It’s true January 19, 2012 just after 8 p.m. EST became a historic day for millions of Americans but for a completely different reason than CNN contributor Roland Martin offered. Martin would have you believe this is the moment the Republican Party stopped being a party of family values. Yet this logic is absurd. This is the moment the Republican Party let the world know that they are more concerned about fixing America than they are with what Newt Gingrich’s ex-wife said.

Let’s apply the same desperate, illogical argument towards Democrats. We don’t have to look far to see democratic presidential candidates and even presidents caught in scandalous affairs. Democratic Presidential hopeful John Edwards still remains a current headline regarding his indictment for using $1 million of illegal campaign funds to pay his mistress and baby mama, Rielle Hunter, while his wife, Elizabeth suffered from breast cancer. Then there’s former President Bill Clinton’s countless affairs including the world-famous intern, Monica Lewinsky, all while married to the pant-suit wearing, cuckolded, most tolerant woman in the world, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Who can forget democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart and how he paraded aboard a boat with a model, Donna Rice on his lap while campaigning for the highest office in America. Democrat President John F. Kennedy participated in a dizzying amount of affairs including high profile celebrities like Angie Dickinson, Kim Novak and mega-famous Marilyn Monroe. I could go on but it’s exhausting. The point is we all know about these transgressions and most people who are not making a career out of partisan politics can look past them when candidates have the right qualifications.

Gingrich got a standing ovation because the public is desperately seeking a leader who can fix America. The Republican party gave him a high-five after being faced with the current situation of astronomical unemployment, a colossal deficit and a POTUS who isn’t living up to expectations. Honestly, CNN can blame Gingrich’s shining moment on correspondent John King’s invasive question that backfired. Opening the South Carolina debate by asking the former Speaker of the House whether he wanted to address his ex-wife’s allegations that he requested an open marriage was inappropriate. In one question, King turned a would-be serious debate into a scandalous soap opera. Gingrich responded in a dignified manner by saying:

“No…but I will….I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to get decent people to run for public office, and I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that.”

King’s expression radically changed following Gingrich’s obvious disdain and that’s when the standing ovation occurred. All you have to do is replay the moment and see the recognition of defeat in King’s eyes and his bowed head to prove it. The standing ovation was as much of a show of confidence in Gingrich as it was a scolding of intrusive media correspondents gone amuck. It did nothing for King’s credibility as a serious news correspondent and everything for Gingrich’s popularity as a viable candidate to win against the incumbent. In fact, it’s fair to say it was at this exact moment that Newt Gingrich owned John King.

Some have made disingenuous attempts to discredit Gingrich like this egregious one in The Washington Times Communities by freelance writer and Chicago Police Officer Peter V. Bella. The reality is that America needs someone who can get things done in the House and Senate and Gingrich has the best track record to do this without the partisan standoffs Obama has weathered. Obama’s record of divisiveness and class warfare pales in comparison to Gingrich’s impressive track record of service. Let’s be honest, killing 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden was absolutely necessary yet it alone doesn’t guarantee a second term.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if next time Martin and Bella got their facts straight when writing about Gingrich? Video doesn’t lie. Gingrich’s standing ovation had nothing to do with family values and everything to do with fixing what’s broken in America. Our country is frail and divided, our media has a leftist bent, and Gingrich has the best chance of dealing with partisan politics, repairing our economy, reducing our deficit and putting Americans back to work. Now, let’s see if King has the cajones to open the first bipartisan debate by asking President Barack Obama if there is any truth to reports pigeonholing him as “the food stamp president” aka Barry Soetoro, a George Soros-funded socialist and closet Muslim born in Indonesia.