First, a bit of disclosure: I know John King. John King is a friend of mine. Mr. Gingrich, you're no John King.

Political junkies will know I'm mashing together a vintage political debate line (Google Dan Quayle, Lloyd Bentsen and Jack Kennedy) with the two men who were at the center of last night's debate in South Carolina. Why? Because I think the King-Gingrich exchange will become just as famous.

By the way, I do know John King. John actually is a friend of mine. And I believe John King is one of the best political reporters in the nation.That's why when King (@johnkingCNN) asked Gingrich about allegations from Gingrich's second wife that at one time the former House Speaker wanted to be in an "open marriage" with the speaker's mistress, I was not surprised. In fact, I and every working reporter in America would would have accused John of malpractice if he HADN'T asked the question.

Some of you won't believe this but here's the truth: John didn't ask the question out of prurient interest. He asked the question because it was a major topic of discussion in the campaign coverage and because he had a responsibility to raise it. You can hear his explanation in his own words in the video. I hope you'll also listen to David Gergen's comments on the matter following John's explanation. Gergen is a highly respected political observer who has been an adviser to four U.S. presidents--Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton--and he agrees that King had to ask the question.

I personally don't judge people when it comes to matters of the heart. But some people do. Newt Gingrich certainly seemed to when he led the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton after it was revealed that President Clinton had lied about an affair with intern Monica Lewinsky. We learned later that Mr. Gingrich was having his own extramarital affair even as he was trumpeting the importance of marriage and family values. Mr. Gingrich's opponents say that's an example of hypocrisy. Mr. Gingrich's supporters say it's old news and it's none of our business.

Again, it's not for me to decide. It's for you to decide if that sort of information matters. But how could you even consider the information if it wasn't for journalists like John King who are willing to stand there and get booed for asking a question about a topic that was on every news channel and in every newspaper this week. Some will say it's an example of the "liberal" news media going after a "conservative" republican. Did those people say the same when reporters were going after democrats Gary Hart and Bill Clinton?

For journalists in the Hart, Clinton and Gingrich examples, it was and is about trying to make politicians accountable. In all the years I've worked in both the national news media and in local news, I've never been told to slant the news to favor liberals or conservatives. I have been asked to try to determine if a politician is telling the truth. I have also been charged with trying to determine who these candidates are so that you can decide if they're the right people to lead and govern our nation.

It's easy to beat up on the news media and I agree there's plenty to criticize. But in this case, John King doesn't deserve it. He was just doing his job.