Tennessee All Shook Up Over Al; Senators for Senators; Batting for Kids; Full Speed Ahead; God Is Nonpartisan; IRS Trustbusters; Final Sentence?; Don't Fear Clinton; New Peace Proposal; Endnotes
Republican panhandling, teams join drug war, prayers for civility
Tennessee all shook up over Al Vice President Al Gore needs a little more Elvis and Opry and a little less Bill and Hillary in his campaign repertoire, fret some Tennessee advisers. Home-grown Democrats are encouraging the veep to headquarter his 2000 presidential bid in Nashville or Memphis instead of Washington. "He needs to distance himself from Clinton," said a Tennessee Democratic consultant, worried that Gore could be smeared by the Lewinsky scandal. But the vice president still plans to follow the campaign model set by former Vice President Bush, who ran his operation from Washington in 1988.
Senators for senators. The Lewinsky scandal has led Republican leaders to predict that the GOP could add six new Senate seats to the 55 they hold. All that's needed is a big war chest to fund TV ads in tight races, such as in California and Illinois. To boost those chances, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican and chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is asking senators not up for re-election this year and those facing little challenge to give him $50,000 from their campaign coffers. He hopes to raise $2 million.
Batting for kids. Here's a White House-intern-does-good story. It takes place in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, where college student Jeffrey Gulko interned. When the drug czar's office last spring began seeking audiences for its anti-drug public service announcements, Gulko, a former Boston Red Sox clubhouse aide, called the team and suggested they show it at Fenway Park. Soon other teams with jumbo TVs followed, and now Gulko has persuaded 18 Major League Baseball teams, some NFL franchises, and all of the National Hockey League to play the public service announcements, which bluntly warn kids about drug use. "We were like, wow," said Gulko, 21, who was rewarded recently with a paying job and title--deputy manager of sports initiative.
Full speed ahead. The Navy's call of "all hands on deck" is soon to find one area a little crowded--the Navy secretary's office. The current occupant, John Dalton, recently announced his resignation effective at the end of the year. But the Senate is moving quickly to confirm his replacement, Richard Danzig. He could be approved this month. But Dalton isn't leaving early. An aide said he wants to help Danzig "get up to speed." But Danzig's friends note with irony that he was a former Navy under secretary, the training ground for Navy secretaries.
God is nonpartisan. President Clinton and Republicans aren't the only ones seeking spiritual guidance these days. Democrats--even liberals--are also showing their religious side. About two dozen mostly liberal congressional Democrats, disturbed with the increasingly acid tone on Capitol Hill especially in the wake of the Lewinsky scandal, commune weekly to seek spiritual guidance. "It keeps you grounded in some core principles and helps you better understand other members," said Rep. George Miller, a Catholic Californian. "It would do a lot of people a lot of good to do something like this," added Rep. Henry Waxman, a Jewish Californian.
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