Gingrich to Delete Reference to Bush in Upcoming Novel

WASHINGTON — Rep. Newt Gingrich, in line to become Speaker of the House, has asked the publisher of a novel he is writing to omit a draft chapter that refers to a Lt. George Bush as “quite a guy, goofy in a way.”

Gingrich (R-Ga.) said in a statement Thursday that he “neither wrote, saw nor approved” the references for former President George Bush, who was a Navy pilot during World War II.

The forthcoming novel--tentatively titled “1945”--is scheduled for publication next August. Excerpts of the draft are to be published this Sunday in the New York Times Magazine.

The book’s publisher, James Baen of New York, said that he had inserted the reference to Bush in Gingrich’s manuscript but that Gingrich had not yet reviewed it.

The novel’s theme is what would have happened if Adolf Hitler had never declared war on the United States. It opens with a steamy scene in which a German spy seduces the White House chief of staff.

Asked about the explicit seduction, Gingrich spokesman Tony Blankley said: “I think he (Gingrich) expects the final version will be appropriate for a general audience. This is just the draft stage.”