On the Prowl
"On the Prowl" I Never Promised You a Rose Pardon Bill Clinton's non-rejection of the idea is feeding speculation he might use his presidential pardon power to get old girlfriend Susan McDougal...
...Kessler Kiss-Up Two days before the FDA approved the abortion pill RU-486 for sale in the U.S., FDA head David Kessler met with George Stephanopoulos and Leon Panetta to tell them that approval could be delayed if the White House felt any controversy might hurt Clinton's re-election campaign...
...A Balanced Diet With the campaign in full swing, Bill Clinton has been attending small, private fundraising dinners-and the White House advance staff has been asking dinner hosts to have their menus adhere to the strict low-fat diet created for the prez by California health guru Dean Omish...
...they can remove him if found guilty...
...no thanks to Mrs...
...Kemp was tired of uttering the same lines, having his speech scripted by the Dole camp, and having his people shut out of decision-making...
...At least 15 players complained about having to attend the political sideshow just days before the season opener, but only Chmura went public with his discontent...
...Our staff talks to his staff...
...When word of Dole's planned speech reached the Clinton campaign only about four hours before the ABA was due to release the report, an e-mail message was sent to all Clinton staffers: "Does anyone know someone at the American Bankers Association who might be able to help us kill the release of a credit report without the White House getting involved...
...O N T H E PROW L I Never Promised You a Rose Pardon Bill Clinton's non-rejection of the idea is feeding speculation he might use his presidential pardon power to get old girlfriend Susan McDougal off the hook...
...Under a Cloud When the White House learned that the Green Bay Packers would be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, staffers quickly arranged for Clinton to appear with the team for a "pep talk...
...James Madison responded: "if the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds to believe he will shelter him, the House of Rep resentatives can impeach him...
...That meeting seemed like a good idea, since Giuliani is now talking about endorsing the Republican ticket," says the Dole source...
...By the time the report came out-showing the largest amount of credit-card debt and payment delinquency ever-Dole speechwriters had already moved on to deal with a crime theme that had been undercut by the endorsement Clinton received in Cincinnati from the Fraternal Order of Police...
...A few days later, at a Harlem rally to meet with local business and religious leaders, Kemp also met privately for about ao minutes with New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani-a meeting not authorized by Dole...
...At the time, this magazine criticized her report for over-emphasizing the English examples to strengthen the case against Nixon...
...Packer management then threatened Chmura with a fine if he failed to appear...
...He wanted to hit the road on his own...
...The most recent report from the American Bankers Association (ABA) shows that credit card debt and late payments have risen steadily for the past six quarters...
...For the record, here is o Hillary's account of the relevant debate, from the Virginia ratifying convention: "In the same convention, George Mason argued that the president might use his pardoning power to `pardon crimes which were advised by himself or, before indictment or conviction, `to stop inquiry and prevent detection...
...We need a delay of at least 1o days...
...He finally did, but , 1/1 left within two minutes of Clinton's arrival-as the president was saying how both he and the Packers were "favored to win...
...Kessler comes off as an errand boy when he's over here, sitting in a hallway, waiting for his material to be approved...
...For prestige reasons alone, the FOP has desperately sought the Capitol Hill police members for its own, and has been pressing the officers to vote FOP for months...
...No one at that meeting could guarantee anything to anyone," says a source familiar with the meeting, which included representatives from the Labor Department, the Chief of Staff's office, and the Clinton campaign...
...Hillary dwelt on the phrase "high misdemeanors," acts which were an impeachable abuse of power even if not criminal in themselves...
...And one of these was use of the pardon to shield wrong-doing friends from inquiry and detection...
...The FOP endorsement for us was seen as critical, and we'd do just about anything...
...The FOP agreed...
...Afterwards, a Clinton aide was dispatched to the popular House of Blues nightclub for two orders of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and pecan pie...
...So now that's basically where we stand...
...Clinton cleaned his platethree times...
...A strike by the Hill law-enforcers is expected in 1997 should they unionize...
...The American Spectator • November r 9 9 6 15...
...But the Clinton people wondered out loud whether or not narrowing the field for the FOP might be of some help...
