POLITICAL CAPITAL Gore Proves He's A Stand-Up GuyGlobe Staff, April 4, 1999For anyone who ever complained that Vice President Al Gore is dull, stilted, and boring, they should have seen him loosen up before the annual Grover Cleveland dinner in North Conway last weekend. Alison King, a reporter for New England Cable News, had just finished interviewing Gore about his presidential prospects. And then she decided to ask a little favor -- a happy 70th birthday wish for her father, Jackson King. Gore did that and more. He grabbed the microphone and began interviewing King: "Tell me about your dad, has he been a good dad?" he asked. The answer, of course, was yes. Then Gore asked what Jackson King's favorite meal is. The answer: steak. "Will you serve it on his birthday?" he inquired. Yes, said King. Gore, a former journalist, continued to press for more information. What kind of cake will you serve? he asked. King said her father would be getting chocolate cake. A loose and relaxed Gore turned to the camera. "Jackson, there you have it. Live from Carroll County, New Hampshire, a preview of your birthday," he said in a deep, mock television voice. "That was awesome," said King. A federal prosecutor for 10 years and head of the nine-person unit that pursues allegations of public corruption for the last 2 1/2 years, O'Connor is joining the Boston firm Ropes & Gray. Among the cases he successfully prosecuted during his tenure were Nicholas Rizzo for abuses in fund-raising for Paul Tsongas's 1992 presidential campaign, municipal bond financier Mark Ferber for maintaining a $1 million-a-year, confidential contract with Merrill Lynch & Co. at the same time he was helping the giant underwriter secure business from public agencies he was advising, and State Senator Dianne Wilkerson, a Democrat from Roxbury, for failing to pay federal income taxes from 1991 to 1994. US Attorney Donald K. Stern has yet to choose a successor for O'Connor. "It's all mayor, all the time," said Murphy, referring to the round-the-clock tapings of various appearances by Mayor Thomas M. Menino. "I must have seen the State of the City address 50 times. I turn on the TV now to go to sleep." Menino has his own videotaping crew that follows him around, and Cablevision allows the moments in Menino administration history to be played over and over on channels like A-22. Not that Cablevision needs much convincing to give his honor air time. No one wants anything bad to happen with Cablevision's lucrative agreement with City Hall to operate in Boston, and it just so happens that top political strategist, Ed Jesser, is a hired gun for Cablevision as well. |