Campaign Diary -- 03/16/1999

Campaign Diary

16 March, 1999

By Scott Hogenson
CNS Executive Editor

Gephardt, Gore Make Nice in New Hampshire: House Democrat Leader Dick Gephardt will be backing Vice President Al Gore in his bid to succeed Bill Clinton. The two liberal icons were greeted Monday by supporters in New Hampshire, where they presented a united front for the 2000 elections. Gephardt, once thought to be a potential rival in Gore's quest for the nomination, will be content to wrest control of the House from the GOP, paving the way for him to wield the Speaker's gavel in 2001.

First for Forbes: Steve Forbes took presidential politics to a new level Tuesday, using the Internet to announce his run for the GOP nomination. Creators of Forbes200.com, the Internet site for the campaign, won't say what kind of traffic the site will be able to handle, but told Diary that a million hits a day will be a chip shot for the system. The millionaire publisher will continue his opening-day ritual in the more traditional way, with visits over the next few days to New Hampshire and Iowa.

Quayle Team Gells: The Dan Quayle campaign has announced its national co-chairmen, including Sen. Spence Abraham (R-MI), Mississippi Governor Kirk Fordice, former Senators Dan Coats and Mack Mattingly, and former Rep. Barbara Vucanovich. They join former New Hampshire Governor John Sunnunu on the leadership team, giving Quayle a group that covers all geographic regions.

More China Flack From McCain: Accusing the Clinton Administration of "strategic incoherence," John McCain Monday took another shot at the president and his men over their handling of information suggesting that Chinese spies were swiping American nuclear secrets. In a speech at Kansas State University, McCain launched one of the toughest critiques yet of Clinton's foreign policy, calling it "spasmodic, vacillating and reactive," among other things.

Media to Vent Spleen: And speaking of the China spy scandal, Chinese Premiere Zhu Rongji said charges that his government is spying on our government are hokum, denying the accusations by calling them "a tale from The Arabian Nights." Zhu also said his April visit to Washington will be, at least in part, an effort to let the media "vent your spleen," because of early press pronouncements that the spy controversy will overshadow talks between him and President Clinton.

Send your Campaign Diary tidbits to CNS Executive Editor Scott Hogenson at shogenson@cnsnews.org or call toll free 1-877-CNS-NEWS, Ext. 126. We never close, but sometimes, we're not here.

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