Fox, CNN gear up for the mother of all media wars
There's one serious arms race going on in the Persian Gulf, and we're not talking about the military. This expensive buildup could determine the king of cable news: Fox or CNN. Both are flooding reporters outfitted with videophones, helmets, and other gear into five-star hotels near the front. Blank checks are being signed to cover 21st-century gadgets to wow audiences. Slumping CNN appears to be spending more. It's got a fleet of humvees. Fox has one but spruced it up with desert camo. Fox is spending on night-vision goggles and tiny "lipstick cameras" that provide lots of angles on the cheap. Network bigs say the expense is more than simply the cost of doing business. They say the 1991 Gulf War made CNN the top cable dog. CNN wants to repeat, but upstart Fox sees Iraq as its rainmaker. Spending, however, isn't always the trick. Consider: CNN flew a team to Qatar to cover a recent military exercise. It turned out to be a closed-door computer drill in Central Command HQ. For comparison: U.S. News has spent $26,000 on stuff like flak jackets and chem-bio suits.
The John Wayne of generals
There's a reason why we don't know a lot about Gen. Tommy Franks, the military's point man on Iraq. He just hates stories about himself. "Moms and dads of the troops," says spokesman Jim Wilkinson, "would rather have him working on the details of protecting their kids' lives than doing interviews." That said, Whispers does have some skinny on the four-star Army general. First, he's a 24-7 guy. Staff arrives at Central Command HQ at 4 a.m. just to prepare for the boss. He's a news junkie, though he watches no TV. For fun, the movie-loving Franks bought a portable DVD player for long flights to the gulf. His tastes can be simple. "He likes MREs, " groans one associate, and noshes at the Tex-Mex restaurant Chevys. But what really jazzes him is hanging out with troops, bringing them entertainers or getting Outback Steakhouse to deliver rib-eyes. "He's got a folksy John Wayne style," says a pal. Example: Not big on speeches, he brings troops in a circle for a few jokes and a short pep talk. Franks then shakes every hand.
A Hoosier plea
Indiana Republicans want Office of Management and Budget boss Mitch Daniels to run for governor in 2004. The Hoosiers have enlisted party bigwigs, like the state's last GOP governor, Robert Orr, to pitch Daniels, a former Eli Lilly & Co. exec, Reagan political aide, and state political insider. Local party players are also helping. Jim Whiten, an Indianapolis businessman, created www.draftmitchdaniels .com and a political action committee called "Frugal Hoosiers for Mitch." Donations are capped at $10, a tribute to the famously tight Daniels. Bushies don't want the pork buster to leave, but he's interested; Daniels attended this month's state GOP Lincoln Day events.
Clark's tease
Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark seems to have cleared up some lingering questions about his party affiliation and presidential plans. Democratic Party sources say Clark, a former NATO boss, this month called Arkansas Democratic Party Chair Ron Oliver and asked him to hold off endorsing a candidate. "Endorsing anyone else by his home state party," says our source, "would hurt him bad." Clark said he'd decide after the anticipated war with Iraq. Clark is on contract to analyze the war for CNN.
The story of W
With President Bush's legacy in mind, White House insiders say they're collecting little stories that could help a biographer pen W's story. Who'll get the job? Bushies are soliciting for authors.
WWJD
The media's God police go crazy every time President Bush mentions Jesus or is around others who do. It happened last week when Bush was introduced at a Nashville prayer breakfast as a "brother in Christ." A Washington Post scribe, for example, practically had a heart attack. Turns out Bush rarely invokes Jesus's name, and an aide says that's on purpose. "We don't want to single out any religion." One official even researched how many times Bush has mentioned Jesus as prez: 17, mostly in Easter and Christmas messages. He has referred to "God," adds the official, in more speeches about Muslims than about Christians. For the record: In Nashville, Bush didn't mention Jesus.
Texas, oui?
Bush aides are chuckling over a new bumper sticker that pokes fun at France's refusal to join the president's pressure campaign on Iraq. "Texas," it says, "is bigger than France."
Bunker busters
Iraq's Saddam Hussein had better think twice before hiding in a cement bunker in the event of war. We hear that the Air Force's famous 1991 bunker-buster bomb that could drill 100 feet deep has been upgraded and might reach as far as 300 feet down.
Target: sex slaves
President Bush, for the first time lending White House support, this month plans to join opponents of international sex trafficking by announcing steps to punish countries like India. At a February 20 summit called by Shared Hope International, Bush, Attorney General John Ashcroft, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson will push for international sanctions.
Terror's retirees
Egged on by a California think tank, Congress is considering probing state pension systems that invest in companies that do business with terrorist nations. The Claremont Institute says there are 400 companies in countries known to sponsor terrorism that are popular among pension managers. How serious is the threat? We hear that Wall Street fund managers are pressuring lawmakers to back off.
Empty wallet
They laughed in Rep. Dick Gephardt's office when the Center for Public Integrity released its report on the wealth of the Democratic presidential candidates. His assets were pegged at between $134,022 and $614,000--last on the list. And even at $134,022, it's high, say associates. "He's got three student loans and a [daughter's] wedding to pay off," says one associate. Worse: After years of studying Wall Street, he recently made his first investment in several mutual funds. When? Right before the market tanked, slashing his investment in half. The positive side: Unlike the millionaires running for president, he can honestly call himself Joe Six-pack.
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With Mark Mazzetti, Margaret Menge and Richard J. Newman
This story appears in the February 24, 2003 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.