'he was spinning like a nuclear-powered ?'

[Olympian]

Hello,

Could you please listen to this yahoo tv clip about how Clinton reacted to the question about if he respected Newt Gingrich?

The host of this clip (Frank Nicotero, not Bill O'Reilly on whose show this happened) says something like 'he (Clinton) was spinning like a nuclear-powered ??? . Sorry, , it's the first day of Hanukkah, I couldn't resist'.

I did not understand what he said after 'nuclear-powered', and also I did not understand the comment about 'first day of Hanukkah'. Is he saying that he is in a very excited mood because of the Hanukkah, or is the comment about 'nuclear-powered ???' somehow related to Hanukkah?

O'Reilly asks Pres. Clinton if he respects Gingrich

And Clinton's comment was a bit strange -

"I respect his ability to think and do and I eventually hammered out a really productive relationship with him."

'Think and do' what? This is not clear. Or perhaps he was simply searching for words.

Thank you

[waflob]

It's a bit awkward to describe briefly, but I'll try.
The main point is the word 'spin'. Politicians use this a lot to present a different perspective on something - this is often called 'lying' by the common man.

Anyway, the word that you're missing is 'dradle' - a sort of spinning toy. The 'nuclear-powered' part just means that it is spinning a lot. This link should explain it.

[JohnParis]

Question: Do you respect Newt Gingrich?

Answer: "I respect his ability to think and do and I eventually hammered out a really productive relationship with him."

Interpretation of answer: NO. I DO NOT.

It should be remembered that in 1998, Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the House of Representatives, and one of the principal drivers to impeach Clinton because of sexual encounters with a young White House intern. At the time, many Americans felt that it was none of Gingrich's business what Clinton did in his private life. Yet, Gingrich brought the full force of the GOP and the Christian right to bear against the president and try to impeach him. He failed and his effort was defeated by the United States Senate.

[Olympian]

It's a bit awkward to describe briefly, but I'll try.
The main point is the word 'spin'. Politicians use this a lot to present a different perspective on something - this is often called 'lying' by the common man.

Anyway, the word that you're missing is 'dradle' - a sort of spinning toy. The 'nuclear-powered' part just means that it is spinning a lot. This link should explain it.

@waflob, thank you for explaining So this is a play on words
Also, thank you for the link.

[Olympian]

Question: Do you respect Newt Gingrich?

Answer: "I respect his ability to think and do and I eventually hammered out a really productive relationship with him."

Interpretation of answer: NO. I DO NOT.

It should be remembered that in 1998, Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the House of Representatives, and one of the principal drivers to impeach Clinton because of sexual encounters with a young White House intern. At the time, many Americans felt that it was none of Gingrich's business what Clinton did in his private life. Yet, Gingrich brought the full force of the GOP and the Christian right to bear against the president and try to impeach him. He failed and his effort was defeated by the United States Senate.

@JohnParis, thank you for explaining.
Thank you for the historical background as well.

These kind of things makes learning/understanding languages difficult. How much can one know about a culture/history? I am thankful for the teachers on this forum. (bow)

[SoothingDave]

Dreidel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This must have been the word. It's the traditional toy played with on Hanukkah. It's a top that spins and some sort of game is played based on the side that it finally falls on.

[Olympian]

Dreidel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This must have been the word. It's the traditional toy played with on Hanukkah. It's a top that spins and some sort of game is played based on the side that it finally falls on.

@SoothingDave, thank you. I got the info about the toy from waflob's link (in yahoo answers), but this one has the etymology, which is quite interesting.

And I have misspelled 'Hanukkah'. I will change it.