ARMEY MAKES THE MAJORS :

Armey May Be Leaving, but Isn't Going Quietly (ADAM CLYMER, August 18, 2002, NY Times)

The Bush White House does not appear seriously bothered by Mr. Armey's recent comments. After all, they hardly compare to what he said when the president's father decided to back tax increases in 1990: "I think the president's been victimized by bad advice from the people that work for him, and, frankly, I'm disappointed that he doesn't understand that the better alternative for the American people is to have fiscal responsibility and disciplined spending patterns in Washington."

They certainly do not compare to his answer when asked if he would have resigned if he had been caught in an affair with an intern, as Mr. Clinton was. He said resignation would not have come up because "my wife would have been standing over my dead body and she would have been saying, `How do I reload this sucker?'

People often wonder why Republicans "moderate" even their most closely held beliefs once they get to Washington, a phenomenon that conservatives refer to as "catching Potomac Fever". Here's a pretty good example of why going wobbly is so attractive. In the 18 years he's been in the House the NY Times probably hasn't printed two favorable sentences about Dick Armey. But all he had to do was wonder aloud about the need to attack Saddam Hussein and suddenly he gets a puff piece like this from no less a source than Adam Clymer himself.
Posted by Orrin Judd at August 18, 2002 9:34 AM