Friday, February 12, 1999 -- New York -- Linda Tripp attempted the beginning of her "rehabilitation" via an interview with Jamie Gangel on NBC's Today show. Throughout the interview, Tripp sounded carefully rehearsed, with weasel phrases and smatterings of language that sounded well-crafted by her lawyers and public relations advisors.

And much as she tried, she did not sound sympathetic in the least. In fact, reading between the lines, she was the same shameless and contemptible Tripp we've come to despise.

She sounded ridiculous from the word go when she said with regard to the Clinton-Lewinsky liaisons that "this was not an affair." She then made her first assertion that Monica threatened to commit suicide (which anyone can tell you is no surprise with a lovestruck young woman who messed herself over in her zeal for "presidential kneepads") and talked about Lewinsky's "histrionics and hysteria" (words from a young woman who also told Tripp she lied all the time).

Tripp compared Monica to a young girl in love with Elvis, which was an hilarious and self-undermining metaphor -- after all, women love Clinton, so does it come as some sort of big surprise that they throw themselves at him?

She also said the President saw this as a "servicing" agreement -- not a surprising statement from a woman known for her contempt of Clinton simply because he's a Democrat President. Unfortunately, the Grand Jury testimony of many witnesses completely skewers Tripp's mean-spirited characterization.

And that pretty well sums up Tripp's attitude toward Clinton throughout the interview -- mean, hateful, contemptuous in her cheap shots at the President.

Tripp then asserted that the President "abused and discarded" Monica -- an idiotic statement when you consider who was doing the pursuing in the first place.

Tripp lied outright about being "honored to work with Bill Clinton." She may be honored to be a political appointee, but her private comments concerning Clinton -- including a few caught on tape -- show how dishonest Tripp is being. She claimed she tried to contact Bruce Lindsey concerning the Monica flap. "Does this sound like a woman trying to bring down the White House?"

Given her pattern and practice of illegal taping and collusion with political extremists out to get Clinton, we'd have to answer with a resounding yes.

What was she afraid of? "It does not appear to be well-known that the President called a meeting about me in July of 1997."

Well, given her penchant for rumormongering and her reputation as a loose cannon, it's no surprise.

She claimed that threats to her life came from the President. Once Clinton leaves office, he ought to sue this wiretapper for slander.

Tripp was seeking to imply "body count" throughout this portion of the interview, as she would a bit later. Instead, her ideology and paranoia showed. She doesn't need interviews, she needs a good shrink (or, if she already has one, a better shrink).

"I can promise you the words 'duty, honor, country' mean something" -- as she went on to claim that she saw crimes going on in the Clinton White House. Well, if concern for the poor and trying to see to it that everyone has decent health care are crimes, she might have a point. Her "duty, honor, country" comment and recounting her youth as an Army brat and wife was utter pap, as is her assertion that essentially political decisions and mistakes by low-level aides are criminal.

Gangel played a segment of one of her Lewinsky tapes in which Tripp encourages Monica to save the dress, and said it sounded like "you're manipulating Monica to set up the President."

In reply, Tripp said "Monica was not a stalker, she was an enthusiastic participant." That first assertion is a lie, and Tripp knows it, especially after 20-odd tapes of Clinton-obsessed conversation. Yes, Monica was an enthusiastic participant, but both of them were stalking the President in their own ways.

The interview then reached the political stage, with Tripp stating, "If I were a voter, I would want to know if what I saw was diametrically opposed to what was going on behind the scenes."

Right, Linda. Can you say "Iran-Contra?"

She went on to criticize the "chief law enforcement officer" for thwarting "the civil rights of a citizen." That statement needed a laugh track.

Tripp then implied that Monica might be dead now. "She's alive today, she has a future today... I think I contributed to her health." More body count pap -- and my, Linda, you've made such a contribution to Monica's health and well-being.

Gangel, unfortunately, did not rake Tripp over the coals for this hypocrisy -- she was way too easy on Tripp throughout. But she did bring up the "I am you" comment, and the fact that most Americans disagree. Tripp: "It could have been you, it could have been anyone who got in the way."

...that is, if you had it in for Clinton.

Tripp said "the worst thing is I could not defend myself." Well, gosh, maybe Tripp can relate to Clinton not being able to defend himself against Paula Jones' lies, even though his lawyer caught her in five of them in her sworn complaint!

If this is Tripp's attempt to defend herself, she's just become a bigger laughing stock than she was before.

Finally, Gangel asked if Starr's office knew that her lawyers were talking to the Jones team? Tripp said she was subpoenaed, and that she did not think the prosecutors knew, and if they did, it was in an informal way.

No surprise there -- plausible deniability. After all, the now-failed coup attempt had to remain an informal arrangement.

Tripp ended by saying she had nothing to say to the President. We're sure the feeling is mutual.

She said that "perjury and obstruction" were not options for her, that she still feared the President, and she did her patriotic duty.

Our translation: wiretapping and fraud were options for her, she needs mental help, and setups, scams, and extraconstitutional means to bring down freely elected officials are just fine by her.

The interview was no surprise, especially given that it was broadcast on the Today show -- all softball questions, an opportunity for Tripp to state her case without much in the way of probing questions, and not one challenge to her patently crafted and rehearsed answers.

Two pieces of good news -- the Tripp interview was over, and James Carville batted cleanup in a five-minute interview with Katie Couric.

Carville said of Clinton that he was still "proud of the man... I'm proud he called on me to help him... he's a fine man, and he messed up, you can't abandon a man who messed up."

He said that Clinton had two productive years ahead, especially on the issue of Social Security. He said that after today's expected acquittal of Clinton, the topic of his peccadilloes would be dropped except perhaps by him, "a Shiite Clintonite."

Carville said he'd be working aggressively on reclaiming the Congress for the Democrats.

Would he bury the hatchet with Ken Starr? "Right in him... Now I don't wish him personal ill, but I wish him every professional ill... He's a petty, obsessed extraconstitutional person who thinks he's above the law."

He also got a laugh out of Katie when he said "You've got me wound up! On the same segment with Linda Tripp and Jerry Springer!"

And what did he think about Linda Tripp? Carville gave Tripp a valentine -- sort of: "I have a very different view of friendship, a very different view of loyalty... Linda Tripp and I are two very different people with two different world views. I'll leave it at that." He could have unloaded, but didn't.

Omigosh -- a kinder, gentler Carville? Well, it's Valentine's Day, and Carville is not the type to kick a dog when it's down -- and his appearance on Today cleared the air of Tripp's noxious performance.

-- The Editors