On The Fast Track To Impeach

(3 of 3)

Republicans know that at a minimum they must appear reasonable. The spectacle of a meanspirited or obsessive drive against the President could send more Democrats to the polls and, in a broader sense, make an above-the-fray Clinton more popular as he benefits from a sympathy surge. But it remains to be seen whether Gingrich can manage a strategy that requires patience and restraint--traits not always evident in a Speaker who once cited his pique over having to exit Air Force One through the rear door as a reason for shutting down the government.

When it comes to scandal, Gingrich's instinct has always been for the jugular. He rose to power on the disgrace he brought to those he deemed corrupt, starting with his first year in Congress when he sought the expulsion from the House of Charles Diggs, a Democrat convicted of financial misdeeds, and culminating with his successful campaign in 1989 to force Speaker Jim Wright's resignation.

As Gingrich considers what constitutes fair treatment in Clinton's case, he also has a personal score to settle with the President. Friends and allies say he blames Clinton for the Democrats' 1996 ad campaign painting Gingrich as an extremist and making him more vulnerable to the subsequent congressional investigation into his ethics. (For making political use of a tax-exempt organization, Gingrich became the first Speaker in history to be punished by the House; he was forced to pay a $300,000 fine.) Meeting with Democratic leaders the day the Starr report arrived on Capitol Hill, Gingrich could not resist rehashing how unfairly he thought he had been treated. He had done more for President Clinton in this scandal, he said bitterly, than anyone from the Democratic Party had done for him.

One could argue that he has helped the White House most effectively by making himself a galvanizing force for the Democrats. And the Democrats were at it again last week: James Carville--the supposedly free-lance strategist who consults almost daily with the White House--announced he was declaring war on the Speaker. While the wiser strategy would have been to ignore Carville, the Republican high command took the bait, engaging in several days of name calling that once again focused attention on Gingrich and the question of whether the country's most unpopular elected official is calling the shots for Judiciary chairman Hyde.

But the Clinton team has its own penchant for miscalculation, particularly when things start going well. As a team member put it: "There's always the danger that we will screw it up the way we normally do, by overplaying our hand and getting too feisty." Carville's assault raised hackles among Democrats in Congress, who do not see much advantage in alienating the very Republicans with whom they may ultimately need to cut a deal. And last week saw the White House disavowing a plan to raise millions for a pro-Clinton advertising campaign at a time when all Democratic dollars are needed to elect candidates.

As the impeachment combat begins, the challenge for Clinton and Gingrich will be to avoid each other's traps--and their own. Because if their past as sparring partners offers any lesson, it's that they need each other to survive.

--With reporting by John F. Dickerson, Michael Duffy and Michael Weisskopf/Washington