Monday, March 22, 1999 -- New York/Washington -- It was a parade of GOP presidential wannabes amidst the deteriorating situation in Kosovo, Medicare at an impasse, and a dash of Presidential box scores and Asia-bashing!

Fox News Sunday

"The China scandal widens... Serbia heats up... is this any way to run a superpower?" Hoo-boy -- you could tell Tony was not going to let up -- and would be making hay of the Fox News "scoop" that China had stolen EMP technology from American labs.

Topic one: the President's press conference. Senators John Kyl (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) were the guests. Kyl commented in support of Richard Holbrooke, who had been sent on a last-ditch mission to talk with Serb strongman Milosevic, and Lieberman was asked about whether sending an emissary and threatening air strikes was sending mixed signals.

Naturally, Lieberman, no friend of Clinton, said it was mixed signals as, or so he claimed, it was last Christmas: "They are making a mockery of us."

Great, Joe. You seem to be forgetting that NATO is involved, not just the U.S..

There was talk by Kyl that America's "hands were tied" in the NATO strategy: "To simply bomb without a good strategy is not a good thing to do without ground troops." Huh?

Lieberman mumbled something about "the Congress' power to declare war" and "Milosevic thumb[ing] his nose at NATO and the US." Both Lieberman and Kyl implied that the "plan" was to bomb for a day or two then stop -- Kyl added "what is NATO's plan?"

Tony asked -- again treating the situation as if it were only the U.S. vs. Milosevic -- "Do we have 400,000 troops to throw in there?"

Kyl called on Clinton to engage in a "national dialogue" and to explain the security interest of the U.S. Oh, brother -- is he saying that preventing slaughter in the backyard of European democracy is NOT in our interests?

When Tony brought up the question of alleged Chinese theft of EMP weapons technology from the U.S., Kyl admitted that he thinks that the President was not informed about the thefts. It was the usual GOP pap: "series of security leaks... when we're opening the door to China... our national security interests... open about this technology flowing to China."

Now, if this isn't a case of the GOP isn't trying to have this both ways -- flogging trade in the halls and back rooms of Congress on behalf of their big-ticket contributors while calling China a Red Menace -- we don't know what is.

Lieberman added, "We don't want to drop an Iron Curtain across China, but let's not be naive."

We're not naive, Joe -- we were among the first e-zines to point out that this whole mess is the result of GOP-driven privatization of security at our national labs. When are you going to comment on that, Joe?

Kyl supports FBI field offices at scientific labs that do classified work. But then, given the current flap, who wouldn't? Sounds like a helluva lot more than the FBI is needed now, though.

Spots: IBM, First Union, and ADM's Vitamin E, plus those ever-popular Fox programs.

Guest two in Tony's "Meet the Candidate" series -- John Kasich. It was not as strong going for Kasich as in previous appearances, but he still came out sounding far smarter than other potential GOP presidential nominees. Kasich said that the Kosovo entanglement was "not in our national interest.... I do not support getting involved in civil strife, I was against Reagan getting involved in Lebanon." He claimed that Clinton was "reacting to the television cameras." Altogether a disappointing answer to a hot issue.

On the subject of the impending visit to the U.S. by Primakov, Kasich predictably shifted back to the Kosovo crisis: "When you look at the history of involving ourselves in civil wars... we have got to be careful." He cited Somalia (first, naturally), Lebanon and Haiti.

Funny that he didn't mention Grenada. Wonder why?

Brit Hume asked if "nothing much happens" when we get involved in a civil war, and Kasich naturally agreed. Should we pull out of Bosnia? Kasich said a final peace agreement should be reached and then yes.

But we ask -- given the conduct of Milosevic, does that seem wise?

Mort Kondracke asked about the Kasich budget: "The Democrats are clobbering you [on] Medicare." Kasich vehemently said this was not the case -- that there were "set-asides" for Medicare and Social Security, and that Clinton was "robbing" the trust funds -- a specious claim. And Kondracke dogged Kasich -- why not plug in a number? Kasich was assertive and combative, citing Congressional efforts to "save" Medicare.

Tony asked Kasich about a promise he made to Ralph Nader -- to cut corporate welfare! Kasich talked about successes in closing highway and pharma loopholes, and said he's looking forward to testimony by Nader and (ugh) Grover Norquist.

