In a surprising commentary on Friday (1/20/12), Neil Cavuto took a strong stand on behalf of CNN’s John King who got savaged by Newt Gingrich in a Republican candidates’ debate the night before. Ordinarily, Cavuto’s commentaries are about half as long and go at the end of his show, Your World. But Cavuto felt so strongly, he decided to get it “off his chest” at the top of the show. Not so incidentally, Cavuto took a few swipes at Gingrich along the way.

“Enough of making a big deal out of a question that was fair,” Cavuto said. “Enough of making CNN’s John King a villain for asking it and Newt Gingrich a hero for effectively dodging it.”

Cavuto said King “would have been derelict” not to have raised the question. And he said that Gingrich’s attacks on the media are “getting a little long in the debate tooth.”

Cavuto continued, “Gingrich is free to swat away (questions about his personal life) and say he has made peace with God for past transgressions. But save the piety for those who don’t recall your not holding back on a certain former Democratic president’s transgressions.” Ouch!

Normally, Fox hosts can’t say enough bad things about any other news outlet. So you know Cavuto had to feel strongly to have said, “King is among the fairest and most even-handed in this business. I don’t care what you say, I follow this stuff closely... King does not deserve this pile on business… If I were moderating this debate, you can damn well bet I’d have led with that question and risked that response.”

Wow, just wow. This speaks volumes about the rift in the Republican Party. But it was well said, Mr. Cavuto. Well said.