Gingrich's Daughters Sing His Praises in Video
ABC News' Dennis Powell reports:
First this year there were the Huntsman girls , twenty-somethings campaigning online for their father Jon Huntsman.
In New Hampshire this week have been the Romney boys, strappling sons appearing at campaign events for their father.
Now comes Newt Gingrich's daughters , Kathy Gingrich Lubbers and Jackie Gingrich Cushman, who appear in a YouTube video posted by the Gingrich campaign, answering questions about what it was like growing up Gingrich.
Jackie and Kathy tell a mock news reporter their father is a courageous, wise, determined, hard working, and fun man.
"What I love most about my father," says Kathy "is that he is a lifelong learner, he's courageous, he's wise, he's fun."
Not missing a beat Jackie says "What I love most is that he's really fun, he's really smart, he has great experience, and he loves being with his family."
Kathy mentions at one point that their father wanted to be a zookeeper and had even donated animals to the Atlanta zoo. This prompts Jackie to talk about how her dad risked his life to save his dog when he was a teenager.
"When he was in high school he had a dog named Pride. Dad and Pride were out walking one day - it was winter and the pond was frozen - Pride got out on the pond and fell through the ice into the water." Newt tries to pull Pride out of the pond but ends up in the water himself. They both make it out of the water and Jackie says that this shows what an "incredible person" her father is. "It's a window into his heart. It shows you that a man who would risk his life to save his dog is an incredible person."
Jackie says her father has become a "more faithful person" touching on a thorny subject for the Gingrich campaign. "He talks very openly about having made some mistakes. Having sinned. Having asked for god forgiveness … I've watched him grow into a more faithful person."
They do not mention their father's difficult split from their mother, his first of three wives. That's something Jackie Gingrich Cushman discussed in a column back in May.
But they do talk about Newt's current wife Callista. Kathy says Callista is "a lot of fun, works hard, is interesting, she's interesting, she loves music … and my dad loves her and that is really important to me." And Jackie adds it's great seeing the two of them work so hard together.
Callista Gingrich shows up in a second video released by the campaign today pushing an issue near and dear to her: Music education. A musician herself - playing two instruments and singing professionally - Gingrich talks about supporting music education in public schools and her worries about its decline.
"To eliminate music from our schools is to diminish a large part of our cultural experience. Together we can work to support music education in our nation's schools and preserve our cultural identity."
The video offers a glimpse of what Callista Gingrich might focus on should she become the first lady.