Campaign notes

Bush snubs McCain, a GOP NYC mayoral candidate surfaces, and the National Review fetes Henry Hyde

by Seth Gitell

Thankless Bush: The McCain camp is miffed at the lack of gratitude shown toward their leader by the the Republican presidential nominee. George W. Bush failed to telephone McCain Tuesday night after the Arizona senator and former Vietnam prisoner-of-war went out of his way to praise the Texas governor. This is particularly galling in light of the denuded, bland speech McCain delivered to the delegates. McCain could have, for instance, delivered a fiery call for reform. But he made no mention of the staple of his primary run - campaign finance reform. Who knows, maybe some Bush partisans felt McCain's dry performance was too similar to his first appearance on American television as a POW. Back then, McCain agreed to appear before television cameras, but he did so in such a way to signal that he was doing so under duress. If Bush is elected, McCain will remain quiet for a while, then go back to the noisemaker he was before the presidential race.

More Big Apple GOP: A potential Republican mayoral candidate for New York City surfaced on Sunday night - financial technology magnate Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg, who has Boston roots, hosted a posh bash for New York's governor, George Pataki, at the Striped Bass, a hot night spot that's attracted politicos and power brokers all week. The party, which featured a raw bar of shrimp and shellfish on ice and hors d'oevres on fluorescent trays, welcomed two groups - New York Republicans and media. The party was supposed to be cut off at 10 p.m. but the hosts allowed the food and booze to flow late into the night. Such notables as New York Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman, former senator Alfonse D'Amato, and Representative Peter King of Long Island, were among those who took advantage of Bloomerg's hospitality.

New York Democratic consultant Henry Sheinkopf called Bloomberg's move to host the fete "smart." "Bloomberg would be a good candidate. He cares deeply about the city and its future. He's a serious guy," says Sheinkopf. Bloomberg grew up in Boston, attended Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and moved to New York to work at the financial firm Salomon Brothers. After a short stint on Wall Street, Bloomberg started his financial information company 20 years ago - ahead of the information economy. "Here's a guy who didn't grow up with a silver spoon," says Sheinkopf. "That's why he would be so appealing."

Impeachment Managers: One subtext of the convention has been the invisibility of the Republicans who made the case for impeachment against President Clinton. On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial headlined "The Missing Managers" that called on Bush to associate publicly "with these men." The Weekly Standard editorialized against Bush's treatment of the Republicans, saying "the effort to push Clinton's impeachment completely into an Orwellian memory hole represents a fundamental abdication by the Republican party of its responsibility to national discourse."

One place the managers were on display was the National Review party for the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Henry Hyde. The National Review selected the wood-panelled hearing room of the Philadelphia College of Physicians for the party. The guest of honor sat in a chair at the back of the room. National Review founder William F. Buckley took a seat next to him. Well-wishers took photos of Hyde and gave him words of encouragement.