Mullings A Political Cyber Column By Rich Galen

�

Click here for the Secret Decoder Ring to this issue!

No Problem, I'll Just Sit Over Here

Friday, May 26, 2000

Here's a terrific "I got a better offer" story. Former Congressman, former Dallas Mayor, and still good friend, Steve Bartlett is the head of the Financial Services Roundtable here in Your Nation's Capital.

I called him on Monday and asked him if he would like to join me at the Republican House Senate Dinner on Wednesday night. I had seats in the staff section which, in the cavernous Washington Convention Center, is just over the horizon from the main stage. He said he would.

On Tuesday, I got a call from his office saying he had forgotten he had already received an invitation to attend the dinner from one of his organization's members. "No problem," I said. "I'll see him there."

Comes Wednesday night, I am trolling for Mullworthy material among the 3,700 guests, and I come across the table - directly in front of the stage - at which the Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, is seated. Who, to my wondering eyes, should appear? Steve Bartlett.

It turned out the Mullworthy material � was me.

The timing of the vote to pass the Permanent Normalized Trade Relations bill and the 40 million dollar fund-raising night was unfortunate. The House vote ended at about 5:45 pm. The Democratic and Republican events started about 15 minutes later.

Anti-PNTR labor unions were the largest group of donors to the Democrat dinner, which makes us wonder what the House Dems and Bill Clinton have in mind to help labor get even between now and November.

Maryland prosecutors have decided to drop the illegal wiretapping case they cooked up against Linda Tripp. That means the only person still involved in judicial proceedings is Bill Clinton in his fight to keep his license to practice law.

Bad-News-Of-The-Day Department: Al Gore will be hard-pressed to reconcile his beloved Environmental Protection Agency's rules which will cause gasoline prices to soar - perhaps as early as this weekend. According to a Reuters piece, "Drivers in the United States are expected to pay the highest gasoline prices ever recorded in the country this Memorial Day weekend, and according to industry groups they can blame a little-known misstep between U.S. oil companies and environmental regulators."

According to the wire service, "At issue is a new cleaner-burning gasoline standard that will be required at roughly a third of the nation's gas stations June 1 -- part of an effort by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce smog pollution."

How large a voting bloc are car drivers?

There was also bad news for "Gasoline Al" last weekend which Mullings spotted while getting prepared for its regular Monday appearance on KSFO radio in San Francisco but neglected to mention until now.

The San Francisco Examiner is not known to have an editorial page which is in sympathy - much less lock-step - with the VRWC. Nevertheless, in its editorial on Saturday discussing Gore's over-use of the word "risky" the editorial said: "That word pretty much sums up the substance of Gore's strategy: To attack Bush the man and his programs as full of risk. It isn't playing in Peoria, or anywhere else. Bush has opened up a sizable lead in the polls, and in the key Rust Belt states where the election will be won or lost: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois."

For the full editorial go here:

If you are the Democratic candidate for President, and you are being held up to scorn in San Francisco, you are in big, big trouble and the fault, dear Albert, is not in San Andreas, but in yourself.

More signs of the end of civilization as we know it: The television ratings for the just-concluded season are out and the three top rated programs were: Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

I hope to do MUCH better answering the questions now that we are in summer re-runs.

I got an unsolicited e-mail advertisement which started with the following words: "Now you can order Viagra AND Propecia online." I am concerned, for my fellow man, that the instructions for the use of each are clearly indicated.

Current Issue | Secret Decoder Ring | Past Issues | Email Rich | Rich Who?