DES MOINES -
Struggling Republican
presidential candidate
Newt Gingrich choked
up at a campaign event
on Friday, wiping away tears as he discussed his late mother
in a display of emotion that was reminiscent of Hillary
Clinton's game-changing teary moment in 2008.
At a campaign event in Iowa targeted at moms, Gingrich lost
his composure repeatedly when asked about his mother, who
suffered from depression and bipolar disorder before she
died in 2003.
The audience of mostly women was sympathetic as Gingrich,
the former speaker of the House of Representatives, cried.
"I do policy much easier than I do personal," Gingrich said
by way of recovery, to laughter from the crowd.
The emotional scene was reminiscent of a pivotal moment in
the Democratic presidential race in 2008. Hillary Clinton,
who lost her front-runner status when Barack Obama won the
first Democratic nominating contest in Iowa, teared up
briefly during a campaign stop in New Hampshire,
the next state to
hold a nominating contest.