European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 5, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes tuesday january 5,1986 Martin Gottlieb political pundits can t be right All of the time every year at this time i do a column that examines my Overall performance As a pundit Over the past year. 1 think thu is it pretty Good idea and i Hope it catches on. Some people of dubious motivation enjoy pointing out thai i predicted in february that the problems in the Mideast would be pretty much resolved by Christmas need it be said the Prospect of being subjected to this sort of nitpicking this malicious kind of scavenging into one s background is just the sort of things trial deters qualified people from going into political commentary Al any Rale the dredgers have dredged very selectively. They Don l Tell you that in Early 198t i predicted that Gary Han would quit inc presidential fan then re enter. I also said thai inc Stock Market would soar crash and stabilize and thai sen Paul Simon Dell. Would be leading in the polls in Iowa by november. Everybody thought i was crazy. The nitpickers Point out thai 1 did t commit any of these predictions to paper. Apparently these people can t be satisfied. How s this i wrote in March that the Federal deficit would probably not be eliminated before Santa returned. Friends told me i was crazy to go against the conventional Wisdom like hat. But dam it when i think i be got something to say hat reflects my decades of study of things political must go ahead and say it what Ever the consequences. Call me a hero if you want. Wha about my to Ca cd mistake on the Mideast and after All inc charge that i was wrong rests upon my admittedly ill advised use of the single word i think it jus goes to show that i m human. Even though t get paid for writing my opinions i m really pretty much like you and your loved ones. And darn it i m not above admitting that i need to be reminded of that from time to Lime. Thai s when1 readers come in. They like to do the reminding. It s amazing How Picky they can be. Not that i m complaining mind you. They have their rights As readers Ana we can All Benefit from a Little constructive criticism. But Jacci last March wrote that George Bush would if elected be the first Republican vice president to be came president since Herbert Mckinley of Tennessee and he d be the i former director of inc Cia to become chief executive since Aaron Burr Reader Charles Mcgregor of Columbus. Ohio could Noi resist the Tom platoon to write your use of the split verb would if elected be is is Best an Well. Or. Mcgregor i am truly sorry if my syntax William Safire offends you and i will defend to the death your right to your opinion and even your right to complain la somebody of my station. But the fact is i sometimes get so wrapped up a my Pursuit of factual accuracy that i do not have All the time necessary to Check out every Picayune so grammatical Point. In Short All grammatical mistakes should be blamed on the other people who work Here. I think they re called copy editors. In the spirit of humility Hough i must admit that 1 have been lax in dealing with them in the future 1 will iry to hold them to higher Stan Dards. Thank you for writing alter the Mcgregor episode i suppose some people in my position would have taken a month or two off. But i find that my work is therapy and after All with Power comes responsibility. After just a couple of weeks i was right Back at the old word processor shrugging off my personal problems and struggling once again with the events of the Day almost As if nothing had happened. It Felt Good. After a couple of weeks on the Job i was my old self again thanks mainly of course to that great commentator in the sky who always Kerns to com through for me. The rest of inc year was it Breeze by comparison and not without its rewards. I wrote in april for exam ple that the United slates should not Send combat troops to sri Lanka. We did to and now there s talk of a pulitzer for me. But i think in s enough just to know deep Down inside thai i served my country. Prizes Are to Ephe Meral and Are mainly used by people to innate their own importance. Well i know i m Only up to april but t m out of space. More about me twi St what might be expected to happen this year Jaihar than pardons c the Iran complaining All the Way b fail to Over quartet plus Michael heaver at and the president Sveljo fwd a pwt what poor prognostication in this space last year i Eten predicted the stuck Merki t would go Down and of course in bus risen a bit since last year end. This year re Tulic id Tut my Hopes instead of merely my expectations. 1. Begging the president s Pardon Clem ency nest year will be offered to a messes. I North. Accord and a acim be forc any potential indictments b All the same it convicted but alter november s elections in the form of sentence commutation Contra Quarte Nancy s insistence d nobody. 2. The publishing world s political grabber will be a the Power came by Sledrick Smith random House b buying into America by Susan and Martin Tolchin times books c the politics of Public management by Philip Etc Mann Vale University press d speaking out by Larry Scakes Scribner Fri e the memoirs of Bud Mcfarland doubleday3. The first head of stale to be ousted this year will be a Roh toe woo of South Korea he Cora on Aquino of the Philippines c Andrei Gromyko of the soviet Union d Kurt Waldheim of Austria c Yitzhak Shamir of Israel. 4. The Economy will a muddle along for six months and then drop like a Rock b Surprise inc doomsayers with a Rise of inc Dollar and a surge of the Stock Market willing to concede ski testing. T. The Deal of the year will be a the secret compact the russians made with the Ayatollah to protect Iran in the . In return for no Shi Ilc rouble in inc so Viet Union b the informal Alliance of Robert Dole Howard Baker and Warren Rudman that will make life difficult for c mystify economists with a drop in the a drop in interest rates and a drop led out of a Spring George Bush c the bargain to be sought i in by a we tech special prosecutor to in Duce de Meese indicted associates to testify against the attorney general d jacks. He t r has a starts. Congress will a support the contras lion c ratify the medium missile treaty with non killer reservations d Alt of these. 6. The new detente will be a celebrated at a Moscow Summit meeting with a strategic arms Accord and agreement on Star wars testing con the Deal to be Cut by Jesse democratic convention. Son at the cacophony will nevertheless amalgamate Mario Cuomo and Al Gore d there will be no brokerage possible the Winner will be decide Din the primaries. 10. Al the non brokered Republican convention a George Bush will choose Jack Kemp As his running mate b Bob Dole will pick Pete Dupont for his up c Jack Kemp will head the "jk2" ticket with Jeane Kirkpatrick d messes. Bush and Dole will reach a Delegate standoff and the brokering Baker boys Howard and Jim will nuke a Deal with the combined Kemp Robertson forces 11. The big Issue of the 988 general he a 8lh , George bus on his Anns for no singes Par Don t let them take away our Prosperity c throw out the recessionary rascals d detente is a chimera c what ii Slop the a. ,. Wei 12,the next president of the . Will current with in end to Chr soviet War in russians d the Lasi few in nines entry be a Gary Hart b Jack Kemp ice Afghanistan b advanced on soviet of Mario Cuomo to Slop Gary Hart _ George Bush d Mario Cuomo be my choices i hate this port Are b. A d. Do cd a by a b. Go ahead and laugh if i m All wet few will remember but if my Long shots come in nobody will be allowed to turf twi h terms with a Long Range missile Cut and no linkage to conventional arms reduction adventurism behaviour or human rights c derailed by harsh soviet Mili tary response 10 a reach for Freedom in Eastern Europe d put on hold As Mik Hail Gorbachev awaits a new president 9. In inc brokered democratic convention a Robert Strauss matchmaker will put together Sam Nunn and Paul Simon b Bert Lance in the Jackson Southern Camp will broker Gary Hart end Bob Strauss c Lane Kirkland curiously silent amidst the Early anti Hart
