The bar is still glum, as the beer-drinkers imbibe the crushing news about Lauch and Fob. A couple of brave Republicans try to put the best face on the news. “Remember, that’s a CNN estimate,” says one. “That’s the Clinton News Network talking.” No one else seems convinced. Within about a beer, the night’s trend becomes undeniable. Sally Vaci is explaining how she and her husband recently went to see Chris Ruddy, the anti-Clinton journalist, speak in a conference room at a local hotel about the Vince Foster “suicide” (“There weren’t 18 teeth total in the room,” her husband says). Suddenly, word arrives that A1 D’Amato has lost his Senate seat. Vaci stops talking and looks up at the television. A leering Chuck Schumer fills the screen. There’s no blaming it on CNN this time. “No,” she says, “no, no.”
Reported by the staff of THE WEEKLY STANDARD
