For the Record

■ “I know I shouldn’t do this because it’s not really presidential, but I’m going to do it anyway,” says President Clinton at Democratic Leadership Council event in Baltimore. “This compassionate conservatism has a great ring to it, you know. It sounds so good. And I’ve really worked hard to try to figure out what it means. I mean, I made an honest effort. And near as I can tell here’s what it means—it means: I like you, I do. And I would like to be for the patients’ bill of rights and I’d like to be for closing the gun-show loophole, and I’d like not to squander the surplus and save Social Security and Medicare for the next generation. I’d like to raise the minimum wage. I’d like to do these things. But I just can’t, and I feel terrible about it.” . . . George W. Bush says remarks show Clinton sees him as “a threat to his so-called legacy.” . . . Geraldo Rivera, on Clinton: “He’s the first president ever to be comfortable with black people.”

■ The Hotline surveys state polls on prospective Bush—Gore race, finds Bush holding a commanding lead in states collectively worth 167 electoral votes and Gore in front nowhere…. Owing to high cost of his fundraising, Gore leads Bill Bradley in cash on hand by less than $5 million. . . . Rep. John Kasich (R., Ohio) drops out, endorses Bush. . . . Olympia Dukakis, actress and cousin of 1988 Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, endorses Bradley. … New Mexico governor Gary Johnson endorses Steve Forbes. . . . Four biographies of Bush in works, all due by February. Authors are Dallas Morning News reporter Bill Minutaglio, former George editor Elizabeth Mitchell, Texas journalist J. H. Hatfield, and columnist Molly Ivins. . . . Hillary Clinton says she’ll need $25 million for New York race…. From fundraising letter signed by Sen. Robert Torricelli (D., N.J.): “Ever feel like politicians in Washington, D.C., don’t care what people in Beverly Hills, California, think?”

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■ “I know I shouldn’t do this because it’s not really presidential, but I’m going to do it anyway,” says President Clinton at Democratic Leadership Council event in Baltimore. “This compassionate conservatism has a great ring to it, you know. It sounds so good. And I’ve really worked hard to try to figure out what it means. I mean, I made an honest effort. And near as I can tell here’s what it means—it means: I like you, I do. And I would like to be for the patients’ bill of rights and I’d like to be for closing the gun-show loophole, and I’d like not to squander the surplus and save Social Security and Medicare for the next generation. I’d like to raise the minimum wage. I’d like to do these things. But I just can’t, and I feel terrible about it.” . . . George W. Bush says remarks show Clinton sees him as “a threat to his so-called legacy.” . . . Geraldo Rivera, on Clinton: “He’s the first president ever to be comfortable with black people.”

■ The Hotline surveys state polls on prospective Bush—Gore race, finds Bush holding a commanding lead in states collectively worth 167 electoral votes and Gore in front nowhere…. Owing to high cost of his fundraising, Gore leads Bill Bradley in cash on hand by less than $5 million. . . . Rep. John Kasich (R., Ohio) drops out, endorses Bush. . . . Olympia Dukakis, actress and cousin of 1988 Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, endorses Bradley. … New Mexico governor Gary Johnson endorses Steve Forbes. . . . Four biographies of Bush in works, all due by February. Authors are Dallas Morning News reporter Bill Minutaglio, former George editor Elizabeth Mitchell, Texas journalist J. H. Hatfield, and columnist Molly Ivins. . . . Hillary Clinton says she’ll need $25 million for New York race…. From fundraising letter signed by Sen. Robert Torricelli (D., N.J.): “Ever feel like politicians in Washington, D.C., don’t care what people in Beverly Hills, California, think?”