State: Lipitor: It's the drug of choice on the campaign trail

Lipitor: It's the drug of choice on the campaign trail

SPIN PATROL: notes from campaign 2002

By Times staff writers

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride has concluded that it takes more than money and organization to run for office.

Try Lipitor.

"That's the drug you take so you can eat cheeseburgers late at night," McBride said of the cholesterol-lowering drug.

Life on the campaign trail can be hard on the arteries. You rarely find grilled vegetables or lemon-drizzled salmon at truck stops.

"On the I-4 corridor, I can tell you every place that's open after 11 o'clock and what they serve," McBride said last week as he toured the Florida Panhandle with former U.S. Rep. Pete Peterson.

"I may write a book about it after the campaign -- if I don't gain too much weight and have a heart attack."

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Floridians once again rank among the most generous contributors to the national Republican Party, according to the Political Money Line Web site.

Based on federal disclosure reports for May, some of the biggest Florida checks came from: Gary Morse, developer of the massive Villages retirement development in north Central Florida, who pitched in $250,000 to the Republican National Committee; WCI Communities of Bonita Springs, headed by Al Hoffman, Jeb Bush's campaign finance chairman, gave nearly $144,000; Sarasota Ford gave $125,000; and Elizabeth Fago of Palm Beach Gardens, chairwoman of Home Quality Management, gave $100,000.

She may be struggling to raise money, but Janet Reno knows how to do it in style.

"The World Premier of Janet Reno's Dance Party" is scheduled for July 19 at Level, a South Beach dance club. Reno will definitely show off her dance moves at the $25-per-person event, a spokeswoman said, much as she did for a cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live's original "Janet Reno Dance Party."

Jacksonville City Council President Jerry Holland, a Republican, can thank McBride for the new post he assumed June 28. In one of the odder mixes of local and state politics, the woman who had been expected to lead the 19-member council, Democrat Suzanne Jenkins, was bumped aside.

Jenkins is helping run McBride's local campaign effort, and Republican Party leaders didn't want to do anything to raise her profile. Local GOP Chairman Tom Slade, who used to lead the state party, rallied Republicans to block Jenkins.

"Why would you put a loaded gun in the hand of someone who wants to shoot you with it?" he said to the Florida Times-Union.

If you winced as the stock market tumbled, Gov. Jeb Bush feels your pain.

The governor's net worth dropped by about 20 percent last year, to $1.6-million, according to his latest financial disclosure.

Blame the dip in the stock market. His $120,000 government salary was unchanged.

-- Alisa Ulferts and Adam Smith were on spin patrol. Send tips, thoughts, suggestions to spinpatrol@sptimes.com.