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- GRAPEVINE, Page 15
-
-
- By JANICE CASTRO
-
- Stormin' Norman Says No
-
- Ross Perot is not the sort of politician who would pick a
- running mate from, say, New Hampshire just to bring geographical
- balance to the ticket. He'd rather draft a can-do hero. Insiders
- say Colin Powell has been on his short list. But Perot's
- greatest ticket-building efforts so far, according to one
- report, have been spent trying to woo Desert Storm commander
- NORMAN SCHWARZKOPF. Frustrated voters would be likely to cheer
- Stormin' Norman as just the sort of guy who could help get
- things done in Washington. But Schwarzkopf, who reportedly has
- turned down Perot at least twice, regards the Texan with dismay
- as a loose cannon. Besides, he is believed to have political
- aspirations of his own, and third parties are no place for
- national heroes to launch a second career.
-
- L.A. Law, Wilson-Style
-
- California Governor PETE WILSON has launched an official
- investigation of the National Guard's response during the Los
- Angeles riots last month. No wonder: he called up the Guard at
- 9 p.m. on the first night of rioting, as hundreds of fires
- burned. But by 2 p.m. the following day, as the looting
- continued, the troops were still not on the streets. Wilson
- demanded an explanation, and was told that the Guard was short
- of ammunition. Asked the onetime Marine: "If you give each man
- one bullet, and a larger quantity to unit commanders, can you,
- No. 1, ensure the Guard's safety and, No. 2, accomplish your
- mission?" Guard commanders said they could. Wilson exploded,
- "Then divide up the f---ing ammunition and get out there!"
- Before order was restored, other state officials even considered
- placing the city under martial law. Meanwhile, the talk in some
- law-enforcement circles is that if any major urban unrest
- occurs, Wilson may just skip the frustration and ask for the
- Marines.
-
- Tapes of Wrath
-
- Muslim extremists are widening their following in Saudi
- Arabia. Despite the kingdom's jailing of the 20 leading Saudi
- fundamentalists, tape recordings of their sermons seem to be
- everywhere. The fundamentalists maintain that American troops
- were sent to the gulf not to fight Saddam Hussein but to prepare
- for war between Christianity and Islam. The Saudi preachers also
- contend that Protestants from the West have been exploiting
- tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors to this end. They
- cite actions by American Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy
- Carter as well as televangelists Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Falwell
- and Pat Robertson as "proof." Their advice to their followers:
- seek converts, especially in America; send Korans and money to
- Palestinian Muslims and urge them to procreate; and commission
- the best weapons that money can buy -- from Japan.
-
- You Heard It Here Last
-
- In Patpong, the glitzy sex district of Bangkok, video
- pirates usually specialize in illegal copies of feature films
- and music videos. Lately, though, they can't keep a hot
- political video in stock. It seems that government-controlled
- Thai TV did not carry footage of the police violence against the
- huge pro-democracy demonstrations in Bangkok last month. Thai
- citizens are now catching up with what the rest of the world saw
- happening in their own country.
-
- Dream Team
-
- The Bush campaign badly needs fixing. What kind of team do
- Bushies daydream about?
-
- Campaign Chairman
-
- Incumbent Bob Mosbacher is better at fund raising. Look
- for Jim Baker to take the whip hand after the convention.
-
- Secretary of State
-
- Cheney or Powell. White House Chief of Staff Everybody seems
- to have a favorite new job for Sam Skinner. Dream replacements:
- Cheney or Powell. See a pattern?
-
- Adman
-
- Roger Ailes. The taint of Willie Horton lingers, but Bush
- needs a tough guy almost as much as he needs a clear image.
-
- Tell Me Another One
-
- During the environment summit in Rio last week, a
- Brazilian group called Defenders of the Earth was updating its
- Lie-O-Meter on a billboard nearby. Purpose: to track "deceit,
- from 0 to 100" among participants. At week's end the U.S.
- delegation was scoring 100.
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