ANNOUNCER: Bringing you the world for 20 years, this is CNN.</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Newt Gingrich is a fascinating story. First of all, he came to power by this take-no- prisoners attitude. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, DECEMBER 5, 1994) REP. NEWT GINGRICH (R-GA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Occasionally -- I appreciate your forbearance -- for some reason, I will say or do something controversial that people will get all excited about.</s>FRANKEN: Somebody decided, among the Gingrich brain trust, that it was time to come out and hammer President Clinton about his ethics problems, his impeachment problems. It backfired. It backfired so badly that instead of the 30 to 40 seats that the Republicans had hopes of picking up, they lost seats.</s>GINGRICH: I spent 40 years working, since I was 15, to try to make sure that freedom survived against the Soviet empire, to try to help elect Ronald Reagan, and to try to create a Republican majority in the House.</s>FRANKEN: So he did the strategic thing and he decided that he would quit before he was quit. And so just a few days after the election, he announced that he would not run for speaker again; he would resign, as a matter of fact.</s>GINGRICH: For me to stay in the House would make it impossible for a new leader to have a chance to grow, to learn and to do what they need to do. And I think there comes a time when you've got to step out and let a new team take over.</s>FRANKEN: The next speaker will replace a man Republicans say united the party and led it to an historic victory. Four years later, Newt Gingrich is leaving, shouldering the blame for a disappointing election and a badly divided Republican Party. Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.
CNN 20: Newt Gingrich Resigns, November 6, 1998