THE NEW NEWT LESSONS LEARNED THE HARD WAY A Personal Report By Newt Gingrich HarperCollins 229pp $25 For years, Newt Gingrich has steadfastly refused to take responsibility for his shortcomings, blaming a host of others for low popularity ratings. But now, Newt has a new target: himself. In Lessons Learned the Hard Way, the House Speaker and possible 2000 Presidential contender seems a changed man. The new Newt describes an old Newt so persuaded of his revolution's righteousness that he again and again underestimated the White House. During the federal shutdowns of 1995-96, he figured Clinton would cave in; during the '97 flood-relief showdown, he ignored his lieutenants' sensible advice. ''Basically,'' he writes, ''we had only ourselves to blame.'' The new Newt is also coolly analytical and more self-controlled than the undisciplined, cocky visionary who climbed to the top of the political ladder--and then was nearly toppled by his own troops just 30 months later. While the Georgian's prose doesn't soar, it offers insight into what makes this complex man tick. A rare cameo by the old Newt: the book's dense, one-sided account of his successful attempt to topple then-House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.) and of the ethics charges filed by a Wright ally against Gingrich. The heart of Lessons Learned the Hard Way is its account of the July, 1997, attempted coup against him. As Gingrich sees it, there were no villains--except perhaps the media vultures who gleefully trashed the GOP. This report isn't likely to satisfy either conservative hard-liners, who still view the Speaker as a sellout, or liberals, who lust for more Republican bloodletting. Overall, Lessons Learned the Hard Way is reminiscent of Richard M. Nixon's Six Crises. In both, an unpopular pol argued that he had profited from adversity, while reminding the world of his vision and relevance. Has Gingrich learned his lessons? That can't be measured by words in a book. It will be measured in the House and on the Presidential campaign trail. By RICHARD S. DUNHAM RELATED ITEMS PHOTO: Cover, ``Lessons Learned the Hard Way''

Updated Apr. 9, 1998 by bwwebmaster
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