Words from a Ragin’ CajunPresident Clinton political...
Words from a Ragin’ Cajun
President Clinton political strategist James Carville didn’t endear himself to business this month when he reacted gleefully to a stock market drop, suggesting it would be nice if stocks fell while real incomes rose.
So it’s a bit ironic that one can find Carville featured this month in Worth, a magazine dedicated to helping investors enrich themselves.
Carville is the campaign strategist who helped Clinton to victory and coined the term “It’s the economy, stupid” to explain it all. (Carville’s wizardry failed to help another client, Richard Katz, who finished fourth in last week’s Los Angeles mayoral election.)
Carville is asked by Worth to discuss what he likes about New Orleans, near where he grew up in Louisiana. Among his observations:
* If New Orleans were a woman, “she’d be voluptuous, slightly zaftig and in her late 30s. She’d wear something pretty colorful--a summer dress and nice jewelry.”
* Don’t argue with New Orleans cops.
Sounds Familiar
Call it an inadvertent mistake.
A First Interstate Bank help-wanted ad for a real estate-leasing manager carries with it the slogan “Putting people first.”
Sound familiar? The slogan was the central theme of President Clinton’s campaign last year, not to mention the name of a book he and Vice President Al Gore wrote.
A bank spokesman said the slogan was the work of an outside ad agency and is not intended to capitalize on Clinton’s use of it. Nor is it intended to replace the bank’s “We go the extra mile for you” slogan.
Should First Interstate run into any copyright infringement problems, it can always call on Secretary of State Warren Christopher to negotiate a peaceful settlement. Christopher was a First Interstate director until Clinton nominated him to the Cabinet post.
Ask Who’s in Charge Today
Never let political turmoil get in the way of being polite.
The upheavals in Russia and the Balkans prompted us to consult Jacqueline Dunkel’s “Business Etiquette” on how entrepreneurs can make a good impression in those states.
In Yugoslavia, she advises to be punctual and shake hands often. She says you may ask more personal questions than in other European countries.
As for the former Soviet Union, she advises to be punctual, make sure you know where you are because there are so many new countries, and expect bear hugs when greeting people.
Briefly . . .
Students at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont have designed a “multipurpose automatic pruning machine.” . . . No doubt due to a computer error: Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, a guest on an upcoming “Today Show,” was inadvertently listed as the head of Apple Computer in various television listings. . . . Team Marketing Report lists the Dodgers’ $2.50 hot dog price as second in Major League Baseball, behind the $3 for the New York Yankee dog.
