Word: hartness
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...Walter Mondale "now holds the most commanding lead ever recorded this early in a Presidential nomination campaign by a nonincumbent." His nearly 3-1 triumph in Iowa had given him a 57-8 lead in national polls over nearest rival Jesse Jackson. And less than 24 hours later, Gary Hart beat him by 10 points in New Hampshire and turned the contest upside down...
Here's an unlikely bit of news for an election year: politically, Gary Hart is dead, but Che Guevara isn't. O.K., so it's a little more complicated than that. Che is the hero of a just released political thriller from John Blackthorn, whose Sins of the Fathers was a mild success last year. Like the earlier book, I, Che Guevara (William Morrow; 369 pages; $24) is set in Cuba and carries a tantalizing tease on the book jacket: "John Blackthorn is the pseudonym of a political figure whose name is well known in international capitals and intelligence circles...
...lawyer specializing in international law, Hart has traveled several times to Cuba, often conveying messages unofficially between Fidel Castro and the Clinton Administration; hence the pseudonym. "I wanted to tell these fictional stories," he says, "but I didn't want to jeopardize any value I could add to my messenger role." He unveiled himself last week because "people were beginning to ask questions about Blackthorn's identity. I didn't want to dissemble, so we decided to come...
...Guevara, reborn democrat? Unlikely, sure, but so is Gary Hart, novelist. His characters wade through the plot as if it were molasses. Hart tries to goose things along with lengthy quotes from Che's diary: "The revolutionary is a visionary. He sees things other people don't see, the 'practical ones.' The 'practical' person operates within the boundaries of what is. The revolutionary sees what ought to be." A few hundred pages of this, and the reader starts rooting for the assassins...
...high-energy act was followed by two singer-songwriters (perhaps somewhat incongruously). Beth Hart (of the Beth Hart Band) came on sans the Band, instead opting for a series of solos on the keyboard and guitar. Her strong voice carried her through the songs, but she wallowed in several attempts to preach social messages. After opening with a song dedicated to her sister who recently died of AIDS, she then discussed her recent sobriety. Before singing her latest hit "L.A. Song," she reminded the audience that "whether it's Alabama or L.A., the good life is not out there...