“Two words; Loved, It.”

So said former Presidential candidate Herman Cain in response to Newt Gingrich’s defense of his personal life in last night’s CNN debate. John King, who moderated the debate, led off with a question about the infamous ABC News story concerning Newt’s infidelity. Newt pounced on the ’appalling’ practice of beginning a Presidential Debate with such a question to thunderous applause. But the audience was not the only ones to show support for the former speaker. TIR caught up with Herman Cain and Fred Thompson today to ask their opinions of the ‘personal attack’ strategy of the media.

Both Thompson and Cain were items of intense media scrutiny when they were seeking the office of the Presidency in ’08 and ’12 respectively. Both have also been scrutinized for marital infidelity. Cain eventually dropped out of the race on account of the pressure from multiple women claiming multiple affairs with the former Godfathers CEO. Thompson filed for divorce with his first wife citing “cruel and inhumane treatment”, a topic the media seized upon.

In what seemed to be a devastating blow to the former speaker at the time, the ABC News interview fell flat, not only in ratings but also in effect. As of today, the Gingrich campaign is up by three to five points among male S.C. voters and his female base has been unaffected.