Gridiron Again Skewers the Politically Powerful

WASHINGTON — They beat Al Gore like a drum, thrashed through the bushes in search of George W. and shook Bill Clinton’s tree.

For the 115th year, journalism’s Gridiron Club proved Saturday night it is possible to scorch the mighty and break bread with them.

Vice President Al Gore sat in for President Clinton, but absence did not let the latter escape notice that he soon will be an ex-president:

“Bimbo eruptions, who’s gonna care--when you’re out the door? Who’s gonna hiss you, or even miss you, when you’re 54?”

The portrayer of Texas Gov. George W. Bush denied that he is dumb, even while admitting that his grasp of details might seem “maybe a half-bubble off plumb.”

In the show’s second half, Democrats got equal time.

On Gore: “All across the country, he made promises galore. He was never one to shrink from pandering.”