Newt Gingrich has come up with the best excuse for screwing around on his wives: he’s loves his country.

“There’s no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate,” said Gingrich. “And what I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong, I wasn’t trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing them.

Samuel Johnson was right: patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.