Exactly a year before the New Hampshire primary, Republican Wannabee Prezs unofficially kick off the campaign with a series of appearances. Despite Clinton's obvious weaknesses, the Republicans at this point seem to lack a compelling alternative. Front-runner Bob Dole has tried and failed in a Presidential run before. Before officially entering the race, he's got to fight a list of negatives including: he's too old, too moderate, and too mean-spirited.
Of course, the charge that Dole is too moderate must be considered in the context of Republicans party politics, where a moderate position on abortion is outlaw except to save the life of the mother or if performed with a semi-automatic assault rifle.
How bad is the talent gap for the Republicans? In a straw poll of NH Republicans the second-place candidate (Colin Powell)has just two negatives: isn't running and he may not even be Republican. The other aspiring Republican candidates each have less than 10% support.
Still, they're an interesting crew. With the departure of Dan "huh?" Quayle from the race, the hard-core conservatives are split between Phil Gramm and -- on the Rabid Right -- Pat Buchanan. Of these two, Phil Gramm is the most interesting, if only because by all appearances, he just could be the love child of Mr. Magoo and Yoda.
Within a day of Dan Quayle's departure from the race, Newt Gingrich was pondering entering the fray, but he decided to keep out. Apparently, Quayle's loss left the Forrest Gump vote up for grabs, which explains why a bell went off in Gingrich's mind.
So, where was Clinton while all this was going on? Why, he was in California, playing golf with Jerry Ford and George Bush. At least Clinton didn't bean anybody with a ball (which is more than Ford or Bush can say.) Still, somebody's got to talk with Clinton's PR crew. What a photo opportunity: Clinton, Bush, and Ford -- looks like an organizational meeting for the Single Termer's Club.
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