Newt Gingrich, Man of the Moment, Shows His Resilience

Newt Gingrich may have scored a resounding victory in the South Carolina primary, but controversies could continue to dog him.

The 68-year-old former speaker of the House of Representative Newt Gingrich won hands down with 40 percent votes, Mitt Romney came second with 28 percent votes.

Political observers, according to the Telegraph, believe that Gingrich's policies might go unchallenged but there are lots of controversies about his personal life. However the Republican leader has shown plenty of resilience and has fought back each time.

Just ahead of the South Carolina primary Gingrich's former wife Marianne Gingrich in an interview with ABC News accused him of lacking moral character to serve as the President of the US. Newt allegedly sought an "open marriage" arrangement so he could have a mistress (Callista, Gingrich's then mistress and now present wife) and a wife. However the deft leader tackled the allegations of adultery by counter-attacking the negative campaign by the media at a discussion forum on January 19. His remarkable fightback made him an instant hero.

Gingrich's tenure as House of Representative Speaker was tainted; he was censured for ethics violations, and was fined $300,000 in 1997- the first Representative speaker to be reprimanded, according to a BBC report.

The political consultant and author is considered a little reckless and imprudent. He resigned from the position of speaker in November 1998 after an unsuccessful and unpopular attempt to impeach the then president Bill Clinton over his affair with Monika Lewinksy; his and certain other Republican leaders' action almost brought the party on the verge of a rebellion.

In June last year some of his top campaign managers resigned over the way Gingrich was campaigning, according to a New York Times blog. He was accused of overspending and spending too much time on promoting a documentary which he and his wife produced. His decision to go on a Greek Island cruise during the same period also drew a lot of criticism.