Letter from Washington

The other day, someone asked Speaker Jim Wright to describe his feelings toward Representative Newt Gingrich (R., Ga.). Without a moment’s hesitation, Mr. Wright drawled back his answer: “Similar to those of a fire hydrant to a dog.”

Members of Congress don’t usually speak about each other that way—or, at least, not in public—but neither do they speak as Gingrich does of Wright: “This is a situation where the man who is third in line to the President is the least ethical person to serve as Speaker in the twentieth century,” he fumes. “That is terrifying in its implications for the future of the House of Representatives, and therefore, since we have oversight over the CIA, and the IRS, and the FBI, it is frightening in its implications for the country.”

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The other day, someone asked Speaker Jim Wright to describe his feelings toward Representative Newt Gingrich (R., Ga.). Without a moment’s hesitation, Mr. Wright drawled back his answer: “Similar to those of a fire hydrant to a dog.”

Members of Congress don’t usually speak about each other that way—or, at least, not in public—but neither do they speak as Gingrich does of Wright: “This is a situation where the man who is third in line to the President is the least ethical person to serve as Speaker in the twentieth century,” he fumes. “That is terrifying in its implications for the future of the House of Representatives, and therefore, since we have oversight over the CIA, and the IRS, and the FBI, it is frightening in its implications for the country.”