Maybe Norquist can give them advice on creative accounting, if you catch our drift...

Now Kasich is a big-time underdog, but he showed more nuts-and-bolts smarts than the rest of the GOP field. We feel he's dead wrong on Kosovo, though. And Kasich, who is House Budget Committee Chairman, makes budget wonk-speak sound exciting. Noteworthy shift -- he pushed "targeted" tax cuts (suddenly, no ten percent! surprise!).

Spots: Hammermill Great White paper, Fox Sports, C-SPAN, and local spots.

The third guest: James P. Hoffa, new president of the Teamsters. Question one from Kondracke -- what is the party orientation? Hoffa said bipartisan -- they will support members of each party that "support the Teamster vision." Hoffa's message -- the union is scrutinizing potential suitors from both parties -- come see us. Kondracke asked about the "relationship of the Mafia to the Teamsters." Hoffa called it history: "We believe that element has gone." He cited government supervision of elections.

Tony asked about the coffers shrinking from $150 to nothing. Hoffa blamed his predecessors, and promised a balanced Teamster budget. He sounded more like a candidate than a union president. He also promised cooperation with Hoekstra in an investigation of the Teamsters -- and blamed his predecessor, Ron Carey, and the "Carey regime" (a term he used a number of times) for the financial woes and corruption. He also promised a civil RICO action against his predecessors.

Tony brought up the possibility of witnesses taking the fifth -- would they be ejected from the union? Hoffa was vague, but implied action would be taken.

Hoffa also said it was appropriate for organized labor to court and lobby politicians -- because the Teamsters speak for "average Americans." it was a not-so-subtle slam at Fox News, who have made much about Teamsters trying to wield political clout but seem strangely mute about, say, ADM and GE buying politicians. Wonder why?

Kondracke talked about Teamsters "losing" strikes. Yeah, Mort -- tell that to UPS!

Tony: "Is Pat Buchanan your kind of Republican?" Hoffa said Pat would raise the right questions about trade agreements -- "If Pat Buchanan is talking about it, then more power to Pat Buchanan." Hoo-boy...

And Hoffa was not exactly subtle on putting out feelers for potential legislative suitors: "We're going to be moving our money around [after] talking to the candidates."

Kondracke asked, "Not everyone works in Silicon Valley. I know people with two or three jobs. We're losing good jobs." Well, no kidding, Mort -- what's stimulating the U.S. economy? It sure ain't cars or steel!

Hoffa on the President: "The ledger is going to be mixed on [Clinton]... he had a tremendous amount of problems personally." Mere pap -- most Presidents had massive personal problems, but none have had them dragged into the public by dirt-diggers in the manner Clinton had to face.

Spots: Invesco, ADM, Compaq, ERA real estate and Taco Bell.

Tony revived the FNS Unbelievable segment: George Bush receiving a speaking honorarium in stock that exploded into a $14.4 million windfall.

Panel time! Holy cow -- Hume said that bringing U.S. forces into Kosovo would cause Clinton to take flak from the Senate, but he said it in a manner that sounded supportive of the move. Kondracke pointed out that TV images of slaughtered Kosovars would not help the GOP. Mara said that Clinton cited Kosovo -- as opposed to Africa (huh?) -- as in our strategic interest. Hume correctly (wow -- twice!) pointed out that Europe has done little to defuse the crises in the former Yugoslavia. Mara said the question is what happens after we bomb and they still don't agree to peace -- but we ask Mara, who says that will happen for sure? Kondracke argued that a multilateral force will be needed, and Americans are likely to be shot at.

Tony continued to flog the Fox "scoop" on EMP weapons, and Hume predicted more dirt from the Cox report. Tony asked if Clinton had been ill-served by his aides, and Mara cited Kyl's earlier statements, after which Hume said that Clinton left himself "about six doorways through which to escape."

And naturally, the gang focused on Clinton's "box score" comment. Kondracke started talking about "sale of the Lincoln bedroom" and Clinton's promise of "the most ethical administration." Mara claimed that Clinton was trying to historically frame his administration already, and historians would face off over "lying perjurer" versus "fending off his political enemies." And Kondracke gave him plusses on trade and the budget, but added that he was the "second President to be impeached, and deserved it." Oh, please, Mort -- could you be a little more obvious about your anti-Clinton sentiments?

