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Dr. Judicial & Mr. Hyde 
In a perfect, fairy-tale world, Judiciary Committee chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.)
would be exactly how his supporters describe him: a lovable grandfather figure; a
maestro of compromise who never makes an enemy; one last remnant from a bygone era
of civility in politics, who peppers his speech with quaint little phrases like "heavens"
and "God willing." The real Mr. Hyde, however, has a somewhat seamier side -- a history
of bitterly partisan politics and all-too human failings. He is the only congressman to
have been sued by the government for negligence in the savings and loan scandal.
(Along with fellow S&L directors in Illinois, Hyde shelled out $870,000 to settle
out of court.)
What kind of Judiciary Committee chairman does a negligent ex-bank director make? Hyde hopes to follow in the footsteps of the famously impartial Peter Rodino, the Watergate-era chair. But his agenda is more radical, if not bomb-throwing; he's the author of an amendment banning federal funding for Medicaid abortions. There are complaints, even from his own side, that Hyde is too deferential to Speaker Newt Gingrich and that he doesnąt have the stature to prevent the committee's decline into bipartisan squabbling. And then there are those "youthful indiscretions," as Hyde calls the clandestine extramarital affair he had in his forties -- which would hardly matter if he weren't dealing with a case of sex and cover-up. Whatever else he is, Hyde is no innocent grandfather. TIME Daily - September 17, 1998: Salon Magazine Publishes Account of Hyde Infidelity |
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