by Jack Cashill, ©1999
News Talk 980 KMBZ
Posted on Cashill Newsletter
July 21, 1999

When I think of Bill and Al, this one particular image comes to mind: Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis in the 60's potboiler, The Defiant Ones, bound together by ball and chain on a desperate jail break, bloodhounds baying in the background, despising each other more than they do the dang dogs.

It's getting to be like that.

The Washington Post reports that Bill Bradley has approximately the same amount of campaign cash in the bank as Al Gore. Gore has roughly $9 million in the bank and Bradley $7 million.

Vice-Spendthrift Gore has raised $17.5 million but managed to spend almost half on advisors, polls, direct mail firms and food. He needs all the finessing he can get. For his trouble the polls have rewarded him with next to zilch. Gore trails Bush badly in overall numbers and even among Democratic gimme's -- women, Hispanics, and New Yorkers.

Things have gotten so bad President Clinton (Sidney) has begun to distance himself ever so subtly from the Veep. The prodigious money raising of Bradley and Bush reflects terribly on the Clinton legacy, such as it is. Gore's loss in either the primary or the general election would slam the legacy door shut.

Ain't that sumpun'? From the get go, Gore (Tony) has been worried about how to separate himself from Clinton, not to mention his ball and chain, but more on Hillary later.

Meanwhile, Clinton is mocking W and trying to deflate the "compassionate conservative" dirigible, admittedly held aloft by hot air, but President Bill "Hindenburg" Clinton is the last person on earth with the license to complain about that. True, Bill acknowledged that pricking this particular blimp was "not presidential" but neither were the other blimps he pricked--ah, let's not regress back to Monica jokes.

And while this sophomoric side show is going on, The Washington Post also reported that W has $30 million in the bank. He's passing on federal matching funds. The defiant ones are wisecracking along on their desperate breakout and Bush is smiling all the way to the bank.

Let's just hope that the bloodhounds catch up with the pair of them and that the coppers nab the moll waiting for them at the gate. In the year 2000, if we're lucky, we might just see Bill, Al and Hillary all put away for life--politically anyhow. And that's a good place to start.