There was mention of Elia Kazan's honorary Oscar, which gave Brit a chance to sneer at what he called Hollywood's "intellectual and ideological bigotry."

Oh. So that's it -- if you're a progressive, you're automatically a bigot. Thanks for the clarification, Brit!

Spots -- ADM, Compaq, and those ever-popular Fox shows.

And Tony made some comments on the weirdness at the annual press awards, as Jackie Judd won an award and another reporter thanked Jim McDougal for making Whitewater possible. It was strange of Tony to mention the latter -- because of the intensified speculation over McDougal's motives and big questions over his confession within days of his death that the Clintons were innocent of wrongdoing in the Whitewater matter.

This Weak

Kosovo was topic one, with Sens. Don Nickles and Joseph Biden the first two guests. The debate was heated -- and exposed Nickles as a de facto friend of despot Milosevic in his objection to intervention.

Sam asked about the possibility of a bombing campaign against Serbia in 24 to 48 hours. Predictably, Nickles objected, yammering out details and calling it a "serious mistake." Biden, however, was right in pointing out that Milosevic is a destabilizing force and pushing genocide. Sam's "eeeeeasy to get in and harrrrrd to get out" comment was skewered by Biden, who said that backing away from Milosevic would "guarantee that this cancer will spread."

Sam asked about an "endgame" -- a ridiculous notion in that the situation is unpredictable, and Nickles also whined about "no endgame."

How can there be "an" endgame in such a volatile situation? You'd think that Sam and Nickles have never heard of the term "scenario planning."

Biden: "This is a genocidal dictator, my God!... How is this different than keeping [US] troops in Europe for 54 years!"

Cokie showed a video clip of Nickles whining after a White House meeting on Kosovo in which he openly objected to bombing. Catch this -- he was almost apologetic in saying he "may have misspoke" -- then said "We may start a war."

As if there isn't one already going on. Nickles sounded and looked the fool.

Nickles essentially threatened to cut off funds to support U.S. and NATO intervention in Kosovo -- and Biden interjected saying there should be an up-or-down vote authorizing air power in conjunction with NATO to stop Milosevic, and that it would pass. Nickles wants to weasel out of this narrow vote, and is trying for a broader bill that would undermine the President -- and NATO, and European security. Nickles is proving himself no friend of democracy in Eastern Europe.

Nickles complained that "this administration is always quick with air power." Right. Like Bush wasn't. And as if it doesn't work. Like everything has to be 100% success. "Incremental" is not in the Nickles vocabulary.

Following the break, George Pataki was the second guest. Pataki is suddenly being talked about as a possible presidential contender. We doubt it -- he's far more likely to run for the Senate.

So why was he recently in New Hampshire, asked Cokie? Pataki said he was there to support Republican issues -- the traditional Sabbath Gasbag gambit that precedes the ceremonial recitation of a laundry list of "issues" including "school choice."

Much of the talk turned to the abortion issue, and the punditocracy correctly recognizes this as the most divisive issue within the GOP. Pataki is a pro-choice politician, and repeatedly cast hard pro-lifers as a "fringe" element. Granted, GOP governors are in a stronger position to do this than their congressional counterparts.

Do you equate the right-to-life movement with the far right, asked George Will? Pataki sidestepped the question, saying he has supported pro-life candidates, but wants to look at a broader issues.

Sam obnoxiously claimed Clinton "doesn't have a clue" as to whether Hillary would run in New York; is she running? Pataki again sidestepped -- quite cleverly, citing the "achievements" of the GOP in making New York such a livable state. He cited "first in reducing taxes" -- but does not want you to know about all the multimillion-dollar tax givebacks to big businesses, the real GOP "tax cut" agenda! Average New Yorkers have seen little in the way of real tax relief -- and the Metro New York region has seen an overall rise in property taxes.

Pataki took on Giuliani indirectly (in response to a direct question from Sam) as he mentioned the controversy over the shooting of Amadou Diallo -- the immigrant target of 41 police bullets that has become Giuliani's Willie Horton.

Overall, Pataki sounded and looked sharper than we expected. He's a rising power in the party.

Spots -- GE, AT&T, Pfizer, ABC Shows.

The final guest: Pat Buchanan.

