Newt Gingrich is one of many GOP politicians calling for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, because he’s so very concerned about “protecting the sanctity of traditional marriage.”

Gingrich’s concern doesn’t extend to his own marriages, though: Gingrich Admits to Affair During Clinton Impeachment.

Setting the stage for his entry into the presidential race, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., gave a radio interview to be broadcast today with Focus on the Family’s James Dobson, in which Gingrich for the first time publicly acknowledged cheating on his first and second wives.

“There were times when I was praying and when I felt I was doing things that were wrong. But I was still doing them,” Gingrich said during the interview. “I look back on those as periods of weakness and periods that I’m not only not proud of, but I would deeply urge my children and grandchildren not to follow in my footsteps.”

If I had to guess why Gingrich is coming out with this admission now, I’d say it’s probably because it was about to be revealed by other sources, so, like any good pandering religious right politician, he decided to make a public confession to James Dobson first and talk a lot about how pious he was even while cheating on his wives.