...The next night in L.A., Clinton attended another dinner hosted by execs from Paramount Pictures, Sony, and the Walt Disney Company...
...The sense among the administration people after the FOP people left the meeting," says the source, "was that one phone call from Bob Reich to the Teamsters could square things a bit more for the FOP...
...Then he boarded Air Force One, and devoured a hot roast beef and cheddar hoagie, potato chips, and a milkshake...
...In late August, White House staffers met with members of the FOP executive committee and inquired about the FOP's presidential endorsement -and what could be done to firm up support for President Clinton...
...The rift between the two, once thought to have been bridged, reopened after the pair appeared in St...
...Hillary worked on the historical phase of inquiry, compiling all the English and American precedents for impeachment...
...Nothing that comes out of the FDA related to tobacco or health care issues hasn't already been vetted by the White House or generated by the White House," says the staffer...
...Dole reportedly took the early exit as the first sign that Kemp was "going off the reservation...
...A second source in the White House tells Prowler this wasn't the first heads-up from Kessler...
...Louis for a Labor Day weekend rally and for three innings of a Cardinals baseball game...
...Two days later, the Teamsters said they were no longer interested, and suggested that 14 November r 9 9 6 • The American Spectator the FOP might be the best option...
...But he faces a powerful obstacle in Hillary Rodham Clinton, the old Hillary Rodham, that is, who cut her teeth on the House Watergate Impeachment inquiry in 1974...
...The Union Beat How did Clinton win the support of the Fraternal Order of Police...
...At a recent dinner with several technology-firm executives in San Jose, the meal was entirely vegan (no dairy products): salad, pasta, and a vegetable dumpling...
...Kemp stalked out of Busch Stadium a full inning before Dole left and headed to San Francisco...
...Bridge to the Past As Bob Dole's campaign makes its final implosion, word comes that Dole and Jack Kemp haven't been speaking to each other...
...Where Credit Is Due In an election year, economic data can be a political hot potato...
...But the boss didn't like the freelancing, and told us to tell Kemp's staff that...
...But Bill's problem comes straight from the American debates on the grounds for impeachment...
...One staffer who received the message told the Prowler he believes it was signed off by both campaign boss Peter Knight and campaign flack Ann Lewis, whose vigilance in any event proved unnecessary...
...But some Packers -including rising star Mark Chmura, a Pro Bowl tight end-didn't want to attend the staged event because they were supporting Bob Dole...
...Dole, however...
...Dole promised her support, but Burke was eventually eliminat ed from consid eration...
...Americans are saving less, the ABA says, and are increasingly using their credit to cover monthly living expenses...
...This summer they were given a green light to organize, and three unions began heavily lobbying the group: the FOP, the International Union of Police Associations, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters...
...After leaving the Senate with her boss, headhunters seeking to hire a new president and CEO for the United Way contacted Burke...
...The United Way never heard from her...
...She was indeed interested, and reportedly approached Elizabeth Dole for assistance, on the assumption that the director of the American Red Cross might have some clout with r the United :, Way...
...That's why the Dole campaign crafted a stump speech attacking Bill Clinton's claim that Americans are better off than four years ago, and are saving more, too...
...The FOP suggested that a Capitol Police force membership in the FOP might help sway voters at the September FOP board meeting...
...The Teamsters also have lobbied the cops, going so far as to leak to the police a confiden tial Senate Republican leadership memo that indicated that their force might be privatized, to show that a strong union was necessary for them to keep their jobs...
...Panetta thanked Kessler for the heads-up, but said the FDA could do what it wanted, "and the White House wouldn't worry about the president's polling numbers," an FDA source said...
...Jack didn't want to stay around St...
...They don't think anything will put a bump in the road to re-election right now...
...Put a Liddy on It Devoted Dole adviser Sheila Burke may have a safety net to land on at Harvard as an associate dean at the Kennedy School, but it wasn't the cushy post she really wanted...
...Consider: For more than ten years the 75o rank-and-file members of the Capitol Police force have been seeking to associate themselves with union representation...
...Again the food was vegetarian, and again Clinton devoured what was put in front of him, along with extra helpings...
...Louis with Dole," says a Dole staffer...
Vol. 29 • November 1996 • No. 11
