Word: livingstones
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...adultery, stupid; it's the lying." When it seemed last Thursday that the world couldn't spin any further out of control--bombs falling in eerie green light, members of Congress starring in a morality play without the morality--here was Speaker-elect (although not for long) Bob Livingston announcing that because he wasn't "running for saint," his occasional affairs shouldn't be held against him. He called what he did "straying," said he had "sought spiritual counseling," and "received forgiveness" from his family. Sound familiar? Lest this remind anyone of you-know-who, he asserted, "These indiscretions were...
...quite an instant classic in a league with "It depends on what your definition of is is," but it had promise as hairsplitting of a high order. For one thing, no one had charged that Monica Lewinsky was hit upon against her will, as Livingston implied. And the Livingston rationale ignored his good fortune in having Larry Flynt, not Ken Starr, with his subpoenas and a grand jury, pursuing him. Thus Livingston could cling to the claim that in a sting operation run by a desperate prosecutor, he was the kind of guy who would have come clean...
Clinton isn't above the law, but he should be above doing what he did. Livingston's resignation and the impeachment of Clinton teach children exactly the wrong lesson: that other people's deepest secrets can be plundered for political gain. Clinton is weak, not evil. He violated the Commandments, not the Constitution, and should be solemnly censured for it. In this season of Christmas, perhaps some Wise Men will appear in the Senate. One will do. If he comes, he could be next year's Man of the Year...
Hiding somewhere behind the scenes was the next House Speaker, Bob Livingston, who is so concerned about striking the right note with the American people when he finally takes over that he is missing the most important moment of his tenure. He cut a deal with outgoing Speaker Gingrich to put a moderate colleague from Illinois, Ray LaHood, in the Speaker's chair during the sure-to-be-televised-everywhere floor debate Thursday. Even in private, Livingston is hard to pin down: he refused in a telephone conversation with House minority leader Dick Gephardt on Wednesday even to discuss censure...
...Livingston had meant to provide an example. After making what he probably knew were two vain pleas -- one for the President to resign and one for the House to heal its divisions ?- the Speaker-elect of the House told Clinton that "I can only challenge you in such fashion if I am prepared to heed my own words." Livingston, in front of a shocked House, abruptly quit -- and drew a bipartisan standing ovation. There was already a rumored replacement by day's end, an obscure Illinois Republican named Dennis Hastert...