In a Rich Oppel editorial on the same page, Rev. Chuck Merrill's opinions are reported: "Austin's racism is not raw hatred. (Merrill) identifies racism in a pattern of political and social actions: 1) the city's history of discrimination against East Austin; 2) a public school system in which children of color are passed by and become lost to society; and 3)support for building the world's most formidable prison system but little spending on social needs." Politex belives that Bush could do a lot more than he has done, both to discourage the thinking of people like Clarence Barnes, Jr. and to encourage the needed social programs that Rev. Merrill's statement implies. 12/14

Letter-writer Robert Singleton considered the Weise letter a Scrooge-like "improbable fiction": "I have never met ayone so heartless as to suggest that giving coats to freezing children encourages dependence." Loretta Holland wrote, "Well, lets just shut down Coats for Kids. Let 'em freeze. While we're at it, let's shut down the food bank, the battered women's shelter, and any other evil that blights our community and encourages dependence." (Don't give Weise any ideas, Loretta.) Others have decided to donate coats and money to the Christmas program in Weise's name. Remember, Guv, although you see "compassionate conservative" as a great marketing slogan, some of your listeners take you seriously, much to the dismay of the more reasonable citizen. 12/12

Politex wonders what already-cynical citizens will think about Lehrer's novel when they get around to reading it. Some Bush watchers might read its description of CIA director of covert Operations "Bushong" (p.37) as a thinly-veiled satire directed at Dad: "Bushong saw (intelligence) as the science of avoiding anything that might go wrong, anything that might piss somebody off, anything that might actually accomplish something. He was like a pilot who hated to fly, a cop who was afraid of the dark, a teacher who hated kids and books. All he really cared about was having his job, not doing his job. He had been promoted up the ranks through the Agency by people who felt the same way about theirs." Some Bush watchers might go on to suggest that "Bushongs" lack "vision" and see themselves as "salesmen" of other people's ideas. 12/11

Maureen Dowd would suggest Dubya's playing the wrong character. She reports a "New Yorker" writer saying, "Politics has become a kind of low-production-value-sub-genre of show business, engaging only when it is entertaining" and a LA columnist adding, "Stars looked on politicians as fundamentally more serious than them, but now they consider politicians just as superficial and cynical as anyone else." The next step is to have politicians play stars. But can "compassionate conservatism" compete with "Life is like a box of chocolates"?

Last week Tom Hanks said he might run for political office, but it may not work: "He has no pro-wrestling experience." (EW, 12/11) Gary Ross, the writer-director of "Pleasantville," disagrees: "When you see how good Henry Hyde is at farce, why shouldn't Tom Hanks go into politics?" Ross thinks Hanks could play a good Jimmy Stewart.

Now in George's case, it's clear he's got to get out of his Grim Reaper character soon or he'll be typecast. Accordingly, with the executions continuing, yesterday he attended the Child Welfare League of America's 1998 National Adoption Training Conference in San Antonio, told the one thousand attendees "to stand up and be foster families and adoptive families," and did a photo-op with a 4-year old adopted child that would bring tears to a rock. Meanwhile, under his watch as Governor there's been a steady decline in child abuse investigations because he hasn't given Child Protection Services enough money to do the job. 40% of the allegations of child abuse go uninvestigated, and it's estimated that 25% of those cases would turn up actual abuse or neglect. That's 17,000 children that have remained abused and neglected this year. (For more, see DMN, 11/20/98.) 12/8

WHO IS "THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT POLITICAL PLAYER IN TEXAS, (INCLUDING) GEORGE DUBYA"? Ivins says it's San Antonio's James Leininger, the Richard Mellon Scaife of Texas, and few people have heard of him. Molly should include Bush watchers among those few, because Politex has been telling readers what he's been up to throughout the '98 campaign. (For example, click on "Theocrats" and scroll to 10/21 and 10/27.) As the major contributor to Governor-Lite Perry's campaign and the giver of millions to the voucher movement in Texas, we're going to hear a lot more about him during next month's state legislative session. Bush's response to Leininger's far-right Texas agenda will indicate how many of the moderate/conservative GOP national policy positions he's willing to sell out to become President. 12/6

GAYS ARE VALUABLE TO WEST TEXANS, BUT NOT TO THE FRAMERS OF THE NEW STATE CONSTITUTION. Out on the prairie, some big old wind-bitten rancher stands up and asks, "How do we get them gay people to come." In Austin, the latest draft of the constitution expressly prohibits gay couples from owning community property. (HC,12/5) 12/6

For decades, Dad has bad-mouthed the press because it has reported his verbal gaffes with obvious glee. Now, his latest riposte during his Egypt speech was to call the press "unaccountable." However, when he calls an arrested university professor a "jerk" for daring to shout out during the public reading of his book which defends his foreign policy, that's news. With respect to his son, in spite of his handlers' attempts to keep George away from any such media-reported controversy during his trip to Israel, we hear the ticking of a bomb that the Guv started five years ago. Since then, he has done little to turn it off, although Jewish leaders have cautioned him about it over the years.

When Dad ran for President against Clinton, the Guv was considered to be a petulant defender of Bush policy who thought the Bushes were unfairly treated by the press. Yet, early this year in a speech in Washington, he made a tasteless public joke about dyslexics. (Click on "Voter's Friend.") Now, he's made a tasteless public joke about Jews. Do you see a pattern, here? Perhaps the "meat-grinder" of Washington politics that makes son-George think twice about running is just your typical reporter who thinks that such remarks say something about the character and judgement of the man who makes them. 12/1