The week's big news, and how's it's being spun.
Oct. 5 1997 3:30 AM

39000_39865_clintongorefnl
36000_36259_spinicon
William Saletan William Saletan

Will Saletan writes about politics, science, technology, and other stuff for Slate. He’s the author of Bearing Right.

Campaign-finance update: 1) As expected, Attorney General Reno decided to extend the Justice Department probe of Vice President Gore's phone calls. But according to the Wall Street Journal, DOJ lawyers still oppose naming an independent counsel. 2) Now that Reno seems to be taking the phone-call issue more seriously, Republicans and conservative pundits are conceding that it's Talmudic hairsplitting. 3) The New York Times reported that Clinton and Gore resisted aides' instructions to press donors and fell woefully short of fund-raising goals. 4) The media are pointing out the hypocrisy of senators who criticize Clinton and Gore while taking fund-raising callbacks at their offices. (For more on callbacks, see Margaret Carlson's "Fund-Raising Phone Tag" in Slate.) (10/3)

36000_36259_spinicon
Advertisement

Paint traces may indicate that Princess Diana's car collided with a black Fiat just before the fatal crash. Signal-light fragments found at the scene also bolster the second-car theory, coinciding with eyewitness testimony that a car and a motorcycle, possibly carrying a photographer, weaved in front of Diana's car just before the crash. The bodyguard who survived the crash has recovered partial memory of events before the crash, but evidently can't answer whether a Fiat struck Diana's car. Doctors say he might eventually recover his memory of the crash itself. (10/3)

36000_36259_spinicon

President Clinton announced plans to block imports of food and vegetables from countries with weak food-inspection systems. Consumer advocates said the measures are too weak (they don't set the same standards abroad that apply here). Free-trade advocates said they are too strong (they may prompt retaliatory measures from affected countries). Analysts said they are driven by political rather than safety concerns (the plan may garner votes for Clinton's fast-track trade negotiating proposals among congressmen fearing influxes of contaminated food). The public is expected to welcome the measures. (10/3)

36000_36259_spinicon

Bosnian Muslims reportedly are arming for an overwhelming assault on Bosnian Serbs. A NATO commander told the New York Times, "The question no longer is if the Muslims will attack the Bosnian Serbs, but when," and that "the only way to prevent such an attack ... is for the peacekeeping mission to extend its mandate" beyond the deadline by which U.S. forces are supposed to pull out. The Times speculated that NATO officials leaked the bad news to persuade Congress not to pull out the troops. The paper also concluded that the U.S. policy of equipping and training Muslim forces may not be such a bright idea. (10/3)

39000_39866_paulajonesfnl
36000_36259_spinicon

Conservative activists are taking charge of the Paula Jones case. Jones accepted financial support from the Rutherford Institute, which has assisted fundamentalists in various legal fights. At Rutherford's recommendation, Jones also hired a Dallas law firm that has defended pro-lifers, student prayer, and the Texas sodomy law. Analysts see this as bad news for Clinton on the settlement front (since Jones' new lawyers seem eager to go to trial) but good news on the PR front (since it plays into the White House line that Jones is a puppet of Clinton's enemies). Reporters noted that in her press conference, Jones spoke only when given permission by her adviser, Susan Carpenter-McMillan. (For more on Carpenter-McMillan, see Slate's "Assessment.") (10/3)

36000_36259_spinicon
Advertisement

The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops called for acceptance of homosexuality. The bishops said homosexual orientation "cannot be considered sinful," because it "is experienced as a given." The catch: Gays must remain "chaste," which means avoiding "genital sexual involvement" with same-sex friends. The bishops called their position old news, but gay Catholics found the shift in emphasis significant. (10/1)

39000_39867_mit_fratdeath
36000_36259_spinicon

Scott Krueger, an MIT fraternity pledge, died of alcohol poisoning after a frat party. This has rekindled the concern and outrage sparked a few weeks ago by the similar death of a pledge at Louisiana State University. The high-minded spin: The two cases underscore an epidemic of binge drinking in frats and colleges in general. The naughty spin: How could this have happened at MIT, where, unlike LSU, the kids are supposed to be smart? (10/1)

36000_36259_spinicon

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott proposed to amend the McCain-Feingold bill to ban unions from funneling dues to political activity without workers' explicit consent. Analysts agreed that he's using the amendment to make the bill unpalatable to Democrats so they'll kill reform and the blood will be on their hands. Editorialists admired and reviled his diabolical shrewdness. Critics argued workers can quit a union if they don't like its political activities and that any debate about regulating union money should be taken up separately. Even if enough Republicans join Democrats to kill the amendment, more would be needed to defeat the filibuster that has already been promised. (For Slate's take, see "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," by Jacob Weisberg.) (10/1)

36000_36259_spinicon

Middle East update: 1) Israeli and Palestinian negotiators agreed to resume talks. Editorialists prayed that Arafat and Netanyahu will somehow rise above their usual belligerence and folly. 2) Netanyahu reiterated his intention of building more West Bank settlements, despite having promised U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that he would consider a "timeout" on settlements. 3) Netanyahu pardoned and released the jailed, ailing spiritual leader of Hamas as a goodwill gesture to the Palestinians. 4) Netanyahu proposed to separate the question of Jerusalem from the rest of the peace talks and settle everything else first. 5) Israel is reconsidering its refusal to extradite an American teen-ager who fled to Israel after allegedly committing a murder in Maryland. The legal question is whether he qualifies as an Israeli citizen. (10/1)

36000_36259_spinicon
Advertisement

Miscellany: Capitalizing on frayed relations between British Telecom and MCI, WorldCom outbid BT by offering $30 billion for MCI. New York Lt. Gov. Elizabeth"Betsy" McCaughey Ross switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party. Republicans were glad to get rid of her. Democrats gave her only a perfunctory welcome. Ex-Rep. Mary Rose Oakar, D-Ohio, will plead guilty to evading campaign-finance laws. Hooters settled a discrimination lawsuit by shelling out $3.75 million and agreeing to hire men--as support staff, not as waiters, thereby preserving the tradition of Hooters Girls. (10/1)

39000_39868_lichtensteinarta
36000_36259_spinicon

Pop-art icon Roy Lichtenstein died. Obituaries generally celebrated him for countering texture and esoteric expression with irreverence and ironic wit, and for being an all-around nice guy. The Washington Post said he "made the vulgar chic" and "the ersatz ... authentic."(10/1)