For the Record

Washington Times editor/columnist Wesley Pruden says Bill Clinton’s back-off on universal coverage before Governors’ Association gave Democrats excuse to “bury” ClintonCare and “come up with something else, even if it’s a joint resolution urging Americans to brush their teeth twice a day.” A not-so-sanguine GOP Chairman Haley Barbour faxed party leaders warning that Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D., Me.) and House Speaker Thomas Foley (D., Wash.) are trying to “jam through” ClintonCare minus the label. . . . Damage from Clinton’s latest flipflop severe because it capped weeks of bad news. Democratic National Committee Chairman David Wilhelm so angered party leaders with health TV spots that Sen. Bob Kerrey (D., Neb.) told rank and file not to make DNC contributions. Then Senate Finance Committee Chairman Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D., N.Y.) confessed committee hasn’t “the slightest idea” of health-legislation costs. … As Moynihan put in pork for New York hospitals, Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D., Ill.) did same for Chicago, and chiropractors won Medicare rights. Health bill degenerated into a special-interest free-for-all, says Wall Street Journal’s Paul Gigot. Gigot sees Democrats trying to make hospitals, doctors, and nurses dependents of Democratic Congress. Biggest disappointment: American Medical Association abandoned opposition to politician-run health system—allegedly in return for exemption from antitrust laws. . . . Colleagues of Hillary’s health-care Rasputin, Ira Magaziner, telling Scripps-Howard his 5-A.M.-to-late-night attempts to rescue state-run system show he has “lost perspective.”

TV networks’ turn-down of GOP Chairman Barbour’s request to buy time for hour-long health special (paid for by Ross Perot) set off rejoinders from the Right: ABC once gave Hillary two free hours, and NBC did “news” special financed by Robert Wood Foundation, which featured three members of Hillary-Magaziner health task force. NBC Washington Chief Tim Russert denies that special, hosted by Tom Brokaw, was one-sided. Russert—before taking present job, a non-journalist and a staffer for Moynihan and Mario Cuomo—says he and network would never be partisan. . . . MediaWatch also reports that ABC’s nighttime news did full story when Clinton critic Sen. Alfonse D’Amato (R., N.Y.) picked up $35,000 on stock trade, but took 12 days even to mention Hillary’s 10,000 per cent profit on commodities deal. Program’s producer is Rick Kaplan—Clinton golfing buddy and unofficial adviser in 1992 campaign on Gennifer Flowers damage control.

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Washington Times editor/columnist Wesley Pruden says Bill Clinton’s back-off on universal coverage before Governors’ Association gave Democrats excuse to “bury” ClintonCare and “come up with something else, even if it’s a joint resolution urging Americans to brush their teeth twice a day.” A not-so-sanguine GOP Chairman Haley Barbour faxed party leaders warning that Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D., Me.) and House Speaker Thomas Foley (D., Wash.) are trying to “jam through” ClintonCare minus the label. . . . Damage from Clinton’s latest flipflop severe because it capped weeks of bad news. Democratic National Committee Chairman David Wilhelm so angered party leaders with health TV spots that Sen. Bob Kerrey (D., Neb.) told rank and file not to make DNC contributions. Then Senate Finance Committee Chairman Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D., N.Y.) confessed committee hasn’t “the slightest idea” of health-legislation costs. … As Moynihan put in pork for New York hospitals, Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D., Ill.) did same for Chicago, and chiropractors won Medicare rights. Health bill degenerated into a special-interest free-for-all, says Wall Street Journal’s Paul Gigot. Gigot sees Democrats trying to make hospitals, doctors, and nurses dependents of Democratic Congress. Biggest disappointment: American Medical Association abandoned opposition to politician-run health system—allegedly in return for exemption from antitrust laws. . . . Colleagues of Hillary’s health-care Rasputin, Ira Magaziner, telling Scripps-Howard his 5-A.M.-to-late-night attempts to rescue state-run system show he has “lost perspective.”

TV networks’ turn-down of GOP Chairman Barbour’s request to buy time for hour-long health special (paid for by Ross Perot) set off rejoinders from the Right: ABC once gave Hillary two free hours, and NBC did “news” special financed by Robert Wood Foundation, which featured three members of Hillary-Magaziner health task force. NBC Washington Chief Tim Russert denies that special, hosted by Tom Brokaw, was one-sided. Russert—before taking present job, a non-journalist and a staffer for Moynihan and Mario Cuomo—says he and network would never be partisan. . . . MediaWatch also reports that ABC’s nighttime news did full story when Clinton critic Sen. Alfonse D’Amato (R., N.Y.) picked up $35,000 on stock trade, but took 12 days even to mention Hillary’s 10,000 per cent profit on commodities deal. Program’s producer is Rick Kaplan—Clinton golfing buddy and unofficial adviser in 1992 campaign on Gennifer Flowers damage control.