My God -- the press takes this wanna-be seriously. And most of the talk was about topic one: abortion. He said that in '96, pro-choice Whitman was the star of the show, and pro-life Pat was "locked out."

We're shocked, Pat. Shocked. But then, it's no surprise, especially in light of your infamous "Nuremberg" address to the 1992 GOP convention.

George asked whether Pat would leave the GOP if the party moves away from a pro-life plank. In so many words, Pat said that if the party "moves away from the Reagan pro-life position" he could -- and predicted a "firestorm" and walkout at the Philadelphia convention if a pro-life plank was dropped.

Through the segment, Pat used his favorite hate terms against supporters of choice -- "culture of death," for example. And when talk turned to the Supreme Court, Pat promised to pack the court with anti-choice zealots.

But he did say that he wants to see unity with the Patakis of the world in "going after" Gore on issues where the GOP is united.

Sam asked Pat if Gore might be involved in "criminal" fundraising -- giving Pat a wide berth to mention the "Buddhist temple" and bash the Chinese. He was careful not to sound like a bigot -- but the more he tries, the more he sounds like a protectionist nationalist, even when talking about how "good relations with Russia should be at the top" of the foreign policy agenda.

Spots: Nortel, spots for ABC shows and local programming.

Sam started the roundtable on the topic of Clinton's news conference by claiming that people were talking about the personal, scandal-related questions. Of course, the only people talking about this are Beltway pundits. George Stephanopoulos claimed that he saw a flash of anger at the end of Clinton's "box score" comment, and George Will claimed there was a "filter of fact."

Well, no kidding, George - -what politician doesn't? Tell ya what -- give us the unfiltered facts about the breakup of your first failed marriage and we'll take you seriously.

George Stephanopoulos did call Clinton's handling of the question about Gore and the internet comment "brilliant." Of course, there was no mention amongst the panel of Clinton's comments on staff loyalty. Et tu, Georgie! Steph seemed to be going out of his way to be nice to his former boss this week.

Sam complimented Clinton's comic timing at the White House press dinner, saying that he could take over for Leno if he decided to bow out -- and George Steph pointed out the award to Jackie Judd.

After a little Clinton-slamming, Cokie finally conceded "there was policy" at the press conference. Will essentially claimed that the air campaign against Serbia, a "sovereign state," would fail (we wonder if Will would pin the same description on Libya or North Korea, or if he only saves that description for his favorite third-world fascist states) -- and Steph rebutted that it worked in Bosnia.

Will sounded ridiculous when he said that when Turkey and Greece fought over Cyprus, the U.S. did not intervene -- Cokie corrected him, because the U.S. did intervene diplomatically and prevented a war.

Spots: GE, Pfizer (Dole), an ABC PSA for mentoring, and 20/20.

Roundtable talk turned to the collapse of Medicare reform. Sam said that he agrees with the President on the issue of Medicare covering prescription drugs -- but where would the money come from? Cokie claimed that the Clinton response to the Breaux plan was politically "craven." Oh, please -- Clinton tries to see to it that Medicare helps people and Cokie paints it as politics and a "payback" to liberal Democrats for supporting him in the impeachment coup attempt.

We tuned out when talk turned to the Oscars.

Face the Nation

FTN's subjects were Kosovo and saving Medicare.

The first guest was Sandy Berger, National Security Advisor.

Bob Schieffer's first question: the news from Kosovo does not sound good -- what happens now?

Berger confirmed that there is renewed fighting in Kosovo -- it's localized, but intense. There are roughly 40,000 Serb military in and around Kosovo, poised for an offensive. "As the President said on Friday, the intransigence of Mr. Milosevic in failing to sign the peace agreement that the Kosovars signed and his aggressive behavior are a threat to the peace and stability of the region. NATO is preparing to act."

Berger reviewed the chronology of the last day's events: yesterday the international monitors were removed and the US Embassy has been drawn down. At the same time Secretary Albright sent Ambassador Holbrooke to meet early Monday with Mr. Milosevic one final time to make it clear to him "that he has a clear choice: He can move to the path of peace... or he can face punishment from NATO. I think we owe it to the American people, we owe it to our military people, our allies, to make that final attempt.''

Throughout the discussion, both Gloria Borger and Schieffer repeatedly asked how imminent the airstrikes would be and what sort of force should be expected. Berger, of course, could not say when it will happen or describe the nature of the operations, as "there is no reason to let Mr. Milosevic have any more information than he's got at this point." He did say that they are "talking about a serious undertaking."

