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- <text id=92TT1263>
- <title>
- June 08, 1992: Grapevine
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1992
- June 08, 1992 The Balkans
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- GRAPEVINE, Page 23
- </hdr><body>
- <p>By SOPHFRONIA SCOTT GREGORY
- </p>
- <p> Down in the Mouth
- </p>
- <p> George Bush has always been an upbeat, Whistle-while-you-
- work, stay-the-course kind of guy. Yet top aides to the President
- say he is depressed about his political position, running behind
- Ross Perot in nationwide opinion surveys, and despondent that his
- "loyal" advisers are bad-mouthing him to the press. "These guys
- tell him where to go, what to do, how to stand, what to say,"
- says one Bush confidante, "and when none of it works, they turn
- around and blame him." Even old friends in Texas are sending
- rumblings to Washington that Bush might not have the "fire in
- the belly" to beat a man like Perot. Quick to attack any
- perception of weakness, Bush reminded G.O.P. backers in Atlanta,
- "Lest you think I've lost the fire, I'm ready."
- </p>
- <p> Cutting the Grass
- </p>
- <p> Ross Perot pitches himself as a Man of the People, with
- the people helping him, in true grass-roots fashion, to get on
- the ballot. But as Perot gathers strength, the little people
- are finding themselves pushed out by local bigwigs. In Virginia a
- Perot backer says he was ousted, partly over his desire to
- include more blacks in the campaign. One Oklahoma activist, wary
- of losing control to local heavies, says he's keeping 35,000
- petition signatures in a bank vault until he delivers them to
- state election officials. The Perot campaign insists that it is
- not trampling the grass. "Democracy, after all, is an unruly
- process," says Perot spokesman James Squires. Big changes are
- afoot within Perot's inner circle too. Hamilton Jordan,
- campaign manager and chief of staff for Jimmy Carter, has
- decided to join the campaign, as has former Reagan adviser Ed
- Rollins. They're just the kind of political pros Perot has been
- seeking.
- </p>
- <p> So What's New?
- </p>
- <p> The U.S. Census Bureau has benn quite sensitive lately to
- the question of how it releases reports, even going so far as
- to downplay the release of potentially embarrassing data. So
- more than a few eyebrows rose when the bureau went out of its
- way to make news organizations aware of some fresh statistics
- that could prove embarrassing to Democratic presidential
- candidate Bill Clinton. Census officials faxed to reporters
- rankings of states and their various measures of social and
- economic well-being, in which Arkansas ranked poorly. The bureau
- denies any political motives. It's not as if the information was
- surprising: Arkansas has long been near the bottom of the
- economic rankings.
- </p>
- <p> Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
- </p>
- <p> Word has it that Moscow Ambassador Bob Strauss is not
- happy in his work. His former Washington law partners believe
- that a weary and frustrated Strauss will be back with them by
- year's end. But he won't drop the position until after November
- to avoid seeming disloyal to President Bush. On an even
- stickier point: it would look bad for him, as former Democratic
- National Chairman, to jump ship from the Bush Administration and
- show up helping the Democrats in the fall. So Strauss will have
- to stay put for now and be weary and frustrated for just a bit
- longer.
- </p>
- <p> Cookbook
- </p>
- <p> Is it charity or business? The U.S. peanut industry is
- sending 60,000 lbs. of peanut butter (of all things) to Russia.
- Since few residents have probably ever tasted it, here are some
- ideas for Russian use:
- </p>
- <p> Blintzes to Nuts
- </p>
- <p> Delicate pastries stuffed with peanut butter and served
- with a grape jam sauce.
- </p>
- <p> PB&C
- </p>
- <p> The original sandwich favorite spread with a layer of
- caviar instead of jelly.
- </p>
- <p> Jiffy Borscht
- </p>
- <p> A delightful cold peanut soup for the summer served with
- a Reese's cup on the side.
- </p>
- <p> Peanut Pojarski
- </p>
- <p> Peanut butter-stuffed salmon breaded with chopped nuts.
- </p>
- <p> Skippy Kiev
- </p>
- <p> Chicken basted in peanut butter and roasted to a crackle.
- </p>
- <p> But Can They Read Putts?
- </p>
- <p> The latest in golfing accessories is the caddying llama,
- good for carrying clubs or, occasionally, for nibbling you out
- of the rough. No room in your stables? Then rent one at the
- Talamore at Pinehurst Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C., for
- just $100 over the standard greens fee. Included in the fee are
- two handlers who will ensure the llamas don't go munching off
- down the fairway.
- </p>
-
- </body></article>
- </text>
-
-