For The Record - political news - Brief Article

National Review, April 5, 1999

At party honoring Interior Department's 150th birthday, President Clinton continues to dignify his office. "Sometimes I feel like the fire hydrant looking at a pack of dogs," he said. "For six years I have declined to tell these kind of jokes, because I have been told repeatedly it is not presidential. But I feel kind of outdoorsy today." . . . George Stephanopoulos on Clinton, in Newsweek: "Knowing what we know now, I don't think he'd be fit enough to be elected." . .

. Arkansas lawmakers reject $500,000 proposal to renovate Clinton's boyhood home in Hope. Plan would have funded theater, computer room, boardroom, gift-shop expansion, and director's-office relocation. No word on adding "windowless corridor" to site. . . . Sign on I-30 announcing Hope as Clinton's birthplace is regularly used for target practice and riddled with holes, reports USA Today.

Asked on CNN why Democrats should nominate him over Bill Bradley, Vice President Gore responds: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." Actually, the Internet began in 1969 as outgrowth of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. . . . Sen. Fred Thompson (R., Tenn.) says George W. Bush has "charisma" but is "untested." . . . Lamar Alexander on his famous plaid shirt: "You'll see it again, but not when I announce. People knew the shirt better than my message last time." . . . Dan Quayle wins endorsement from Sen. Spencer Abraham (R., Mich.), his former deputy chief of staff. . . . Shortly after New York Times reports that Clinton vows to defeat Rep. Jay Dickey (R., Ark.) next year, Gov. Bush headlines $1,000-per- couple fundraiser for Dickey in Dallas. . . . Bush receives direct-mail letter from Gore: "To win in 2000, I need you by my side," it reads. Gore-Bush 2000?

Rep. David McIntosh (R.) ponders bid for Indiana governor. . . . Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin scheduled to speak at bipartisan "civility retreat" in Hershey, Pa., for members of Congress. One problem: Goodwin doesn't know much about civility. On Don Imus radio program, Goodwin blasted Sen. Phil Gramm for opposing censure: "Let him filibuster. Maybe his fat body will get a little thinner if he filibusters. . . . He's just nuts. He's completely wrong on the history, he's wrong on the politics, and I just wish he'd shut up." . . . Democrats complain about receiving only 30 percent of House committee budgets, but that's more than the 24 percent Republicans got when Democrats controlled chamber. . . . Associated Press poll: 50 percent of Americans prefer a 10 percent tax cut, 44 percent would like specified tax credits. . . . House votes to boost number of Peace Corps volunteers from 6,700 to 10,000.

Sen. Connie Mack (R., Fla.), short-listed by Bob Dole in 1996 for vice- presidential slot, announces retirement. . . . Sen. Robert Torricelli (N.J.), head of Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, says he will target eight GOP incumbents in 2000: Spencer Abraham (Mich.), John Ashcroft (Mo.), Conrad Burns (Mont.), Mike DeWine (Ohio), Slade Gorton (Wash.), James Jeffords (Vt.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), and Rick Santorum (Penn.).

In its annual Pig Book, Citizens Against Government Waste identifies $12 billion in congressional pork-barrel spending for fiscal year 1999. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D., Md.) wins "Chicken You-Know-What Award" for $225,000 demonstration project to determine whether poultry litter can generate electricity. . . .

Federal court approves Landmark Legal Foundation request to force release of IRS documents "to determine whether the costly and time-consuming audits of conservative and libertarian groups have been politically motivated." . . .

Federal search-and-rescue efforts cost $383 million last year, including $130,275 to aid millionaire hot-air balloonists Richard Branson and Steve Fossett in December. . . . Former New York senator Alfonse D'Amato named George magazine's "Dear Abby," dispensing political advice in new monthly column.

University of Wisconsin-Madison speech code to keep professors from presenting offensive material to students is scrapped by faculty-senate vote. . . . Jesse Jackson announces plan to open Silicon Valley office. . . . Pro-abortion activists celebrate "National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers." . . . Crayola announces it will change name of indian red crayon to avoid misunderstandings about color's origin, which comes from reddish-brown pigment found in India. Only twice before has Crayola changed crayon names: Prussian blue became midnight blue in 1958, and flesh became peach in 1962.

Chinese demographic report notes that 10 percent of girls born under one-child policy are "missing." . . . Russian prime minister Yevgeni Primakov calls for "strategic triangle" between Russia, China, and India. . . . Animal Liberation Front eco-terrorists launch coordinated attack on several McDonald's outlets and other fast-food chains in Belgium. . . . Dunkin' Donuts and Pizza Hut close Moscow franchises owing to poor economy. . . . In St. Petersburg, 400 gather to form "Thatcherites of Russia" political party. . . . Arab Israeli wins Miss Israel contest. . . . Cats living in India's parliament will be sterilized after two of them frolicked in front of president during annual televised opening address.