He reiterated the purposes of the strikes: 1. Ideally to convince Mr. Milosevic to change course and accept peace. Failing that, 2. To demonstrate that NATO is serious and prepared to take action. 3. To deter him from further actions in Kosovo. 4. And, if necessary, to damage his military in a substantial way. Considering the fact that Russian Prime Minister Primakov considers himself an ally of Milosevic, Sandy Berger was asked if the US is planning to ask the Prime Minister to postpone his Tuesday visit. Berger said no -- and added that the Russians actually are quite frustrated with Milosevic; they have tried to weigh in with him to make it clear that he is on a disaster course.

Bravo for Berger bringing this up. The punditocracy and press both cast Russia and Serbia as allies -- and fail to report the friction underlying the relationship between the two nations.

he did, however, say that clearly the Russians will not like military action and that the meeting with Mr. Primakov is very important. But in the final analysis, actions have to be taken based upon the situation. NATO is preparing to act. Milosevic will be given a final opportunity to choose peace. "If he doesn't, he should not misunderstand our seriousness."

The next issue was Medicare. The first guest was the Chairman of the bipartisan commission on Medicare, Sen. John Breaux (D-LA). Then later came the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala.

At the end of the Medicare discussion with Sen. Breaux, Schieffer asked him if Congress would support President Clinton's plan to launch massive airstrikes in Kosovo. Sen. Breaux supports it, adding that the U.S. has been involved in keeping the peace and restoring democracy in Europe for most of the 20th century and will continue to do so, "but the American people are not yet convinced of the importance of this." So the President should explain his reasons to the American people. He also needs to have the support of Congress before making this decision and he has talked to the leadership and to the members of Congress.

Now, Medicare. How do we fix Medicare? Is there enough political will to change the program? Schieffer said that it was surprising that the people appointed by the President to the commission, in the end, voted against the proposal. What happens next?

Sen. Breaux is disappointed that the President did not endorse this program which he believes had "fundamental reforms, not just tinkering around the edges." But he said that the President will have another opportunity to do so in the future and he hopes he "will be known as the President who saved both Social Security and Medicare."

Gloria Borger: "What is the President looking for here? Does he want an issue or does he want a bill?

Breaux: "Quite frankly, some people want an issue out of Medicare rather than solving the problem. They talk about wedge issues -- are you going to have any tax cut or are you going to save Medicare? That is all politics. I think the American people are tired of it; they want us to solve problems."

Hear, hear! Both sides want to drag out Medicare, making it an election issue. We've abbreviated the exchange, but Breaux, Schieffer and Borger managed to get in the only truly useful Medicare discussion of the entire Sunday lineup:

Borger: Is the President playing that kind of old politics?

Breaux: "No. I don't think so.... When he puts out his proposal, hopefully he will copy what we suggested...."

Schieffer: "But he had an opportunity for a year to do something... and yet he let it just sit there. How can anyone argue that he is really serious about this?"

Breaux: "The time will come when he has to put a program on the table." Last week the President said "that he will have a plan and it's more than just putting more money in the program.... We have to fundamentally reform how we bring about Medicare... to seniors."

Borger said Sen. Breaux proposed raising the eligibility age from 65 to 67 over a period of 25 years, which is something that, in the past, the President has talked about but the White House has rejected it. Why?

Breaux: " It's tough when you are talking about someone's health care.... But we are proposing what we have already done with Social Security -- it is being phased down over the next 25 years up to 67. It is consistent to do the same thing with Medicare."

Borger: "Do you think that the House Democrats have gone to the President and said, 'we cannot take back the House of Representatives in the year 2000 if you sign a Medicare bill'?"

Breaux: "There were some voices probably trying to articulate that political agenda, which I strongly reject.... The American people would much prefer us getting together, working out an agreement and then we can fight until hell freezes over about who did it. But we should not be talking about failure. That does not win elections."

Schieffer welcomed Donna Shalala, and asked her the same question: "Why would anyone think [that President Clinton] is sincere about solving this problem?"

Shalala pointed to one problem nobody, including Breaux, had mentioned: " We have to worry about going from 39 million recipients of Medicare to 78 [million] over the next 30 years. The solvency of the trust fund needed to be dealt with at the same time that the financing of the system." Shalala gave details about funding Medicare from future projected budget surpluses.

