Bye George!

NEW YORK: After one of the more sensational rollouts in publishing history, John F. Kennedy Jr.'s celeb-studded political monthly "George" has hit its first public potholes. Eric Etheridge, the magazine's editor, is leaving after just two issues, citing "editorial differences." Kennedy, whose title is editor-in-chief, will reportedly assume Etheridge's hands-on duties at the magazine, a joint undertaking between Kennedy's Random Ventures Inc. and French publisher Hachette Filipacchi. From the beginning "George" defied the odds against political publications by selling 500,000 copies of its innaugural issue. And though it received favorable critical reviews, the magazine's initial success was attributed to the star quality of the 35-year-old Kennedy, who generated massive amounts of prepublication publicity. The third issue of "George" is due out next week.