Mullings A Political Cyber Column By Rich Galen

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Did He Who Made The Lamb Make Thee?

Wednesday, August 30, 2000

The Vice President of the United States, who is so glib he wants to debate George W. Bush 17 times a day from now until the election, said the other day as he got off his government-supplied airplane that Bush should "Put up or shut up."

Mullings can now report that it has learned the Gore campaign's line-of-the-day for the rest of the week: Nanny. Nanny. Boo. Boo.

Here is the Associated Press' assessment of the highly touted Gore prescription drug plan. "Those facing average drug costs might not benefit much. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the average Medicare beneficiary paid $673 for drugs in 1996. Gore's plan would pay half that bill, or about $337, but require $300 in premiums, leaving the average beneficiary that year only $36 ahead."

That would be three dollars per month. Ten cents per day.

Nanny. Nanny. Boo. Boo.

Regular readers know that Mullings is not committed to the concept that the press corps gets on a national conference call every morning to decide how they are going to boost Democrats and tear down Republicans.

But, yesterday morning, in the center of the front page, above the fold the New York Times ran a photo of George W. and his wife Laura, standing on what appears to be the reviewing stand for the inaugural parade in 1988 with the caption: "As the podium cleared on his father's Inauguration Day, George W. Bush seized it for a moment himself."

The photo shows Bush with both fists in the air, and Laura waving at someone. Here is an alternative interpretation of that photo: "George W. Bush and his wife Laura share a celebratory moment with friends following the inauguration of his father."

The editor responsible for allowing the caption which ran should be suspended.

If those are the rules of the game - you can take any picture and apply any caption - here is my caption under a picture of Al Gore aboard Air Force II: "Al Gore reacts to being told that Janet Reno has declined - for the fourth time - to appoint an independent counsel to investigate his role in illegal fund-raising activities during the 1996 re-election campaign."

Go here to see the pictures.

The most prominent American anti-Semitism group, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a statement yesterday which said aloud what many in Your Nation's Capitol have been whispering: That Joseph Lieberman's constant proclamations of his faith are beginning to have a negative effect.

In a letter, the leading Jewish group said, "�we believe there is a point at which the emphasis on religion in a political campaign becomes inappropriate and even unsettling in a religiously diverse society such as ours."

Still on the religion beat, the Millennium World Peace Summit has just concluded at United Nations in New York. The world-wide summit of religious leaders did not include the Dalai Lama. The Chinese government leaned on event organizers to exclude the Tibetan leader.

At the same time, after being notified that Beijing is one of five remaining cities under consideration for the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Chinese government issued a statement that it would "hold a fair and friendly competition with our rivals."

Yea. Right. How do you say, "I have here a wheelbarrow full of cash" in Mandarin?

Tiger Woods is what was. Advancing age finally caught up with the 24-year-old Monday when he lost an 18-hole made-for-television match against 20-year-old Sergio Garcia.

Garcia showed the rest of the PGA tour how to beat Tiger Woods: Make him play 111 holes in eight days at least six of which have to be in the dark, three time zones apart. Have him suffer a wasp sting on at least one of his hands. Make him play the last 54 holes with the flu. Woods will lose by a stroke every time.

No more Tiger. He's now just plain Eldrick Woods. "Tiger, tiger burning bright," indeed.

Mullings has reported on A.Word.A.Day before when it seemed appropriate. Yesterday's word of the day could not have been more appropriate for Mullings:
Sophomoric (sof-uh-MOR-ik) adjective
Suggestive of or resembling the traditional sophomore; intellectually
pretentious, overconfident, conceited, etc., but immature.
Probably influenced by Greek sophos, wise, and moros, dull

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Copyright © 2000 Richard A. Galen

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