BY PAUL BARTON
Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Rep. John Boehner told a national television audience Sunday that he and departing House Speaker Newt Gingrich ''had our share of disagreements over the last four years'' and that most of the GOP's problems in the House could be traced to Mr. Gingrich.
He also said he will support Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, for speaker.
Mr. Boehner, R-West Chester, was making his first public comments since the Republicans lost five House seats to the Democrats on Tuesday. He appeared on ABC's This Week and on CNN's Late Edition.
The shocking results Tuesday led to a wave of unrest among House GOP members, culminating in Mr. Gingrich's announcement Friday that he was resigning from his speaker's post and from Congress.
Mr. Boehner's direct criticism of Mr. Gingrich surprised some Republicans.
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''If members saw that, he probably lost two dozen votes right there,'' suggested one GOP strategist. ''This was someone saying 'I wasn't involved, it's not my fault.' ''
Mr. Boehner, the fourth-ranking member of the leadership as House Republican Conference chairman, has announced he will seek re-election to his current post when leadership elections are held Nov. 18.
He already has two announced challengers for the job, Reps. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma and George Radanovich of California. Other announcements could come as soon as today.
On CNN, Mr. Boehner said it was a mistake for House Republicans to have run millions of dollars in ads invoking President Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky just before the election.
''The election was not about Bill Clinton or Monica Lewinsky. And what it did was, it raised a pall over the election day that didn't need to be there. Our candidates were doing well on their own,'' he said. ''This was one of those elections that was going to be fought over local issues. And to have raised this at the last four or five days before the election I think was a mistake.''
At one point in the ABC show, Mr. Boehner was asked why members shouldn't remove him from a leadership position, given the unrest over the GOP's election performance.
''I think most members of the House believe that with Newt's decision to leave, that - that's enough change. That the problems in terms of managing the House were mainly in the speaker's office,'' he said.
The Washington Post contributed to this report.
