HIGH NOON ARRIVES FOR GINGRICH : HOUSE GOP LEADERS CONFIDENT OF RE-ELECTION AS SPEAKER OFFERS DEFENSE.

Byline: David Hess and Vanessa Gallman Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

A defiant Newt Gingrich assured House Republicans on Monday that he deserves to be re-elected speaker today, defending himself point by point against the ethics charges that have put his tenure in doubt.

House Republican leaders expressed increased confidence that Gingrich would win re-election when the 105th Congress convenes at noon - despite the appeal Monday from House Banking Committee Chairman Jim Leach, R-Iowa, for Gingrich to step down.

``Newt's going to be speaker,'' predicted House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Livingstone, R-La. By day's end, four Republicans had said publicly that they do not intend to vote for Gingrich - not enough to deny him re-election.

Republicans convened behind closed doors for more than three hours Monday evening so Gingrich could present his case and answer any questions about his admission that he had funneled contributions through tax-exempt foundations for partisan political purposes, then gave investigators ``inaccurate, incomplete and unreliable'' responses to the charges.

Afterward, a smiling Gingrich said simply that the session had gone ``very well.'' ``It's been a great time,'' he said.

Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., said that only three members of the GOP caucus spoke against Gingrich's continued tenure - Reps. Michael Forbes of New York, Tom Campbell of California and Leach. Later, Rep. Linda Smith, R-Wash., told reporters she would not support Gingrich either and would nominate Leach instead - a move Leach said he opposed.

Rep. John Kasich, R-Ohio, said that an additional five to eight Republicans might not vote for Gingrich. But if they abstain, rather than vote for someone else, Gingrich still would prevail. Gingrich needs a majority of lawmakers casting votes to win re-election.

But Gingrich's critics were overshadowed in the meeting by supporters such as Livingstone and Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill.

``To those who suggested that Newt step aside, there was not even a smattering of applause,'' Foley said. ``To those who stood up for Newt, they got ovations.''

One of the most impassioned addresses came from Hyde, who had been mentioned as a possible interim speaker until the Ethics Committee determines a punishment for Gingrich.

Later, Hyde told reporters, ``I simply told them that our party owes a lot to Newt Gingrich. He is the one who brought us out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. . . . I explained to them the values of gratitude and loyalty, and defined the term `lying' not as an inadvertent act - as what the speaker did - but as a deliberate mistruth, as what the Democrats told people about Republicans and Medicare.''

For his part, Gingrich chalked up much of his problems to Democratic efforts to foil him and the Republican agenda.

According to Foley, Gingrich told the caucus: ``I've been attacked, I've been abused, I've been sullied . . . attacked by paid political advertising which disparaged my name. . . . When you lead a revolution, you've got to expect this kind of hostile attention.''