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If the Schumer Fits, Blare It Back when reporters cared about his opinion, Bob Dole once quipped that the shortest distance in Washington is the one between Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and a TV camera. These days, the nine-term congressman -- who made his name fighting against handguns and for women's rights -- is working the cameras overtime, trying to serve on the busiest committee in Washington while waging the only political battle uglier than the President's: his fight to unseat New York's tenacious Sen. Al D'Amato. Schumer is famous for his doglike devotion to Bill Clinton -- devotion that has not always been requited. Earlier this year, when Schumer was running against Geraldine Ferraro in the primaries, the White House had to ask him to stop running ads showing Clinton and the congressman together on Air Force One -- lest they be taken as an endorsement. If Schumer has any hard feelings over the episode, he doesn't let them show. The risk for him in the impeachment hearings lies in giving D'Amato the chance to define him. If Schumer spends too much time in-state, D'Amato can ask why he isn't in Washington doing the work of the nation. If he gets bogged down in (off-camera) meetings, D'Amato gets a free run against an absentee opponent. But if Schumer plays it right, the committee could be the perfect platform to look, well, senatorial. And, best of all, on TV. |
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