All about Richard

Throughout his career in Congress, U.S. Rep. Richard Armey has been known for his shoot-from-the-lip style, firing off barbs that often stung the Irving Republican more than his intended targets.

Last week, the House majority leader's tongue again won him--and this time, the Dallas Observer--national attention. In the most direct criticism of President Clinton's sexual peccadilloes by a high-ranking Republican, Armey called Clinton's behavior "shameless" and said he would resign if he found himself in such a position.

Picking up on the comment, CNBC's Geraldo Rivera dug up a May 4, 1995, Observer profile of Armey by staff writer Miriam Rozen titled "The Improbable Rise of Richard Armey" that detailed his ascent as one of America's most powerful men.

The story outlined Armey's past, including his time as an economics professor at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas). It quoted by name three women who attended the school at the time and commented about Armey's "inappropriate" behavior with female students. One of the women told the Observer that she didn't remember details, but that she left the university for several months partly because of Armey's behavior.

Rozen received a call from a producer of Rivera Live, who had acquired a hard-to-read faxed copy of the 3-year-old Observer story. He planned to air a broadcast about the women's comments that evening in less than one hour. Reluctantly, Rozen agreed to appear on the show because of concerns that her story would be misrepresented.

Since then, the Observer has been bombarded by calls seeking copies of the original article from both the public and the media. To make things easier for us and you, we have posted a copy of the original article on our World Wide Web site--www.dallasobserver.com--along with links to other articles about Armey. Check them for a peek at what all the fuss is about.