABC News to air an interview with one of his ex-wives would be “wrong” and blamed the “liberal media” for attempting to distract voters from the failures of the Obama administration.

"I’m not going to say anything negative about Marianne,” Gingrich said in an interview Thursday on NBC’s Today show in response to reports that his second ex-wife Marianne Gingrich would conduct an interview with ABC News.

The Drudge Report first reported on Wednesday that Marianne Gingrich intended to share "explosive revelations" about her marriage to the former House speaker.

Gingrich said that his daughters had sent a letter to ABC News criticizing the decision to air the interview "as wrong" and referred any media questions about the matter to them.

"My two daughters Kathy and Jackie have sent a letter to the president of ABC News, saying from a family perspective they think this is totally wrong," he said. "They think ABC should not air anything like this and that intruding into family things that are more, that are more than a decade old are simply wrong."

It's quite possible that this attempt by ABC to torpedo Newt's chances in South Carolina could actually backfire. Newt already has a penchant for slamming the media in the debates. Look for him to come out with all guns blazing tonight. The only thing that might make watching it more palatable would be if ABC was the entity putting it on. It will be CNN.

Here is Newt's appearance on the Today show. He makes very valid points here and could generate sympathetic audiences as a result of this very overt attempt by the MSM to smear him. Rick Perry has dropped out of the race and will reportedly throw his support behind Gingrich.

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