Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Headline Article Date: Tue, 27 Oct 92 13:27:07 EST Message-ID: \SE A;NATION;INSIDE THE BELTWAY \BY John McCaslin \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Democratic National Committee is so optimistic about the 1992 election that they've scheduled a post-election "Victory Celebration" for state Democratic chairmen and vice chairmen. The get-together is set for the weekend of Nov. 20, although the DNC promises less than a day of actual meetings. The average mean temperature in Washington for that weekend is a chilly 47 degrees, so the DNC has booked the Frenchman's Reef and Morning Star Beach Club in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. And so as not to exclude members of the fourth estate who also worked long and hard on the campaign (or didn't, depending on how you look at it), the DNC is offering reporters a discount toward the fun and sun. But there's a catch. Says the DNC: "To take advantage of the special rates, when booking both hotel room and air reservations, reporters should say they are with the Association of State Democratic Chairs." NO CHEAP MEAT On "CBS This Morning" yesterday, a housewife asked Bill Clinton to demonstrate his knowledge of various costs: a pound of hamburger, a pair of blue jeans, a tank of gas and a visit to the doctor's office. She wanted to know if Mr. Clinton really knows "what it's like to be in the shoes of the average American family." The governor was more than up to the challenge, rattling off prices of items not even asked for. "Gasoline is about $1.20, depending on what kind of gasoline it is," Mr. Clinton said. "Hamburger meat's a little over a dollar. A gallon of milk's two dollars. A loaf of bread's about a dollar now. What else did you ask me?" Food retailers in Little Rock said a loaf of bread is anywhere from 40 cents to $1.39 and a gallon of milk ranges between $1.99 and $2.38, but a pound of hamburger costs no less than $1.49. GOVERNING GOVERNMENT Virginians on both sides of the aisle came down hard on Gov. L. Douglas Wilder for spending so many hours away from the Old Dominion during his unsuccessful presidential bid, even though Mr. Wilder was the first Democratic candidate to bow out of the nominee race. As for Bill Clinton, well, let's just say his nights in the Little Rock governor's mansion are numbered, no matter which way the election turns out. Records kept by Lt. Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, who by law governs in Mr. Clinton's absence, show the governor has been out of Arkansas for all or part of 248 days this year, or about 84 percent of the time. Arkansas newspapers reported that Mr. Clinton's absence may have been a factor when Wire Rope Corp. of America in August chose a Missouri city over three Arkansas cities as the site of a new plant that would have created 120 jobs in Mr. Clinton's state. Company President J.P. Barclay Jr. said Arkansas made good presentations but he never once heard from Mr. Clinton. "If he loved Arkansas as much as he says he does, he would have quit" as governor after the Democratic National Convention, wrote Arkansas Democrat-Gazette columnist John Robert Starr. FORGET-ME-NOT William Kristol, chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, fired off a letter yesterday to George Stephanopoulos, director of communications for the Clinton-Gore campaign, after the latter's appearance on a weekend news program. "You were asked on 'Evans and Novak,' " wrote Mr. Kristol, "about my remarks Friday on Governor Clinton and the 'Tower test.' You responded that 'when you have a Harvard social philosopher reading from Penthouse to a Republican group, you know you've got a campaign in trouble.' "I am of course flattered that you consider me a 'Harvard social philosopher.' But I must write to request that you correct your statement. My remarks neither mentioned nor referred to Penthouse in any way. The quotations I read were from the Congressional Record, and had nothing to do with the recent issue of Penthouse. I therefore ask that you correct the record." The December issue of Penthouse, the men's magazine Mr. Kristol did not quote from, features a nude spread of Gennifer Flowers, who, to the embarrassment of the Clinton-Gore ticket, "Tells All, Shows All." CRYING FOUL There's a new, nonpartisan movement afoot: Women Against Womanizing. "If you are disgusted with adulterous politicians like Bill 'Willie Womanizer' Clinton who treat women like paper dolls to be played with and disposed of at will, now is the time to let your voice be heard," reads the top of a petition being circulated by organizer Rebecca Hagelin of Vienna, Va. Fed-up women will have their names placed on a paper doll and added to hundreds of others as a backdrop to a national news conference scheduled by the group later this week. HOUSE FAVORITE The Las Vegas Hilton Race and Sports SuperBook says Bill Clinton can begin packing his bags for the White House. With a week remaining before the Nov. 3 presidential election, the SuperBook has installed Mr. Clinton as a prohibitive 1-to-12 favorite to defeat President Bush. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM