WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 -- White House officials and other Democrats expressed outrage Monday at Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., for putting a political spin on the tragic killings of twoyoung brothers in South Carolina. Gingrich, during a weekend campaign stop, told a small gathering of supporters that 'the mother killing her two children in South Carolina vividly reminds every American how sick the society is getting and how much we have to have change.' 'I think people want to change, and the only way you get change is to vote Republican,' Gingrich said. Gingrich's reference to the Susan Smith case set off a firestorm of criticism within the Democratic Party just one day before voters head to the polls. Smith's two young sons were the subjects of a massive, nationwide search until she reportedly admitted drowning them nearly two weeks ago. Smith was arrested last week and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The boys, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, were buried Sunday in Union, S.C. A spokesman for White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, who was campaigning in California, reacted to Gingrich's statement, saying: 'I think most of us can agree that the tragic death of these two kids and partisan politics do not and should not be mixed.' Gingrich's challenger, former Rep. Ben Jones, said his Republican opponent's comment is hard evidence the eight-term lawmaker and House GOP whip will say and do anything for personal and partisan gain. 'And I think now that he's a desperate candidate that we can expect more of this sort of thing,' said Jones.
'I think that it's disheartening to see these personal American tragedies, which clearly have nothing to do with policy, to be dragged into the political arena at this point.' Gingrich aides denied the comment was intended to use a national tragedy to boost Republican prospects in the midterm elections Tuesday. Press Secretary Tony Blankley said the congressman was simply highlighting the recent killings in South Carolina to portray 'a systemic problem in American society.' Jones and Gingrich are locked in a surprisingly tight race. The Jones campaign released a poll last week that showed the former actor closing to within 7 percentage points of Gingrich, although Gingrich's campaign released its own poll over the weekend showing the Georgia Republican leading by 31 points. Vice President Al Gore, meanwhile, was also quick to assail Gingrich for his 'outrageous' comment tying the young boys' deaths to the midterm elections. 'We should have a bipartisan agreement to stop stirring up hatefulness and bringing something like this into partisan politics,' Gore said during a campaign appearance in Indiana on Sunday. Blankley said it was 'ludicrous' for the vice president or any other Democrat to suggest Gingrich was making a campaign issue out of the tragedy. 'I can't imagine Al Gore saying that with a straight face, ' Blankley said.