Borger: "Your critics say that your decision to take part of the surplus to help... Medicare is essentially a bookkeeping transaction. Even the General Accounting Office came out with a study that says this doesn't really solve the real problem, you are putting it off."

Shalala: "It does solve the problem or the Republicans wouldn't be anxious to use that pot of money for tax cuts. In fact, it does indeed help us to extend the life of the trust fund.... The point about modernization that Sen. Breaux [and the commission have] made is a very important point. We thought their proposal had some flaws in it... as we do not believe that we should increase the number of people without health insurance who are seniors, who are disabled."

And as for the eligibility for Medicare, Shalala does not believe it should be raised: "We did not get elected to increase the number of people... that are out of insurance. That's already happening for younger, healthier people.... Health care is different than Social Security. There is not a substitute for health care when you are older. And so keeping it at 65 is very important.

Shalala, who has proven herself one of the most impressive and compelling cabinet members on the Sunday talk circuit, pressed her points with conviction and clarity. She talked about extending Medicare benefits to prescription pharmaceuticals, but also that waste would have to be eliminated. Yes, HHS and Congress will have to look at co-payments -- but "we are talking about senior citizens... whose average income is about $20,000 a year" and "we have to be careful. The surplus is there... we can modernize [the system], we can make it more competitive, we can build on the commission, but at the end of the day we ought not make people sicker or poorer."

Shalala's final point summarized the issue succinctly: "First of all, the Republicans do want the money for tax cuts. Second, the President has been very clear. He would not have said that he was going to submit a proposal if he wasn't serious about dealing with Medicare.... We have the surplus available to help us restructure this program and put it in place for a future Medicare recipient."

Schieffer: "Thank you so much. Always an articulate spokesman for the Administration."

Indeed.

Schieffer's final word dealt with Henry Kissinger's assertion in his new memoir that "relentless pressure to raise money so they can campaign on television has left politicians no choice but to present themselves as all things to all people. It is a condition, he says, that leads to compulsive personal insecurity and causes politicians to be more interested in becoming superstars than heroes. And, as he rightly points out, there is a difference. Heroes and stars seek public approval. Heroes are driven by inner values. Stars by consensus. In Kissinger's view, the drive to maintain constant public approval has left our leaders unable to fill their most crucial role, to provide the emotional balance when experience is being challenged by change."

But Schieffer, who had started with his impressions on the President's news conference, did not lay blame on the press and media -- who are at least as responsible as pols if not fare more so in the "celebritization" of politics.

Meet the Press

"Our issue: the Administration under fire" (ha, haha! Like that's anything new for Tim Russert!), "Spies in Los Alamos... is Congress paralyzed in tax cuts, health care... Steve Forbes."

Tim Russert opened Meet the Press reporting that Richard Holbrooke was going to Belgrade for one last attempt to save the day.

Bill Richardson was Russert's first guest. He could not comment on the details of Holbrooke's mission, at which point Russert asked this stupid question: "If Milosevic refuses to see Richard Holbrooke, then he won't be sent?"

Richardson looked dumbfounded -- as if he didn't know what to say in reply to Russert's lunkhead query. So he laughed and said that it would be "a good thing" if Milosevic would see Holbrooke.

Russert then tried to make Clinton into a liar because he said that he is "not aware" that espionage was proved at Los Alamos. Richardson said that is true: the people suspected in this spy ring have not been indicted for espionage. Damage was done, but perhaps not through espionage Russert then asked whether e-Mail is controlled at the National Laboratory. Russert asserted that e-Mail was "an open system." But Richardson said that e-mail is protected now. Russert said that was the end result of the New York Times article on e-Mail at Los Alamos.

We laughed. Right, Tim -- the paper that never got the Whitewater story straight! We can tell you that E-Mail at the labs has always been filtered and checked -- and now it is locked down.

Richardson defended the security at the labs, but Russert kept it up. He said Louis Freeh claimed a year and one half before that the Chinese scientist, one Mr. Lee, who has been named as a suspect in Los Alamos espionage should not stay in his position. Why did the Clinton Administration "do nothing?" Who's writing Russert's questions -- Dan Burton? Richardson gave Russert a little Counterespionage 1010 and said that firing the scientist is not consistent with plugging security leaks -- and the Energy Department helped law enforcement "run operations on this individual." The FBI was the one who had to give the green light on terminating him. And once they did -- after the story was broken (a story that should not have run) -- Richardson fired Lee right away.

