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Gingrich, 68, has acknowledged having an extramarital affair with the woman who is now his third wife when he was speaker of the House and she worked for the House Agriculture Committee. The scandal that colored the beginning of their relationship may explain her wariness of the media. Callista Gingrich will chat with reporters about the bitter cold weather in Iowa, where she attended college, and discuss an upcoming Christmas celebration near her Virginia home. Questions about anything more substantive are met with a tight smile. "You'll have to ask R.C," she says politely, referring to Gingrich campaign spokesman R.C. Hammond. The campaign declined a request from The Associated Press to interview Callista Gingrich. At a campaign stop in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Gingrich was asked about his wife as she looked on, perched on a counter surrounded by reporters the campaign refused to let her talk to. The former Georgia congressman proudly ticked off her resume as a concert pianist, professional singer, filmmaker and author, "She's a very talented person who works very hard," he said. "We're waiting to unleash her." Though she rarely speaks at her husband's events, Callista Gingrich made an exception at an informal gathering of high school government students in Sioux City, Iowa, who were listening to the candidate. One had asked what he should do to prepare himself to run for president himself. Newt Gingrich urged the teenager to gain broad life experience and work on a campaign. Then his wife interjected. "You should study this country's history. I think that is very important," she said. Her husband, of course, has done just that.
[Associated
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