Mullings A Political Cyber Column By Rich Galen

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Wild, Wild Pest

Monday, June 26, 2000

Two prosecutors - Robert Ray and Robert Conrad - issued findings this week which did not directly accuse Hillary Rodham Clinton Rodham or Al Gore of criminal behavior, but did continue to keep the scandal issue on the Sunday talk shows.

Mullings was atwitter to read the wire reports of Robert Conrad's activities. Bitter deflation followed when it became clear this was not the Robert Conrad who broke new theatrical ground in his moving portrayals of Greg "Pappy" Boyington (Black Sheep Squadron) and Jim West (Wild, Wild West).

Ray, who succeeded Kenneth Starr, issued a report which said there was no evidence that Mrs. Clinton had a direct role in the firings in the White House travel office, but that she might have had some role.

This is how someone can have a role without having a direct role: All a First Lady - any First Lady - has to say is, "are those people still there?" and the machinery immediately begins to make sure "those people," whoever they are, are not there much longer. A First Lady - any First Lady - knows this will be the effect, which is exactly the desired effect. Just a simple inquiry. No direct role.

As a Justice Department prosecutor, Conrad is the fourth person in that or a similar role to recommend that an independent counsel be appointed by Janet Reno to investigate Gore's fundraising during the 1996 re-election campaign. Will she? Probably not. Should she? Probably not. The last thing the country wants or needs is another wearying round of "did-not-did-too."

The campaign of Al "Don't-Blame-Me-I'm-Only-The-Piano-Player-Who-Drank-Too-Much-Iced-Tea" Gore, which is somewhere between even and minus-12 in recent polls, needs to get some forward momentum during these summer months and this last week did nothing to provide that momentum.

Don't take my word for it, here is the opening paragraph of yesterday's lead editorial in the New York Times: "Because of her brazen dereliction of duty as attorney general, Janet Reno has now stirred up a political mess for herself and Vice President Al Gore and created an electoral quandary for the public." See the entire editorial here.

If Gore WAS marched into a fund raising event without having any knowledge of it, then reporters ought to ask how that reflects on his ability, as an executive, to put together a staff on which he can depend to tell him what is going on around him.

A background-noise-type of effect of this past week may be to remind more Americans why they are ready to leave behind the Personal-and-Partisan era of politics. It doesn't make sense to start with a clean slate if you are going to use a dusty eraser.

For a quick look at the kind of photo no advance man wants to hit the wire, click here.

I'm sure you have seen the footage of Gore on his airplane explaining why he ordered the transcript of his conversation with Conrad be made public: "I think the truth is� is (heh, heh) my friend in this." The national press corps should ask a psychologist to analyze that uncomfortable little laugh and report back to us.

Some poll stuff: The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC Poll shows Bush leading Gore by 43 to 38. In that poll, Green Party nominee Ralph Nader is getting 7 percent while Pat Buchanan is stuck at 3.

The unreported problem for Gore in these numbers? Nader is half-way to getting an invite to the Presidential Debates. The commission which runs those debates has set the floor of support at 15 percent in national polls. Gore does not want Nader in those debates to distract from his attacks on Bush.

On the death penalty front: Democrats went on the offensive trying to make the point that George W. didn't take these executions seriously enough. Sandra Sobieraj's AP piece, however, made the opposite point: "Unbending, Bush gave a sober statement of respect for the demonstrators' 'heartfelt point of view' and offered no fodder to Democrats watching his performance in the tumult for proof he lacks the thoughtfulness to be president."

On Friday afternoon, Mullings was invited to be a guest on John Gibson's final show in the 5:00 o'clock hour on MSNBC. Gibson has been at once; entertaining, thoughtful, provocative, and fair in his four years and change of doing that show. I'm sorry it is gone.

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Copyright © 2000 Richard A. Galen

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