Mullings by Rich Galen | Issue for October 29, 1999

October 29, 1999 Volume 11, Number 69

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Seven Candidates, Two Debates, Zero Presidents

Mullings' New England correspondent, Nancy Sinnott Dwight, covered the Gore-Bradley debate on Wednesday and the McCain-Forbes-Bauer-Keyes-Hatch debate on Thursday.

Dwight says the over-all on the Gore-Bradley debate was that both were long on substance; Gore was short on appeal; and Bradley was way, way long on spending. According to Nancy, the chatter the next morning at Lou's Coffee Shop in Hanover on Gore was "no one up here wears blue shirts with tan suits."

I watched the Democrats in between pitches in the Yankee-Atlanta game. Gore's performance reminded me of a line attributed to J.R. Ewing who said, "If you can fake sincerity the rest is easy."

At the GOP debate, correspondent Dwight reports the big winner was McCain the loser, probably Forbes. Bauer, according to Nancy, did well but Keyes was (as usual) too intense. Hatch also appeared.

The post-action report from the Republican debate had the buzz all about McCain including the pizza party he threw at EBA's (Everything But Anchovies), a Dartmouth hangout. Look for the overnight polling to give him a big boost. This means that George W has probably used up his last pass on a joint appearance in New Hampshire.

Nevertheless, Nancy's summary was: "The next President of the United States was not in the Moore Theatre tonight. We were engaged, we were entertained, we were sometimes amused and at least once provoked, but we did not stand at attention for the next President." Mullings uses only the best writers.

The format, which worked well for a two person show on Wednesday night, was suffocating with five candidates on stage on Thursday. Questions were asked to the wrong person, or in the wrong sequence.

Ed Gillespie's Policy Impact Communications hosted the second annual "Flak Bash" for press secretaries and reporters Thursday night. Last year the "Flak Jacket" went to Christina Martin who was Newt's press secretary. She presented this year's Jacket - just like at the Masters - to former Dan Quayle for President press secretary Jonathan Baron. Jonathan is hereby invited to join me and David Beckwith as a full member of the NAFDQPS - the National Association of Former Dan Quayle Press Secretaries.

Fox News has hired Newt Gingrich to be a political analyst to join the rest of Fox's Political Hall of Fame: Dick Morris (fired after being caught in that toe thing), Al D'Amato (lost his Senate seat to Chuck Schumer), and Geraldine Ferraro (set women's political campaigns back 50 years as Walter Mondale's running mate). No Michael Dukakis? What, he demanded artistic control?

This is soooo inside baseball: The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has replaced its executive director, Scott Hatch who was a Tom DeLay guy, with Dan Mattoon (Vice President of Government Affairs at BellSouth) who is a Dennis Hastert guy. Mattoon will have the title of Deputy Chairman. This is being seen - as reporters love to say - by observers here as Speaker Hastert taking the reins of the House GOP from Majority Whip Tom DeLay.

There is a considerable amount of discussion regarding the use of the internet in the 2000 election cycle. I don't know how much impact the internet will have on campaigns but think about the last five people you met in a business setting. Did you trade e-mail addresses or fax numbers?

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