Updated

And now some fresh pickings from the political grapevine:

Race-Baiting?
An article appearing in this week's Palestinian Authority newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, describes Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice as colored people who belong to the Third World, but then heaps racial vitriol upon Rice. The piece calls the adivese, "The dark-complexioned lady" whose policies have "dealt a blow to the image of the African-American in the eyes of the vast majority of the world's inhabitants." It also says, "The Black Lady always makes a point, whether the opportunity presents itself or not, of denouncing Palestinians to the point where her positions and statements have come to be nearly daily lessons to the American people and the world, causing regret to every Arab who was optimistic about her arrival on the political scene."  

Conflict Predicted
Alabama Congressman Earl Hilliard predicts that his defeat in a Democratic Primary will set off a long conflict between American blacks and Jews. Hilliard says Jewish groups will use his defeat as a rallying cry to target other black candidates who support a Palestinian state, as he did. Meanwhile his opponent, Harvard-educated lawyer Artur Davis, says he plans to join the Congressional Black Caucus, even though the caucus supported Hilliard in their heated Seventh District race. Meanwhile, the Council on American-Islamic Relations is weighing in. It calls the Davis win, "an Insult to African-Americans and a victory for pro-Israel extremists."      

Finding Southern Comfort
Tipper Gore has told a Memphis newspaper that she would love to see her husband Al run for president again in 2004.  She also tried to tie the Enron scandal to the Bush administration: "It seems to me this administration has a lot of people who are simply interested in getting rich." Meanwhile, the couple is moving to Nashville, where they have purchased their third home — a $ 2.3 million mansion that sits on more than two acres in the city's affluent Belle Meade section. The Gores had been splitting time between a family farm 40 miles east of Nashville and an Arlington, Va., home that had been in Tipper's family for 64 years. They intend to keep both of those houses, as well. The Gores lived in Nashville before he was elected to Congress in 1976.