NEWT IN THE CROSSHAIRS

G.O.P. SNIPERS HAVE TAKEN AIM AT THE SPEAKER, BUT NO ONE HAS FIGURED OUT HOW TO GOVERN WITH A BIG AGENDA AND A TINY MAJORITY

Whenever Florida Republican Joe Scarborough encountered House Speaker Newt Gingrich this winter, he found himself thinking of Richard Nixon as rendered by Oliver Stone. In one scene a vehement Pat Nixon goes over to Dick and grabs him by the lapels. "Dick, you want them to love you, but they never will," she says. The conservative sophomore had wanted to tell this story to Newt for months, to convince him that efforts to make friends with moderates and liberals both in Congress and outside were wrongheaded and ill-fated. Finally Scarborough couldn't help himself: every act of Congress seemed a betrayal of...

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