Will Newt Gingrich's ex-wife Marianne bring him down?

ALL EYES are on Marianne Ginther, the ex-wife of Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, as ABC airs an interview tonight with the woman who once claimed she could end her husband's political career with just a few well-chosen words.
 
The ABC scoop has apparently even caused "civil war" at the network over the question of whether it should screen such a potentially sensational interview so close to Saturday's crucial South Carolina primary.
 
Gingrich is one of only a handful of serious contenders left in the race to secure the Republican nomination, so the prospect of seeing him holed below the waterline by his ex-wife is a tantalising one.
 
News that one of the big TV networks had secured an interview with Ginther, Gingrich's second wife, who was married to him for 18 years, was broken by the Drudge Report on Wednesday. "Her explosive revelations are set to rock the trail," it reported.
 
Gingrich was so taken aback that he cancelled a press conference and his campaign later released an open letter signed by his two daughters from his first marriage, Kathy Lubbers and Jackie Cushman, who have been supporting his push for the Republican nomination.
 
In it they appeared to take a pre-emptive strike at any allegations that might be made about their father. According to the New York Times' Caucus blog the letter describes the end of a marriage as a "personal tragedy filled with regrets, and sometimes differing memories of events".
 
Gingrich has been married three times and was still with Marianne when he began an affair with his current wife Callista in the 1990s. Back then she claimed she could bring down her ex in a single interview, but has so far held her tongue and tonight’s event could, of course, be a massive anticlimax.
 
But it would be no surprise if he was shot down. So far the Republican race has been a political graveyard. Other former frontrunners include John Huntsman, Michele Bachman and Herman Cain, who have all seen their reputations shredded. Rick Perry also withdrew from the race on Thursday, he had been seen as dead in the water since forgetting his policies during a live TV debate, while Rick Santorum is hanging on despite being dismissed by many.

Gingrich and Ron Paul are now seen as the only realistic challengers to Romney and as Alexander Cockburn reports for The Week today, Gingrich is picking up money and votes. ·