Russert claimed that Newsweek will report that the Chinese are "DEEP, DEEP, DEEP" into our lab programs -- which only reminded us of how DEEP DEEP DEEP they were into buying everything Kathleen Willey said. Richardson said that the Chinese are not -- the Energy Department and Administration have done numerous things to secure our labs.

To be fair, it sounded to us like there was a problem, and that it should have been taken care of earlier. But this was not a problem for the President -- it was the responsibility of the FBI, CIA, perhaps the NSA, and other counterintelligence units within the government.

Here again, Russert tried to pin an espionage story directly on the President -- as if Clinton reads every security report himself. Ridiculous -- that would be like saying that the President personally runs the platoons sent to Iraq.

Russert then shifted gears, saying that Richardson is on Gore's short list for Vice President. Richardson handled the claim with grace and tact -- but also have a strong plug for Gore.

Commercials for GE, ADM, ADM, GE, GE and ADM.

Russert's next guest was former senator turned Pfizer pitch man Bob Dole. The first subject was Kosovo, and Dole said there will be action very soon, otherwise there will be another massacre in Kosovo. Dole did not know whether Milosevic will be stopped by simple bombing -- and added that he did not know if Milosevic was stable, although he had met with him in the past. Dole pointed to Milosevic's record of genocide in support of his assertion.

Dole added that neither Bush nor Clinton did a good jog managing the troubles in the region, adding that this is fairly dangerous mission that American pilots understand. But Dole said that feels that we cannot stand by and let a genocide occur as we did in World War II, and both Bush and Clinton promised that we would intervene to help the Kosovars.

And thank God -- Dole is right.

Russert seemed to think we are making a mistake. What a jerk -- he seems to think any move made by Clinton is a mistake. We think NBC are making a mistake letting this buffoon sully the once-great Meet the Press. Dole said that if our bombing plans are not good from Primakov's visit, we should postpone the bombing.

Catch this: Russert called Elizabeth Dole's candidacy "Dole's ticket to the White House." Can you believe this? Russert asked whether we will ever hear from Elizabeth on the issues. Bob said, of course. Russert then brought up Dole's "Viagra" commercials -- and Dole reminded him that he never mentions that product.

That is admittedly true -- but an 800 number for "more information" certainly does.

On the topic of the nine declared (make that "exploratory") GOP candidates, Dole said, "Let's not beat up on each other." Russert asked Dole whether Steve Forbes attacked Dole in 1996. It wasn't helpful, Dole said, adding "I never recovered from it." Dole said he thinks that his wife has an excellent opportunity to be the candidate -- but of course, both Doles know that she is the stalker for the Vice President. Dole said, "I am going to be able to live in the White House with the first woman president."

Ha, ha, haha, ha - you mean Hillary Clinton?

More commercials: Fidelity Funds, GE, FedEx, ADM and others followed at the break.

Russert opened a dialogue with Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle saying, "It looks like the bombing of Kosovo is inevitable." David Broder, now a regular on Meet the Press, asked Daschle why the Medicare issue has not been resolved. Broder claimed that every single Democrat on the Medicare commission voted against the bi-partisan recommendations of the Commission. Daschle said he opposes postponement to age 67 and Democrats do oppose vouchers as payments. Daschle said that John Breaux has to work with a lot of Republicans -- intimating that the GOP threw a monkey wrench into the works to make certain the Senate would not pass its recommendations.

We believe this as well.

Broder reminded Daschle that the Senate already has voted to raise the Medicare eligibility age. But Daschle remained unmoved and said wants a total look at Medicare from the bottom up, not a band aid approach. Broder worried aloud that Social Security would suffer the same fate.

Russert claimed that the Democrats killed this deal to keep it open as a bargaining chip in the upcoming election. Daschle denied this -- but we think it may be true that both Vice President Gore and Soon-To-Be-Speaker Dick Gephardt are not crying that the issue still founders in Congress.

