Gingrich to New York: I’m Sorry

NEW YORK — House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) apologized Tuesday for calling New York City government “a culture of waste” and for saying the nation would not “bail out the habits that have made New York so extraordinarily expensive.”

He called New York “a great city,” told Republican Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani that he is sorry and said: “I misspoke myself. I spoke too broadly and too sloppily.”

Giuliani had noted that New York sends the federal government about $9 billion a year more than it gets back--in contrast with Gingrich’s home state, which last year received $1 billion more than it sent. City Council head Peter Vallone proposed a resolution demanding not only an apology but a “thank you” from Gingrich for the city “subsidizing” Georgia.

The city’s newspapers printed scathing editorials Tuesday. “Stereotyping is dangerous--even by someone who comes from a state where people marry their siblings and think refrigerators are lawn decor,” wrote the Daily News.