Gone was the defensiveness of the previous night, when Gingrich had railed against "perfectionists" and "petty dictators" - i.e., the conservatives who frustrated his apparent desire to have the budget pass by acclamation. Instead, he put this year's "modest reforms" in the context of the GOP's accomplishments since winning the majority in 1994. He explained that 1996's sweeping welfare reform "kept us in office" and the congressional majority "finished off the wave of energy" unleashed in '94 by enacting tax cuts, Medicare reform, and the balanced budget agreement last year.

The agreement on federal funding for 100,000 new teachers was described as essentially Republican in design: "revenue-sharing for school boards dedicated to teachers." The Speaker pledged to push for the GOP's D.C. scholarship plan again next year. And he highlighted the increase in defense (make that "defense") spending as a critically important priority wrested from the President. His "biggest disappointment" this year was the failure to pass a significant tax cut, which he blamed on the fact that "the Senate blinked." In a normal year, he explained, the failure to pass a tax cut would hurt the party with its base, but this year "other activities will arouse the base enough."

Gingrich predicted that Congress can be "much bolder the year after an election" and expects the GOP to take up a private investment option for Social Security and "a large tax cut" early next year.

The Speaker explained that his party could pick up between 10 and 40 seats in November, citing "wild cards" like the meltdown of Geoffrey Fieger, the Democratic candidate for governor in Michigan, and the huge leads enjoyed by GOP Governors Rowland, Ridge, and Pataki. He anticipates that the elections will be "muddled and confused" with voters presented with broad policy choices and popular statewide candidates, but not a referendum on impeachment.

Bipartisan cooperation on an impeachment inquiry was impossible, according to the Speaker, because the Democrats decided to play "a deliberate, calculated political game" while "taking their party down a road of cover-up and protection." He noted that Minority Leader Gephardt had asked that all of Starr's materials be released, and requested that the impeachment inquiry be modeled on the Rodino Resolution, but later opposed both decisions. The Speaker wouldn't speculate about what Congress will ultimately do about impeachment, but he indicated that public opinion polls weren't particularly helpful in providing guidance to lawmakers. He wondered whether the public understood what "impeachment" meant, and was curious about how they would respond if asked whether perjury laws ought to be repealed as they relate to sexual harassment cases.