I was an alert conservative at the time Gingrich attempted the showdown with Clinton.
That showdown might have come down on Clinton’s side, but it was not Clinton who engineered it. It was the media that ran non-stop stories about closed passport offices and people who couldn’t get assistance.
The media won that engagement for Clinton, and the media protected Clinton throughout the Lewinsky affair.
It is inappropriate to say that Clinton schooled Gingrich. I’d be more inclined to say that Peter Jennings did.
I was an alert conservative at the time Gingrich attempted the showdown with Clinton.
That showdown might have come down on Clinton’s side, but it was not Clinton who engineered it. It was the media that ran non-stop stories about closed passport offices and people who couldn’t get assistance.
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So was I. Clinton got the best of Newt and the media were his willing allies. When has it ever been otherwise in modern American politics?
Newt gave them the ammunition. I remember Newt complaining about being on the back of the airplane, while Clinton was in the front, when they went somewhere. The press played it up like he was a spoiled brat. I understood what Newt meant, he didn't want to waste time getting to a resolution of the shut down. He should have said it's up to the POTUS timetable to resolve the impass.