Hillary spurns her roots

Hillary Clinton was recently invited to a meeting of Arkansas First Ladys called "Public Image, Private
Lives", a day-long event that celebrated the collection of first ladies' gowns on display
at the Old State House, which includes a dress
that Hillary wore to one of Bill Clinton's inaugural balls.
Hillary sent a gracious letter from the campaign trail saying she was sorry
she couldn't attend the event. Betty Tucker, wife of indicted Governor Jim Guy Tucker,
who was convicted in the wave of Whitewater indictments and was forced to resign from
office in 1996, attended.
Hillary appears to be avoiding any appearances in Arkansas in favor of a constant presence
in New York where she is running for Senate. She hasn't appeared
in Arkansas for nearly two years. New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has made Arkansas appearances as
recently as last July when a $500-a-plate fundraiser contributed to a total of $29,800
donated by Arkansas to date, much more than Hillary Clinton has raised from Arkansas, $11,450 to
date.


(By Suzi Parker)

Democrats won't let Bob Jones live in peace
Democrats are trying to make Bob Jones University an issue in all their races. The Associated Press reports that the House Democratic fund-raising arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is trying to make John McCain's criticism of George W. Bush's appearance at Bob Jones University stick to all Republicans. In a recent letter, the committee told members that "your Republican opponent may be asked about his/her reaction to Bush's handling of the Bob Jones visit. Consider issuing a press release, holding a news conference, or writing a letter to the editor to highlight your feelings on the national Republican Party's alliance with right-wing extremist groups."

And in the past week, President Clinton has brought another issue to the fore of the national race. Although he's anxious to highlight gun control and Al Gore has already picked it up as an issue, the National Rifle Association isn't letting them run away with it. In an appearance on ABC's "This Week" Sunday, the NRA's executive director, Wayne LaPierre, said that Clinton "needs a certain level of violence in this country. He's willing to accept a certain level of killing to further his political agenda and his vice president, too." Gore has demanded an apology, saying that LaPierre's statement revealed "a kind of sickness at the very heart of the NRA."

Donations to Hillary with the White House in mind

The New York Times reports that when Clinton recently was deciding on his itinerary for a trip to India and possibly Pakistan, a group of Pakistani-Americans raised $50,000 for Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate campaign in the hopes that she would influence the president's decision.

The New York Daily News notes that even though Hillary Clinton carries White House influence, Rudy Giuliani isn't too shabby when it comes to tapping Washington for financial support of his campaign.

Gore evening the score

Gore is catching up with Bush nationwide. The latest polls show a dead heat, but Gore is now pulling even with Bush in Florida, a state governed by Bush's brother Jeb and projected to be a Republican stronghold.

As the race is shaping up, it looks as if Gore has strongholds in the West and the Northeast, Bush in the Rockies and the South. That leaves the industrial heartland -- states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey -- as the real fall battleground.

New York Post goes after Gore

Without McCain to distract them, members of the New York Post's editorial board appear to have closed ranks and focused their energy on Gore. In Tuesday's edition, Rod Dreher argues that Bush's most attractive quality is that "he's not Gore," meaning he's not tainted by the question of campaign finance improprieties. Dick Morris focuses on Gore's "hypocrisy" for advocating campaign finance reform, likening it to Clinton's running "on an anti-adultery platform." John Podhoretz casts the importance of the presidential race as preserving "Truth, Justice and the American Way. No joke." In other words, he takes a very dim view of Gore's claim to be a campaign finance reformer. Is there a theme here?

Tech lobby scores again

The Center for Responsive Politics reports that the computer industry lobby has vastly increased donations to political parties since the last election -- and appears to be getting results. Last week the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 15-3 in favor of raising the number of temporary work visas for skilled foreigners to 195,000, up from last year's 115,000. The report lists the largest donors and recipients.

Quotable

"Mr. Clinton, when what you say is wrong, it's a mistake. When you know it's wrong, that's a lie."

Charlton Heston in an ad for the NRA.

"These crocodile tears -- I don't think it will wash with the voters, even with Moses reading the script."

Clinton in response to the same ad.

(Quotes courtesy of the New York Times)

Poll positions