For the Record - Democratic National Convention, 2000 - Brief Article

National Review, Sept 11, 2000

The Hotline's electoral scoreboard shows George W. Bush with poll leads in 31 states worth 335 electoral votes, and Vice President Gore with advantage in 10 states worth 153 electoral votes (270 needed to win), but some post-Democratic-convention polls have Gore bouncing ahead. . . . Gore: "I will not say a single unkind word about Governor Bush or Dick Cheney. I will not have a single negative personal attack on either one of them." . . . Jimmy Carter, on whether he agrees with Gore that President Clinton is one of the greatest presidents, on ABCNews.com: "Well, no. And I never have." . . . Joseph Lieberman, same subject, on Meet the Press: "You know, I'm going to leave the exact words for history." . . . Lieberman, on raising Social Security and Medicare retirement age, which Gore opposes: "We should keep it on the table for the good reason that people are living longer.". . . Convention crowd cheers Clinton mightily, but barely stirs when president praises Lieberman as "New Democrat." . . . San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, in New York Times: "The most important thing to me is that Gore is not emotionally in touch with the party's base. He will have to find ways to repair that."

Clinton: "By the way, Mr. Gore did sponsor the legislation" that led to creating the Internet. . . . Clinton, on how impeachment made him a better man: "If I hadn't been knocked down . . . I might not ever have had to really deal with [the crisis in my personal life] 100 percent." . . . On first night of Democratic convention, president and Hillary Clinton watch stage from separate skyboxes. . . . Clinton, on public policy: "I am quite sure that some of my positions are wrong." . . . Clinton, at fundraiser for Sen. Chuck Robb (D., Va.): "I do not believe there is a braver person in public life today than Chuck Robb." . . . At another fundraiser, Clinton refers to his presidency as an "affair of the heart." . . . Word "adultery" flashes across C-SPAN's closed captioning during early-morning replay of Clinton's convention address, and executives suspect sabotage. . . . Some White House employees continue to download pornography from Internet, despite reprimands last year, reports Washington Post. . . . Aircraft travel for Clinton's trips cost $247 million since 1997, says General Accounting Office.

Roger Cardinal Mahony, delivering invocation at Democratic convention, prays that God "will keep us ever committed to protect the life and well-being of all people, but especially unborn children, the sick, and the elderly." . . . Sen. Evan Bayh (Ind.) is "leading candidate" to succeed Lieberman as head of New Democrats, says Roll Call. . . . Thinking about 2004? Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) and Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) speak to Iowa delegates in Los Angeles. . . . In convention speech, Jesse Jackson claims GOP convention never mentioned the words "AIDS" or "Africa." Republicans correct the record, noting one speech was devoted entirely to AIDS and prime-time speaker Condoleezza Rice spoke about Africa. . . . Robert Borosage of liberal Campaign for America's Future, on Gore-Lieberman, in New York Times: "If this ticket goes down, I think progressives are going to be pretty determined to have a horse in the field next time around." . . . Rep. Ken Lucas (D., Ky.) says he's not sure who he's voting for in November. . . . Sen. Ted Kennedy (D., Mass.), who was expelled from Harvard for having another student take Spanish exam for him, sings mariachi song for California delegation.

Senior citizen winds up in hospital after ingesting prescription drug bought in Canada on bus trip organized by Democratic-Farmer-Labor party senatorial candidate Mark Dayton (Minn.), reports Associated Press. "I've never had any trouble [with my drugs] until now," says 83-year-old Stanley Kampa. . . . AFL-CIO political director Steve Rosenthal, in Washington Post: "If you do the math race by race, it's difficult to see the Democrats winning the majority. But, no matter what, it's very close." . . . GOP candidate Gloria Matta Tuchman hopes to unseat Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D., Calif.) by taking advantage of Playboy Mansion fundraiser controversy. . . . Reform party candidate Pat Buchanan picks Ezola Foster-African-American woman, Proposition 187 activist, and John Birch Society member-as running mate. . . . Old Executive Office Building, next to White House, officially renamed Eisenhower Old Executive Office Building. . . . New York Post reports HUD secretary Andrew Cuomo is "definitely" running for governor of New York in 2002. . . . After much protest, "Choose Life" license plates go on sale in Florida. . . . Chicago public schools let group distribute book covers featuring Ten Commandments, but only off school property.

U.S. jets bomb defense sites in Iraq following missile attacks. . . . North Korean leader Kim Jong Il confirms he has sold missiles to Iran and Syria. . . . United Kingdom's chief medical officer Liam Donaldson calls for expansion of human-embryo cloning. . . . Half of Britain's pregnant teens had prescriptions for birth-control pill when impregnated . . . . More than 2 million attend Catholic youth festival in Rome. . . . Suicides hit record levels in Japan. . . . Taliban militia ruling Afghanistan refuses to extradite terrorist Osama bin Laden. . . . Mexican president-elect Vicente Fox Quesada promises to appoint border czar.