Newt & Callista Gingrich

Newt & Callista Gingrich, At Thursday night’s Republican debate in South Carolina, only one person will likely receive as much attention as the candidates themselves: Callista Gingrich.

Newt Gingrich’s third wife is back in the spotlight because of a new interview with his second wife, Marianne Gingrich, in which Marianne tells ABC that the former House speaker asked her for an “open marriage” in 1999 so that he could continue his long-term affair with Callista, a congressional staffer at the time.

Tonight, wherever the lights and cameras track Callista Gingrich, they’ll also be tracking her hair — a frozen, platinum blond bob that has sparked fascination among women eager to learn how she keeps it so perfect all the time.

But the Callista bob wasn’t always the slick, smooth, helmet-y coif it is now. When she married Newt in 2000, Callista wore her hair longer and curlier, although still very blond.

Over the past 12 years, her haircut has morphed slowly into her signature disciplined bob, and her wardrobe has followed suit with more structure and fewer patterns.

As Callista Gingrich prepares to endure skeptical glances from some in the Republican audience tonight, that discipline might be just what she needs, along with a ready smile and another great hair day.

Newt Gingrich For President

Newt Gingrich For President, Sarah Palin’s husband is endorsing Newt Gingrich for president. Yes, Todd Palin has offered an official endorsement, as Sarah is still – shockingly – making up her mind.

The former Alaska governor and John McCain’s 2008 Republican running mate has yet to decide “who is best able to go up against Barack Obama,” Todd Palin said.

Todd, however, respects Gingrich for what he went through in the ’90s and compared that scrutiny in public life to what Sarah Palin went through running for V.P.

Todd Palin said he believes being in the political trenches and experiencing the highs and lows help prepare a candidate for the future and the job of president.

He has not spoken to the Gingrich campaign and did not criticize any of the other GOP candidates and said his “hat is off to everyone” in the Republican race.

But Todd did point to last summer, when a large portion of Gingrich’s staff resigned and the candidate was left, largely by himself, to run the campaign.

Gingrich’s ability to overcome the obstacle and still move up in the polls showed his ability to campaign and survive, according to an impressed Todd Palin.

“Newt Gingrich is not one of the typical beltway types” and his campaign has “burst out of the political arena and touched many Americans,” he said.

No word if the First Dude plans to appear on the former House Speaker’s behalf or if his wife will follow suit in the run-up to the South Carolina primary.