Russert wanted to now why there is no "outrage" (shades of Bill Bennett!) over the "fact" that the Chinese have penetrated our security. Russert said -- and get this -- "when the Administration comes out with a light report that said nothing really happened, you're going to stand by and..." We were howling with laughter -- can Russert be more obvious about being a professional Clinton basher or not?

Russert then tried to pin a cost-of-living target on Daschle. The Senate will get about a $10,000 increase over its $136,000 current salary cap. They have not had a raise in 5 five years.

Russert wanted to know if Tom Daschle will run with Al Gore. Daschle replied that he would rather be Senate Majority Leader. Russert asked about Bradley: "Does he have a chance?" Daschle said of course, but that Gore will be the best-prepared President coming into the White House in history.

Commercials: Lexus cars, another Lexus commercial right on top of it, Charles Schwab Brokerage, GE with their "million volunteer hours a year for kids in the alleys of the inner cities and the back lots of small towns." (Give us a break.) Next came the US Postal Service, subsidizing a Clinton Bashing show.

Steve Forbes, super alien geek, was up next. Forbes said he got seven million hits on his internet sites and touts the internet. Russert then brought up the "11th Commandment" of Ronald Reagan: "do not attack fellow Republicans." Russert said, "You just heard Senator Dole acknowledged that you hurt him in the 1996 campaign with negative ads."

Forbes' reply: "too bad." He said the GOP will have an open, honest and vigorous debate -- you can't beat Al Gore with a smile and no substance. Russert showed Forbes an old negative ad on Lamar Alexander -- "The Politician in the Red Flannel Shirt." Forbes said he offered Alexander a column in Forbes magazine. Then Russert showed the "Bob Dole -- Washington Values, Steve Forbes -- Conservative Values" ad, claiming this was a "personal" attack on Dole.

"Personal?" Is Russert out of his mind?

Forbes said, parenthetically to Russert, are you nuts? Of course, he continued, he will tell the truth about these hypocrites.

Russert then moved on to the abortion issue, complaining about Forbes' evolution on abortion from pro-choice to right-to-life. Forbes skipped over the question calling on Ronald Reagan's memory at least ten times during the interview. Now Forbes wants a pro-life amendment.

Russert asked whether he would only support Supreme Court nominees who would reverse Roe v. Wade. Forbes said he supports Scalia and Thomas. Russert tried to make him say there will be a litmus test on abortion. But of course Forbes is too smart to fall for it. Governor Pataki is now pro-choice, said Russert, so would you support him as VP? Forbes said no. Russert then asked about Whitman for Senate. Forbes said he wanted New Jersey to ban partial birth abortions. He refused to say whether or not he will support her for Senate. Russert asked if Pat Buchanan is still a "toothy flake." Forbes deflected this.

Hey, Steve, we can assure you -- he is worse.

Broder then brought up Kosovo. Forbes said this is part of a "deadly" pattern from this Administration. The Kosovars must be able to buy arms and defend themselves. Forbes said he will support the decision to bomb now, but he thinks the President should tell the American people what and why we are doing this. He worried about how we will get ground troops out of Kosovo. Forbes wants no ground forces.

then Forbes accused the Clinton Administration of selling out to the Chinese. He said he wants a "real tough policy" with the Chinese -- we have to stop scheduling military ventures with the Chinese, we must make our Taiwan policy clear: no taking of Taiwan by force. You have to love it -- Forbes magazine wants to maintain normal relations with China for her markets, but Forbes himself said that the first policy must be to "protect the free peoples of the world... If they want a trade confrontation, they'll have it."

Broder then questioned his qualifications, pointing out that his only government experience was "a part time job as Chairman of the Board of Foreign Broadcasting," and reviewing the bios of Bush, Dole and others.

Forbes said, "I've run a large business well, I have had executive experience, I've been to 60 countries around the world and met with heads of state. In 1996 I started as an asterisk, I won 2 million votes, and I think we will go the distance.... It will take an outsider to fix the disconnect between the people and Washington."

Broder asked whether, if Forbes wasn't rich, he wouldn't he be running for Congress as his first political bid. Forbes said no.

Forbes chooses Private Ryan for best picture. Yeah, we bet (chuckle).

One thing we should tell you: Forbes has had a total makeover and looks much better -- and far less geekier -- than he did even last month. We will zero in on that for you over the coming weeks in American Politics Journal.

-- The Editors