-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- from: http://www.americandispatches.com/ Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.americandispatches.com/">American Dispatches</ A> ----- The bitter primary battle between Gov. George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain has opened rifts inside the influential conservative pundit community, antagonisms that could undercut the Right's ability to rally voters in the fall. Vast conservative media spending over the past quarter century has given the Republicans a powerful club to bludgeon Democrats. [See detailed article from last summer at Consortiumnews.com] But the Bush-McCain brawl has led key conservative writers to take up sides: the neo-conservative likes of Charles Krauthammer on McCain's side and the populist conservative likes of Rush Limbaugh on Bush's. The battle lines were apparent on the eve of the Super Tuesday primaries as two heavyweight conservative columnists -- William Safire and Robert D. Novak -- threw punches in opposite directions. Safire berated Bush's supporters, including Bob Jones III ("cringing in the spotlight placed on his university's racism by John McCain") and Bush-family moneymen, the Wyly brothers ("'Wyly Coyote' struck with a last-minute TV smear" about McCain's environmental record, Safire wrote). Safire also directly chastised the pink-ribbon-wearing Bush for an attack ad painting McCain as hostile to breast cancer research. ("Bush approved what hardball connoisseurs will remember as his 'breast cancer deception'," Safire wrote. NYT, March 6, 2000) Meanwhile, Novak was hammering away at McCain for damaging Republican prospects in the nation's most populous state, California. Noting McCain's decision to appear via TV monitor at last Thursday's GOP debate, Novak wrote, "That strange tableau could cast a long shadow on politics in California and the nation." (Washington Post, March 6, 2000) In earlier columns, Novak excoriated McCain for his controversial decision to lash out at Christian Right leaders, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. As the Republican primaries reach a decisive phase, the powerful conservative media may have as much mending to do for the fall election as will the forces of Gov. Bush and Sen. McCain. March 2, 2000 Texas Gov. George W. Bush is known as a hale-fellow-well-met, joshing with voters on the campaign trail and winking at friends in the crowds. But sometimes, he displays a mean, even scary, sense of humor. On "Late Night" with David Letterman, Bush offered a tasteless quip about Letterman's recent open-heart surgery. The joke followed Letterman's query about what Bush meant by being "a uniter not a divider." "That means when it comes time to sew up your chest cavity, we use stitches as opposed to opening it up," Bush responded. The joke drew a chorus of boos from the audience and a baffled look from Letterman. On another occasion, Bush responded to a Letterman question with little more than a grunt. When the comedian asked if Bush was tired of jokes about failing a pop quiz on world leaders, Bush answered, "Nah," and stared into the camera. Bush did a little better with a self-deprecating line in which he announced: "I've morphed on your show from a boob to a dweeb." The governor then held up a T-shirt reading "Dweebs for Bush." [For details, see NYT, March 2, 2000] Though it's understandable that long days of politicking could make anyone a touch boorish and take an edge off one's sense of humor, Bush has revealed this unfunny side of himself at less stressful junctures, too. At the start of the campaign, conservative writer Tucker Carlson asked the governor about the unsuccessful death-row plea from convicted murderer Karla Faye Tucker. In response, Bush mimicked the doomed woman. "With pursed lips in mock desperation, [Bush said] 'Please don't kill me'," Carlson wrote in Talk magazine. At another point, Bush lined up for a photo. He fingered the man next to him and announced, "He's the ugly one!" [For more on Bush and his family's style of politics, go to Consortiumnews.com] For whatever reason, Gov. Bush is certainly making himself a contrast to President Clinton, who is noted for his empathy and often mocked for his famous line, "I feel your pain." By marked contrast, Gov. Bush often seems oblivious to other people's pain. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For a double-take on media and democracy, check out the American Review, edited by Jane W. Prettyman, formerly at (the old) Esquire Magazine. ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, All My Relations. Omnia Bona Bonis, Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
