POLITICS

By James Carney

TONY BENNETT, MICHAEL BOLTON and...DICK GEPHARDT? Well, yes, because that swinging trio will be headlining at Gephardt's mega-political fund raiser in St. Louis, Mo., at the end of June. Gephardt's taste in music interests no one in Washington, but his ability to sing for his supper does. The event is for Gephardt's congressional-campaign coffers, which of course can be converted to a presidential war chest in a snap. Gephardt is determined to show the smart money in Washington that he can compete with AL GORE at fund raising. The event is a very early test for those who are serious about Campaign 2000. The effect, says a Gephardt adviser, is to send a signal that Gephardt "is capable of raising a lot of money."

Gephardt seems to have the millennium race on the brain: he voted against the presidentially sanctioned budget last week, and in a speech this week he will oppose renewing China's most-favored-nation trading status, which the White House and Al Gore ardently support. At the moment, he seems determined to show that you can win in the long run by losing in the short run. Suggestion for Tony Bennett's song list: Rags to Riches.

--By James Carney