On The Grapevine

He's tanned, he's rested, he's ready: Nixon in '88. Those T-shirt people were on to something. Nixon is back, this time as a political analyst for the London Sunday Times and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. Some of the pronouncements from his first column: Dole ran a "determined, effective campaign" in Iowa, but "Bush is still the man to beat." Kemp is "building ^ a powerful case for the second spot on the ticket." Most curious is his prescription for the Democrats in the likely event of a deadlocked convention. Cuomo probably won't run, Nixon says, because he doesn't want to have his family "cut up by the national media." The party's last best hope (are you ready?): Ted Kennedy. "If the media hound Kennedy over that tragic accident 19 years ago, they might well help him rather than hurt him -- and also help land themselves in the political doghouse."

Mutual deterrence. Against a sound track of feet crunching in the snow, the camera pans over a virgin white expanse to the shadow of a man. A somber voice-over intones, "After 20 years of walking in the footsteps of giants, isn't it odd that George Bush has left no footprints at all? It's almost like he was never there." This TV commercial had not been used, but Dole aides artfully leaked news of its existence last week. They called it their "tactical nuclear weapon," ready to air if Bush tried any negative ploy or increased his lead going into New Hampshire. Dole, once enthusiastic about the ad, lost his stomach for it by the end of last week. Perhaps he knew that Bush was ready with a counter-ad. It shows a two-faced Dole taking both sides of the issues.

What I did on my summer vacation. Last month Mario Cuomo privately telephoned a few influential friends with a startling proposition: that a group of them get together and back a candidate before the Iowa caucuses. When friends said the ploy would be disruptive and unwise, he abandoned the idea. Now he is back to making coy remarks. In his continuing quest not to be a candidate, Cuomo let drop last week that if pressed he could conceive of running for President during his summer vacation, since Albany virtually shuts down from July to October. He's not saying he would run for President during his summer vacation, mind you, just that he "could construct a lawyer's argument" (he is a lawyer, after all) for running should a deadlocked convention turn to him. You could say, he explained, "I just took a vacation to run for President, so who did I hurt?"

Speaking Matilda. Is the press asking the wrong question? Maybe it's Cuomo's wife who's running. The Governor called a Washington friend last week to ask a special favor: Would the friend arrange for Wife Matilda to address the National Press Club in Washington?

Quote of the week. "I've got a 50-state campaign and will go all the way. I never expected any early miracles." -- Gary Hart after finishing sixth in Iowa