President Clinton has announced this year’s winners of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and (as is true of all administrations) the list is a distillation of the social and cultural attitudes of the White House. This year’s honorees include Earth Day creator Gaylord Nelson, liberal historian John Hope Franklin, and (posthumously) union leader Walter Reuther. But who will win the Medal in the next administration? A list of predictions for each of the presidential contenders:
* Colin Powell: Bob Woodward.
* Robert Dole: Greg Schnacke, his legislative director, with a big thanks to all the guys down at the mark-up session of the Conference committee.
* Phil Gramm: Dickey Flatt; honorable mention to Mah Momma (as all Americans will refer to Mrs. Gramm once her son is chief executive).
* Pat Buchanan: Generalissimo Francisco Franco (posthumous); Westbrook Pegler (posthumous); Father Charles Coughlin (posthumous); Pope Leo XIII (posthumous).
* Lamar Alexander: Mary Anne and Robby Jones of Tupegula, Tenn. (just regular folks who know what to do, unlike those folks up in Washington. Cut their pay and send them home! Come on along!).
* H. Ross Perot: H. Ross Perot.
* Arlen Specter: Margaret Sanger (posthumous).
* Alan Keyes: Harry V. Jaffa; Abraham Lincoln (posthumous).
* Richard Lugar: Lee Hamilton, Cyrus Vance, Warren Christopher ( posthumous — oops, sorry, living).
* Steve Forbes: Jude Wanniski, Michael Milken, Jay Gould (posthumous).
