Paul, your scenario re Clinton's strategy may be fairly accurate, and definitely is consistent with the usual modus operandi in Washington, but bear in mind that Congress has been hammering away at the Admin for some time now, and it was this Administration that said that it did NOT need additional funds to address the matter -- at least that was the initial line. It was the same folks who started out with an artificially low estimate on remediation costs, and raised it only after receiving considerable criticism.
I have regular contact with industry and govt. folks, including the Hill, and already, Gore is drawing the bulk of the criticism. I fully expect that this will continue, in increasing volume.
John Koskinen is well-respected on "both sides of the aisle," as we say, and on the Hill and within the Admin. However, there is still a sense that the White House is AWOL on this issue, recent announcements notwithstanding.
Moreover, I suspect that the media focus will reach critical mass long before August 1999. The number of stories are escalating daily, and as the lawyers gin up on this issue, they will turn to the media to plant exposes (sp?) of this company and that sector to generate additional pressure to secure settlements of the inevitable lawsuits.
Granted, this is all just my humble opinion, but I have been in Washington for over a decade, and have "worked" with the media a few times myself, so I have some experience. For what it's worth.
Ken |
