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January 26, 2000 6:10PM
COHEN'S BLOCKBUSTER WEEKEND
President Clinton is not the only member of the current administration
enamored with Hollywood. On a recent trip to California, Secretary of
Defense William Cohen visited Camp Pendleton, where he announced plans to
increase housing allowances. A few hours later, Cohen and his entourage
checked into the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, where the
secretary's room alone cost $10,000 for four nights. Pentagon spokesman
Kenneth Bacon said that Cohen's meetings with celebrities such as Julia
Roberts and Stephen Spielberg, plus his attendance at the People's Choice
Awards, were simply "taxpayer business."
As a reporter for the Army Times noted dryly, "Chatting with the
glitterati in Beverly Hills was a far cry from Cohen's objective at Camp
Pendleton, where he sampled mess hall cuisine, talked with service members
and their families, and toured base housing and barracks." Said Bacon:
"There is no irony here." Cohen's enormous hotel bill, he explained, was
necessary because of security concerns.
Apparently the 40,000 Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton are no match for
the security staff at the Four Seasons.
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
In today's edition of The Hill, a story headlined "The House Democrats in
a word: United" appears immediately above another suggesting that Rep.
Virgil Goode, a Virginian who abandoned the Democratic Party earlier this
week, will join the GOP within a few days.
FELLOW TRAVELER
From the January 24 New York Times obituary of environmentalist Hazel
Wolf: "She joined the Communist Party during the Depression, attracted by
its support for social welfare programs like food subsidies, unemployment
aid, and social security." Today, of course, that's why people join the
Democratic Party.
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Updated By:
Ramesh Ponnuru - Senior Editor
John J. Miller - National Political Reporter
Kate Dwyer - Editorial Associate
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