Callista Gingrich: A Closer Look

Now that Newt Gingrich is on his second surge, I figure I’d better give him a closer look. I love his work on the Contract with America back in the ’90s. I also love his debate performance, and smile as I imagine him putting Obama in his place.

But, I’m not thrilled with his personality — he seems like someone you would not want to work for or with: conceited, my-way-or-the-highway. I also fear some things from his past, like his alliance with Nancy Pelosi for a global warming commercial, his ethics violations, and, oh — his 3 marriages.

Which brings me to current wife, Callista. Usually first ladies (and potential first ladies) don’t inspire much in me, either pro or con. But I always get a bad vibe with Callista. Not sure exactly why; maybe it’s the scary photos of her that seem to come out frequently: (tell me, if you know – are the wide eyes the result of cosmetic surgery, or does she do that on purpose all the time?)

But I don’t want to indict someone on the basis of a few bad photos. So, I dug a bit deeper. The New Yorker ran a recent feature on Callista that was interesting. I recommend reading it, but in case you’re short on time, here’s the good stuff:

• Her hair is certainly distinctive, with that one piece that kind of swirls back over the rest. She gets it done at Sugar House in Old Town Alexandria. The article recounts an incident at a book signing (of Callista’s book for kids, “Sweet Land of Liberty“), where a woman teased Callista: “You and I have such beautiful natural color. Yeah, right!” Reportedly, Callista kept her face frozen in a decidedly unamused-looking smile. Obviously, I can’t vouch for whether or not this incident is true. The problem is, it certainly seems consistent with the image Callista projects. And come on, who’s she fooling into thinking her hair is naturally that color?

• The Gingriches have a half million dollar line of credit at Tiffany’s. Why? “Callista did not want him to run for President. That’s why he had to buy her so much #&!! jewelry,” a former strategist says.
• The Gingriches took a cruise through the Greek islands last summer and basically all of Newt’s staff quit over this, feeling that it hurt his image as a serious candidate. Why did they go on the cruise? “Either go on this vacation, or we’re done,” Callista told Newt, according to one of the Gingrich advisors who quit last year.
• There are some things about Callista I definitely admire. Aides describe her as “very disciplined, professional.” She is trained as a classical pianist and plays French horn as well as singing professionally.
  

  Newt and Callista Gingrich in 2000 - the year they got married

• The former Gingrich strategist had a withering assessment of Callista: “She’s the single most self-centered person I’ve run into in politics — it’s all about her.”
• The formal, put-together look you see is no act. “I don’t think she owns a pair of jeans,” says a friend. “Casual Friday is not something that happens a lot around Callista.”
• Callista’s mom, Bernita Bisek, named her only child Callista after a former boss’s wife, a woman who was “the nicest lady, a very pretty lady.” Money was tight for the Biseks. Callista’s mom was a secretary and her dad worked in a packing plant. Mom sewed all of Callista’s clothes, even knitting her vests.
• Callista attended Luther College, where she practiced piano 6 hours a day and joined Delta Alpha Delta, which a friend calls an “anti sorority — there was no hazing, and anyone who wanted to get in, got in.”
• After graduation, Callista moved to DC for an internship and never came back. She began buying her own clothes then, and of course met Newt Gingrich. She began dating him, although he was married to second wife Marianne at the time and was also leading Monica Lewinsky-related charges against Bill Clinton. Callista was 23 years younger than Newt, the same age as one of his daughters.

So I suppose I’m wondering why a seemingly “good girl” (church-going, smart, industrious) would decide to carry on a years-long affair with a married man. Just doesn’t make sense to me. What do you think — would Callista make a good first lady?

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